tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84249092259639858092024-03-07T18:52:12.761-08:00Marketing SenseBill Mullinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14985932362276246784noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8424909225963985809.post-53382908886973302922012-04-02T06:33:00.000-07:002012-04-02T06:33:27.672-07:00Common Sense Makes SenseAfter nine decades on this planet, my view of marketing boils down to a few "common sense" facts.<br />
The first being this: You are either marketing a product or a service.<br />
The second being: You cannot sell your product or service from an empty wagon.<br />
And third (ta-da): Advertising alone never sold a damned thing.<br />
During WW2 I served as an "Airedale Swab-Jockey" for three years, three months, and fifteen days.<br />
By the sheerest of accidents, I helped a brilliant aviator create the Navy's first "how-to do-it without-getting-killed" formal flight manual.<br />
We, Cdr James Gramentine, USNR, and I did it the hard way. I was a good illustrator and author, he was a fine aviator. He took me up, did whatever, and we landed so I could illustrate that and tell a reader how to do it. Our first printed version was crude, but extremely effective. Before we did that, the "Navy Way" consisted of what they called a "syllabus".<br />
Look that up in the dictionary and you will see it is nothing more (or less) than a simple "outline" of a course of study. It went something like this:<br />
1. Monday: Learning the parts of an airplane.<br />
2. Tuesday: Starting the airplane's engine.<br />
3. Wednesday: Learning to taxi the airplane.<br />
Etc, etc, etc, etc.<br />
Not one doggone word about what it looked like or how to do it. You had a single sheet of paper with the "syllabus" plus the assurance that "Your instructor will show you how."<br />
What is wrong with this picture? That was the easy part.<br />
What was wrong was a dozen (or more) instructors had a dozen (or more) ideas on "how to do it".<br />
Jim Gramentine wanted ALL Navy Flight Instructors to teach it ONE WAY - The right way.<br />
The idea worked. Gramentine and I were tapped to formalize our crude first version and we did.<br />
Gramentine stayed in the Navy.<br />
I didn't I went on to become an engineer, an artist, a marketer, and a publisher. I had a MARVELOUS time and will share what I learned along the way.<br />
Ask me an intelligent question about marketing your product or service and I will do whatever it takes to provide an intelligent answer.<br />
Bill MullinBill Mullinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14985932362276246784noreply@blogger.com0