Market yourself, not your product!

The HubSpots and Kissmetrics of the world have taught us a lot about Inbound Marketing,  a marketing strategy that focuses on attracting prospective customers by offering useful information. At the face of it, it may seem like a tall order. But, is that really so?

The other day I was travelling in Mumbai Local Train and I realized how these principles apply to even seemingly mundane people and events.

The Story

At one of the stations an old lady walked into the train, in tow with a huge bag. She sat down nearby, removed a ball of thread and a spool from her bag and started knitting a piece. She was knitting beautifully with amazing speed quite oblivious to the people around her.
Moral: Pitch yourself, your talent and your capabilities. Don’t always sell.

Inbound Marketing

The Impact

Soon, people around her (including me) started talking among themselves about her skill while transfixed on her craft.
Moral: The slow paced story gradually picks up. Make people talk about you. They will notice your product. If they like it, it will surely create a buzz

The Reward

One lady visibly impressed asked her if she knits as a hobby or makes a living out of it. She said “I sell them. Want to have a look?” The lady nodded. She showed few pieces around and BAM! in a matter of 5 mins she had 10 “paid”  customers!
Moral: “You” are an ultimate seller, marketer :)
This was a classic case of inbound marketing wherein the pure skill and ability of the doer speaks for the product. It’s all about making your presence felt.
Inbound marketing is really useful for Small Businesses/Startups, primarily because it saves a lot of cash.
Disclaimer: The pundits say, do only things which work for you. So, it’s not necessary that inbound marketing or “only” inbound marketing would work.
[Guest article contributed by InteractEasy team. Reproduced from the blog]
[image courtesy Getty Images]
[ Source : Pluggd.in]