Whenever I'm feeling a little down, I just go light-tackle fishing for bluegill. I march down to my favorite fishing spot (see above), tie a cheap fly to the end of my line, and cast the little lure under an overhanging tree branch.

Splash! In a few minutes, a nice fat bluegill is fighting for all he's worth at the end of my line. On my delicate rod, he feels like a tarpon. It's very satisfying. After a short battle, I release him so he can fight again another day.

And there will be another day. Bluegill are dumb. They have no memories. In a week, he'll glup down the very same fly, hook and all.

I am amazed by the marketers who are still bluegill fishing. They serve up the same old message, event, promotion, sale, product or service and they expect customers to bite -- just like they did in the old days. And some do still bite, of course, convincing the marketers that they are right.

But they are not. Gradually, the sales revenues get smaller. Market share narrows. Competitors strengthen.

Customers are not bluegill. They learn. They remember. And they choose more tempting bait.

Labels: bluegill, fishing, ggcb, marketing