Be Different or be dead

September 1, 2011

The Grateful Dead were amazing marketers for 3 simple reasons

The Grateful Dead were amazing marketers for 3 simple reasons.

The most successful touring concert band was The Grateful Dead. Some of you may have even been ‘Dead Heads’; members of their tribe who religiously showed up at every one of their shows.

Apart from their musical genius, however, was their marketing acumen.

Students of the Dead discover just how progressive their thinking was when it came to building a fan base and creating financial success.

Here are 3 things the Dead did to separate themselves from other bands.

1. Focus on your loyal fans for growth

Delight them and trust they will not only buy your stuff but they will talk about you to others. The Dead gave their fans the priority over others. Long before social media tools were available they made a point of knowing who their fans were and engaging with them regularly.

They engaged with them and kept them up to date on concerts and other happenings. Unlike most other organizations, their loyal fans were the first to get preference on seating and any other special deals the Dead were offering. Word of mouth was their focus for growth. It happened.

2. Create memorable experiences for your fans

If you WOW! their feelings, they will most certainly do business with you. The Dead didn’t set out with the prime purpose of selling records. They focused on blowing their fans away at their concerts; by creating an experience they would never forget. Their fans returned the favor by buying records.

3. Be contrarian; go opposite to the crowd

Don’t copy what others do. All that will do is perpetuate what the common herd does. Don’t conform; be different. The Dead made it easy for fans to record their music. They provided recording equipment to do it when every other band jealously protected their music from being recorded by audiences.

The Dead didn’t care what any other band did. They wanted to go against the grain to make it easy for their fans to record and share their music.

BE DiFFERENT marketing has its roots in unexpected places. Check out the Dead!

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 9.1.11 at 10:00 am by Roy Osing
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