How Can We Learn The Best Shortcut?
As we become lazier (or productive!) with tips and tricks on “Top 5 Ways To…”, we find ourselves highly dependent on the next incredible shortcut that will magically change our lives. Chances are, it hasn’t and it probably wouldn’t. Especially in an information-loaded world, we need to come to terms that there are no shortcuts for certain things. Even with the advances of technology, there are rudimentary essentials that cannot be compromised. If we want to build up an email marketing list, the first step is to offer something in the email newsletter that our audience would actually want to read. The second step is to deliver the promise of our brand. The third step is to keep the promise. What is the shortcut for building up an email marketing list? It lies in facilitating the process of sharing, often confused with the content that is to be shared. If our message isn’t interesting, no variety of “shortcuts” would work.
It is similar to asking, “What is the shortcut to be an amazing friend?” Be an amazing friend.
I believe that one of the best “shortcuts” is to be genuine and authentic to ourselves, to the human self. Have you ever been disappointed by a promotional gimmick, perhaps a really delicious looking sandwich only to have your jaw dropped when it is served to you? Me too. It is as though the sandwich on the menu has been perfectly arranged in a pleasing way with a realistic volume of crispy chicken to lure potential customers. Oh wait, it is.. a lie? A figment of our imagination as to how we hope the ideal chicken sandwich would look like, but would never turn out quite the same in reality!? The least we can do is to produce an image that resembles the “real” sandwich. Here is the interesting thing. The most we can do?
Take a picture as how we naturally would. Even better if we let others take a picture of how they naturally would.
“But.. but.. It has always been done this way. It should work, isn’t it?” Market leaders are the ones who make up the rules. They establish the systems and the benchmarks that a market plays by. If we play by those rules, we may not necessarily lose. But it is certain that we will lose out. They have more money, power and attention. The alternative is both obvious and scary: Change the rules. Let’s begin by asking one simple question. What is the always? Whatever it is, let’s do something else. Swimming pools are always crowded. What if we do the exact opposite? Claw machines are always rigged. What if we do the exact opposite? Six-packed abs are always..
Dad bod, dad bod, dad bod!
When we want to be a little better, it means being a little faster in arriving than the train before. Instead of taking 2 minutes to arrive at a destination, we now take 1 minute and 45 seconds. Instead of taking 1 minute and 45 seconds, we now take 1 minute and 30 seconds. Similar to the competition of “Who is cheaper?”, it is incredibly difficult to break through such a system and benchmark. Being a little better is worthless. Instead of being a little better than our competition, we can choose to be different. We can choose to play a different game. As a train service, we may not take as little as a minute to arrive at your destination, but we promise to reach your destination promptly in every 3-minute interval. The train is no longer perceived as late or slow. In contrary, it allows passengers to manage your expectations. More importantly, this tiny tweak allows passengers to manage their schedule.
Passengers have an exact control over when to board the train and when they will reach their destination.
Baking a cake from scratch for someone you care about is almost always better than buying one that is already made. If you genuinely care for them, you would also care enough that the cake is delicious. Writing a message on a card from scratch for someone you care about is almost always better than buying one that is already made. If you genuinely care for them, you would also care enough that it is neat and legible. Authentic care is the best shortcut strategy, and caring for your target audience like how you care for a friend is the best shortcut tactic. Be warned though, it is not a positive ROI move. Unless your way of caring is to recommend a service/product that is part of a perfectly orchestrated scheme to get your friends into some sort of marketing funnel that automatically deducts their money after a 7-day free trial. If so, congratulations! You’ve successfully put the end in friends.
