Practical Wisdom from the Entrepreneurs Creative Edge by William Reed

Have you noticed that some kinds of marketing turn you off completely, while other kinds of marketing educate, energize, and inspire you to buy? Why is it that an approach which offends one person can excite another? Is it really just a matter of personal taste, or is there something deeper which either resonates with the way we see the world, or simply jars our senses?

Marketing experts say that you can be more effective by appealing to a particular niche, than in trying to be all things to all people. One reason that niche marketing works so well is that people in a particular niche often have compatible energies and similar sensibilities. What appeals to Harley-Davidson owners is not likely to appeal to the Starbucks crowd, and vice versa. It isn’t just the product, nor even the lifestyle, but rather the energy of the people who are attracted to each other through the ambience of that particular niche.

This is true for any successful brand, but if you focus too much on the product and the promotions you may miss the secret of their success, the energy which drives it.

Takuan Sh (1573~1645), a Zen Priest who advised sword masters in their own craft, wrote a book called The Unfettered Mind. Even today, the most frequently quoted portion of this book says that,"When facing a single tree, if you look at a single one of its red leaves, you will not see all the others. When the eye is not set on any one leaf, and you face the tree with nothing at all in mind, any number of leaves are visible to the eye... The mind that stops or is moved by something- this is the affliction of the abiding place."

When facing an opponent, the advantage goes to the one who focuses on the energy of the whole, rather than the appearance of the parts.

This energy has qualities which can be perceived through intuition or the felt by the senses. Japanese refer to it as the air or atmosphere (kki), and as something which can be read or felt. A person who is unable to read the atmosphere is considered insensitive or out of touch (kki ga yomenai). The same can be said for companies which engage in marketing that is totally out of synch with the energy of their potential customers.

The art of creating brand loyalty is in one sense the art of synchronizing with the energy of your customers, and of course consistently delighting them by over-delivering on your promises.

As shown in the illustration, there are four sides to the square, each representing different energy states, as well as the way we use our brains and see the world. The square is divided into four triangles by two lines crossing from the corners. The top triangle of the square is DYNAMO (Innovation, Intuitive Energy), the bottom triangle is TEMPO (Timing, Sensory Energy), the right triangle is BLAZE (Magnify, Extrovert Energy), and the left triangle is STEEL (Multiply, Introvert Energy).

We looked at the art and science of reading this energy in article number 33 of this series, Anatomy of a Butterfly, http://budurl.com/srlj, and how to find your flow with Wealth Dynamics is explained at http://budurl.com/q5ne.

Not only the marketing approach, but the entire business model and buying behavior differs according to which triangle you gravitate to. Niches thrive inside the triangles, but the attracting energy comes first, and then is organized around brands, products, and services which consistently read and speak to the people in that energy state.

Everyone has some degree of awareness in each triangle, but people are far more likely to be attracted to, and to get the messages which are delivered to the section of the triangle in which their energy is the strongest.

Of course people enjoy products and services for various reasons, but if you focus on the features and benefits as most marketing does, you are likely to miss the real reason that people are attracted, how well it resonates with their own energy dynamics.

William Reed

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