Discount.... discount.... discount. Yawn

I've just been messing around with my website and have started compiling a list of as many types of anti-marketing as I possibly can. Now, you might think that this is a somewhat fruitless task, or that I have rather too much time on my hands, but anti-marketing has and always will be something lose to my heart, because I really believe that it's the way forward.

I remember giving my first talk on the subject at an English UK marketing event a few years ago, after which a leading light in the industry came up to me, smiling broadly, and said: "That was very entertaining. I don't believe a word you said, of course, but let's have a drink and try to forget the last hour."

Anti-marketing is still a bit too radical for some. It's far easier believe that the 4 'P's still have relevance in marketing today and that concentrating on the 'customer journey' and your Boston matrices will increase sales somehow. I know, I know, it's deluded, but there you are. Old habits die hard.

I would step back and hold my hands in the air, if I could see that the traditionalists were right and that business was booming in our industry. But it isn't. We may get a few nice peaks on our charts, from time to time, but the troughs are getting longer and deeper, no matter how you spin it.

And why? Easy answer. The internet. Ah, yes, the internet. We all nod our heads and say that we've got a handle on this monster and we've harnessed its power. Poppycock. We still have websites which are glorified brochures. We still wax lyrical about everything being bespoke and tailor-made and we still sell in the same tired old way, which means discount, discount, discount, when times are bad and discount, discount, discount when times are good. It's as if marketing creativity died the moment the internet was born. Suddenly, it's all become too easy to get to the masses.

So what do we do with this big, shiny, new weapon? We simply broadcast to everyone that we are cheap. Cheaper than everyone else. The cheapest. And that's why students should enrol with us. Madness. Would you buy something, because it was simply the cheapest? Would you stay at a hotel in a far off country, purely because it was cheaper than all the others. I know I wouldn't.

OK... let's step back a little. An optimist would say that our products (English courses) can now be instantly seen by billions of people across the globe. Great. Wonderful. A pessimist would say that there are millions of sites just like ours, so mathematically, we are only going to attract a few hundred perusers at most, without chucking sizeable wads of money at it. We are just one blade of grass in an ever-growing field and, no matter how much we wave about, we are not going to attract very much attention.

Now, we can try the traditional way by shouting very loudly that we the best (by waving a lot more vigorously). Most do this by offering a... discount. Yawn. But think a little. Isn't that what everyone with half a brain is doing? There's lots of vigorous waving going on all around us. So, what do we end up with? A few more students all paying incredibly small prices. What makes it worse is that there's an argument that these students would have come anyway and would have paid the higher price. This is not what we want to hear at all!

OK... what's the alternative? Well, what I'm going to propose is not pretty and certainly isn't for the faint hearted. But it does offer a solution without you having to dig deep into your pockets or having to throw cash at students to get their attention.

Anti-marketing covers most of the angles here. First, it definitely makes you different. Second, people will undoubtedly notice you. Third, it makes sense in a society where people don't believe sales promises any more. Fourth, it's highly likely it will make you smile a bit. And fifth, you just might get a few sales without having to sell the company silver. So, where's the catch? Well, there isn't one.

So, instead of being that boring blade of grass, anti-marketing can actually make you become... a daisy in that field. Ahhh. How nice! And that would certainly get you noticed!

The only problem is that this might be a bit too radical for marketing people to 'take the risk' and... become that daisy. Far better to play it safe and stick to discount... discount... discount. Stay a blade of grass like everyone else and just continue waving and shouting: 'Discount here! We're cheap, everyone! Really cheap if you book today!'

Have a look at this (it's a lot of stuff on anti or postmodernist marketing) - it may make you think a little and, even if you don't agree with everything, it may just give you the spark of an idea.

And that would be wonderful!

https://www.adrianliley.com/about-3