I learned an interesting marketing strategy today by observing the ants again.
So earlier, I noticed that when I had the orange, out of nowhere, they just seemed to appear.
After paying closer attention, I realized that in fact their movements are not random, so I decided to perform an experiment which turned out to be very interesting.
I decided to put a little snack on what looked like a clean floor, to see how long it would take before ants came there.
After about 10 minutes, I almost concluded the experiment was useless. I thought maybe the floor was too clean, or the sun, etc.
But shortly, I noticed an ant had already checked it out and brought a friend. And before I knew it, a group of ants were rushing towards it.
I retested the experiment on another spot, even with a smaller snack. And the same thing happened again.
First, an ant discovered it, and then told its friend. And then more ants discovered it.
One ant got my attention though. It seemed to have a different agenda.
Passed by the same sweetness but continued on its way, and didn’t seem to care about the same thing that got the attention of the other ants.
So at least we know for now that their intention isn’t always for finding food.
Anyway, the marketing strategy the experiment taught me is:
What if instead of trying to be attractive, we took the time to learn about the people we aim to work with, understand what they are already attracted to? And then give them that.
I stumbled on this approach a little earlier than this, but it’s only just getting clearer now, as I pay more attention to ants.
Instead of the popular “fishing” method, which basically involves showing up in a place that seems like a pond even when it’s not. Then randomly picking a “fish” to choke with your offer while annoying many more in the process.
We simply have enough empathy to show up wherever relevant, with the exact things our ideal clients are already interested in. Then watch the magnet effect.
Paying closer attention, I realized this approach is actually very powerful.
You don’t need to do much work after dropping the snack.
The word spreads. And it spreads very fast.
It’s worth mentioning that our ideal clients are neither ants nor fish though. So this lesson isn’t for you to overdo as though they are.
I’m a Christian & Business Clarity Coach. I founded Spantus to help purpose-driven entrepreneurs build meaningful, yet profitable businesses. I enjoy building stuff and writing about business, marketing, and tech. I’m deeply passionate about making life easier through technology and can’t wait to launch more projects that do just that!
