If you’re like me, streaming a TV series or watching a movie after the workday has become a regular habit to unwind. Recently, my wife and I watched Better Call Saul (yes, we’re quite late to the game!) and we were hooked.
Say what you want to say about the overarching theme and the associated inappropriate connotations of the series, there’s humor, enjoyment and valuable learning opportunities from Bob Odenkirk’s character, Saul. He watches, learns and iterates on his approach in whatever is his latest endeavor or hustle.
As the founder of a mission-driven business, I’m constantly looking for opportunities to expand our reach and impact around the nation. And I’ve long believed that some of the best ideas come from the least expected places.
So in a moment of levity and without further ado, here are 4 lessons in marketing from Better Call Saul!
Scarcity Sells: Creating a fear of missing out (FOMO) is Saul’s speciality. He has a knack for driving a real sense of urgency – whether it’s a limited supply of a product or a short window of time to take part in one of his schemes, Saul is adept at motivating his audience to take action. With no shortage of products or services being lobbed in our direction on a daily basis, we all need that extra motivation and kick in the butt to make a decision. Saul teaches us that FOMO is critical for nudging our target audience to take action.
Observe: Saul is a consummate observer of his target audience. He identifies opportunities based upon specific pain-points that he observes and he delivers products and services to meet those needs. Whether he’s unfairly exploiting the elderly, hacking a system or aiming to excel in an honest endeavor (yes, there are several), Saul observes and tailors his solutions and his approach accordingly. Which leads me to . . .
Try New Things: Iterate, iterate, iterate. Leveraging his observations, Saul constantly refines his approach. When he hits a wall on his sales efforts for cell phones or struggles to garner market share in a given industry, he’s constantly refining his process to achieve the greatest results. If at first you build it and then don’t come, try another approach. Life is too short to toil in useless endeavors and Saul tries new things to maximize his impact before moving on to his next endeavor.
Speak the Language of your Customer: Saul’s greatest attribute is his ability to weave his messaging in terms that resonate with his customer. Utilizing his observations, Saul puts his offering in the language that best appeals to his target audience. We see this throughout his journey from honest and struggling lawyer to schemer, con-artist and eventual . . . (okay, I won’t give away the ending). Bottom line: Saul knows what motivates his customers and tailors his call-to-action accordingly.
There are pearls of wisdom to be found in the most unexpected places. And there’s a lot that founders, marketing leaders and consumers can learn about marketing, even from the likes of someone of Saul Goodman’s character.
What are some of the surprising places where you’ve learned business or life lessons?