Marketing Outrageously Redux

You may now be wondering, “What does he mean by outrageous? And why would any responsible businessperson want to market outrageously?” It’s a good question, and one that deserves a thoughtful and detailed answer. That’s why I’m writing this book.

For the long answer, you need to read the whole book. This will give you plenty of good examples of outrageous marketing and the reasons it works, along with some useful pointers and guidelines about how to do it. And as you read and enjoy the book, you’ll find at the end of each chapter some questions that will remind you of what you’re learning. They are easy questions. They are no-brainer questions. They’re outrageous questions. You can look up most of the answers in the book. Some of the answers, however, aren’t in the book. You have to come up with them by applying the principles of Marketing Outrageously to your own business. You can skip them and go to the next chapter if you prefer. But if you read them and think about them, you’ll learn more about Marketing Outrageously.

Okay, for you impatient types who want an easy, if incomplete, short answer, I’ll give you several. Each is a partial answer that tells you something about Marketing Outrageously without giving away the whole thing—the way the seven legendary blind men described the elephant.

• Marketing Outrageously is fun.
• Marketing Outrageously is politically incorrect.
• Marketing Outrageously is using your imagination.
• Marketing Outrageously is being willing to be laughed at.
• Marketing Outrageously is putting revenue first and everything else second.
• Marketing Outrageously is dropping your assumptions and starting over with a fresh point of view.
• Marketing Outrageously is the opposite of marketing safely—but it may be the only truly safe way to market.

Okay, I can hear you. You’re still asking, “What does he mean, ‘Marketing Outrageously’?” It’s time for another example.