“There are two factors that determine your success in the marketplace; God and Google!” I remember career consultant and speaker, Jimi Tewe once say at a career class I was attending. Looking closely at that statement, it can be argued that he is not far from the truth. It is said that money answers all things. Well, Google has an answer for everything! You may not get exactly what you want in some rare cases, but you will get something. So what life and career lessons can you learn from Google? There are so many but I discuss a few below.
Ask Google!
That’s the cliché retort when you ask somebody about something they don’t know. Google is all that. In some sense, Google is “omniscient“. You just wonder how our parents survived schooling without it. It’s hard to imagine anyone who has had access to the internet and hasn’t used Google. Not forgetting to state that aside its very popular and hugely successful Gmail services, Google also owns YouTube and Blogger which are also heavy traffic sites in their own rights.
More Adverts?
For heaven’s sake what more publicity does Google need? You literally have to be on the other side of civilization to not have heard of Google at the very least. So it baffles me when Google that people and organizations place ads on now embarking on its own aggressive marketing campaign. If you have been paying attention, Google ads about their app have been ubiquitous in the media space – you could almost mistake them for a start-up trying to announce their presence.
So I asked myself, if the most visited website in the world is putting so much resource into publicity, what are we doing? These guys are not taking anything for granted!
Lessons On Lessons – What this means
This move by Google is particularly instructive – to never take your clientele or consumer for granted. We never quite ‘arrive‘ – we are always on the road. We should always project and maintain visibility. I learnt last week that over two million thoughts invade the human mind per second. Focus then becomes the ability to choose which one(s) to retain. In the same manner, there are thousands of brands out there – so why should yours be the “chosen one”?
My friends, it is never enough you to have ABILITY, we must add the necessary VISIBILITY to whatever we do. People don’t patronize what they are unaware of. So never take your clientele base for granted. There are a thousand and one other options out there competing for their attention too.
Beyond Sales
We see this happen too often, let’s take casual relationships for example. You should see people take their friends for granted, dear Lord! Funny thing is that when they lose such friends, they mostly resort to emotional blackmail and very silly and manipulative moves to get back the relationship. Instead of putting the necessary efforts to maintain a relationship such people would rather put in ample energy into sheer pettiness and a campaign of calumny.
Be like Google!
They are not just the number One, they are working their backs off to stay there for a long time! Don’t treat your customers shabbily and then label them as “not loyal” when they leave or patronize somebody else. No pun intended, people these days are “searching” for a richer consumer experience – meaning they are not only paying for value, they want a certain feeling that stems from engaging your brand.
About The Writer
Mfonobong Inyang is an inspirational speaker, creative writer, youth enthusiast, resource person and nation builder. He is passionate about human capacity development especially in Nigeria and seeks to be part of the solution. Connect with Mfon on Twitter, @inspiromfon_