I know, “Reverse Marketing” sounds like just another renamed phrase. It happens in marketing all the time. It’s not a hamburger, it is a quarter-pounder, as if a quarter pound hamburger was large. It is not a quarter pounder, it is a whopper. It is a staple of advertising.

I happen to stand by the fact that most marketing is done in reverse….hmmm….most marketing is done in reverse. It turns out that mine is the one that goes the right way to begin with.  But I digress.

I can prove this by the way I introduce myself at gatherings. You know, the ones where you introduce yourself at a table, one by one, and give the elevator pitch about your company.

“Hello. My name is Cliff. I represent Cliff’s Edge Marketing, and we show you how to market in reverse.” Now, if I did that, I would agree that my introduction proved that “Reverse Marketing” was just an empty fraud.

If I were truthful, I might introduce myself this way. “I believe that most companies market in reverse. If your marketing delivers results that are less than you think they should be, you might be marketing in reverse too. I can teach you how to turn that around. I’m Cliff from Cliff’s Edge Marketing.”

Now that can touch the audience. I can go on and explain exactly how my introduction was the opposite of every other one at the table. Instead, I have found that this one is often even more effective.  I revert to the first, more typical example then add. “I’ll show you how and explain why, the introduction I just made should be done in reverse.

That one kind of sticks with the group well. I’ll still use both so I don’t become automatic. Besides marketing in reverse of reverse, nothing loses passion worse than a programmed speech.