How the 1987 Predator Movie is the Perfect Analogy for the Do’s and Don’ts of Online Marketing
Mon, Mar 9th, 2020
1987 Predator is one of those timeless movies that can be a great escape after a long day of work/trying to grow your own business. Partially because the sharp contrast of an action-packed Sci-Fi movie, when compared to your day to day challenges, will provide you with a much-needed escape. But what if I were to tell you that the movie predator, more specifically the strategies used when trying to take on the 7 foot tall hunter from another planet, has more in common with good and bad marketing strategies than you would think?
In this blog, I will show you a side by side comparison of hunting strategies in the movie, and marketing strategies for a small business to demonstrate that the Predator movie is a surprisingly good analogy.
Don’ts / Earlier Strategy
Movie Strategy: If you shoot enough bullets into the jungle you would eventually hit the target.
Result: A massive waste of ammo and although the target was injured, it was not neutralized. This means that the problem they were trying to fix would continue until a different strategy was used later in the movie.
Online Marketing Strategy: If you spend enough money on advertising (with the goal to reach as many people as possible, without a strategy) enough people will see your ads, eventually leading to new customers.
Although it is true that you can get a few one-time customers, it would be highly inefficient. The problem with inefficiency is that you would spend more money to get the customer than what that customer would be worth to you. So, even if you get customers, the overall mission of growing your business will fail.
Do’s / Later Strategy
Movie Strategy: The strategy used later in the movie was not about brute force, but a plan built on the data of the situation. We learned that the predator’s camouflage made it nearly invisible, it had infrared vision, hunted from the trees, and had both range and melee capabilities. Its use of the trees is what likely made the brute force strategy used earlier less effective, as they were mostly aiming on the ground.
Due to its long range and camouflage capabilities, it was not wise to try and find it, but rather have it find you and confront you in an environment that will give you the edge. Lathering yourself in mud was a very effective way to counteract its infrared vision. Traps would also help counter its melee strengths, as a one on one brawl would likely not go well (and didn’t go well in the movie). It was leading the predator to a trap that eventually got the job done.
Result: Target Neutralized
Online Marketing Strategy: Strategy plays a big role in your marketing strategy as well. Most companies target “ready to buy” customers, when in reality, that only makes up roughly 3% of potential customers. The other 97% need to be convinced your product or service is worth purchasing. Furthermore, ready to buy customers are more likely going to go with a larger, brand name company. Talk about aiming for the ground when you should be aiming at the trees. Having great reviews, informative videos that establish you as an expert, a good organic presence, concise content that can inform your potential customer of what you offer and your values can go a long way when attempting to increase the percentage of leads into sales.
Result: Growth of Business
Master Website Planners
We have seen many companies unsuccessfully spend a lot of money on ads, relying solely on people seeing the ad and using their product or service. At Master Website Planners we focus on quality and strategy to grow your business. We would love to help take your company to a whole new level by building and maintaining your website and social media outlets (web presence) that will attract new customers and keep the current ones coming back for more.
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