Catching customers or trouts - it is all about presenting the right stuff at the right time at the right place.
The trout:
Look for riffles - where a trout makes his small marks on the water surface snapping at astray insects, today's right stuff for him.
Study those insects and find a similar fly in your well-stocked box or tie one standing at the river-bed.
Then present the fly or nymph nicely in front of his snout and expect some snapping. Repeat.
The customer:
Ah, now, the non-fishy species do not know at all times what "the right stuff" is so here we need some innovation.
Look for the "riffles", signs of opportunity and place for innovation.
My favourite riffles are hints of "no thinking", or rather where markets, organisations and people have posted a huge "No Thinking Allowed" sign:
"Rules", "that's how we always do it!", "the truth is...".
We see them all the time. Start taking notice.
If it is your potential customer it is a sign that he might have missed out on the better solutions - tie one and present it in front of his nose! He'll recognise it when he sees it.
If it is your competitor he will close his eyes to anything different - use the door-wide-ajar and bypass him without a ripple!
(Inspired by a mail the other day from a friend at a big, big system integrator that have some obscure rules effectively stopping certain opportunities - must give that a think-over and present him a neatly tied fly :))
A method I always find useful: Whatever you're thinking, try thinking the opposite. It always results in some ideas that are creative, amidst a lot of ridiculous ones :)
Posted by: Peter Kua | July 07, 2006 at 12:55
What the trout is thinking: "Time is fun when you are having flies" - until he gets hooked.
Posted by: Lars Plougmann | July 11, 2006 at 14:46
Ouch Lars, I had the hope nobody would notice that the meaning of fly fishing is to hook @ land @ eat!
While I think the relationship with customers should be a tad different ;)
Although... hmmm... just hit me I do know of companies that behave like fly fishers: My ISP (two seconds to get going on the web, almost impossible to get out again), Insurance companies, proprietary file formats, DRMs... ouch again. Hook @ Land customer handling!
Should be feed @ share...
Posted by: sig | July 11, 2006 at 15:28
And don't forget - when the customer/trout takes a taste, set the hook and play them gently. Let 'em run a bit and then easy them back in while they are thinking.
Luckily, in the real world the government doesn't regulate catch and release for customers. I still use barbless hooks though.
Posted by: Diane Ensey | July 12, 2006 at 06:42
Diane, or... rather vice versa, permission marketing, and something Seth Godin and Doc Searls would agree to: The customer is the "catcher" we the suppliers of services and products merely biting as we see the hooks coming!
Ah, now it gets complicated... hope those hooks are barbless...
...I better go make inviting ripples now :D
Posted by: sig | July 13, 2006 at 12:12
Good analogy -- and in most (big)companies, the problem is not in the preparation, it's in the enthusiasm and execution for the actual "fishing".
Posted by: Arnie McKinnis | July 14, 2006 at 00:24