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Internet Marketing and The Build A Better Mouse Trap Theory

by The Niche Man
15 replies
Ralph Waldo Emerson, the famous Philosopher, once uttered this famous saying that has stood the test of time. “If you build a better mouse trap (product or service) people will build a pathway to your door.”

But in today's crowded and competitive market that saying no longer rings true, in my opinion.

Now a truer statement would be “create, find or improve a better niche (product or service) and people will beat a pathway to your door or … webpage”

What's your personal opinion or thoughts concerning this age old customer attraction philosophy? Do you have one?
#build #internet #marketing #mouse #philosophy #trap
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    I'll tell you one thing, Niche Man ... out of your 349 posts in this forum, 351 of them have been starting off new threads. You start them off, and then very rarely post in them again. How's that for a customer attraction philosophy?

    I know the numbering seems odd, that "351 out of 349 posts" were initiating threads, but I suspect that's because of the way the "Off Topic" ones don't count toward the total. Just saying ...
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    • Profile picture of the author mywebwork
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      I'll tell you one thing, Niche Man ... out of your 349 posts in this forum, 351 of them have been starting off new threads. You start them off, and then very rarely post in them again. How's that for a customer attraction philosophy?
      Perhaps Alexa has stumbled upon the "Niche Hunting Warrior's" hunting technique here?

      Perhaps we are all just "mice" in an elaborate experiment to determine which niches we respond to better?

      Or perhaps I should quit trying to understand these deep philosophical threads at 3:30 AM...

      :confused:

      Bill
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      • Profile picture of the author theemperor
        Build it and they'll come?

        Nah doesn't work you need marketing too
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    • Profile picture of the author The Niche Man
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      I'll tell you one thing, Niche Man ... out of your 349 posts in this forum, 351 of them have been starting off new threads. You start them off, and then very rarely post in them again. How's that for a customer attraction philosophy?

      I know the numbering seems odd, that "351 out of 349 posts" were initiating threads, but I suspect that's because of the way the "Off Topic" ones don't count toward the total. Just saying ...
      I always get back to my post eventually, but I do have a few businesses to tend to. If you ask my a question, I always respond. Like I am now.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    Banned
    On top of what Alexa said, you do realize that your "better statement" isn't anything but a rewording of Emerson's? Way to add an original thought.
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    • Profile picture of the author myob
      The OP's posts are always annoyingly lean on any kind of originality or perceptive thinking. The quote itself was even wrongly attributed to Emerson, which is an egregious error to base one's premise upon such a very common but false presumption. This is obviously a preloaded bias using erroneous attribution.

      What Emerson said was "If a man has good corn, or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, you will find a broad hard-beaten road to his house." In essence, you don't need to always build a better "mousetrap", you just need to sell quality "mousetraps".

      And what Emerson actually said rings as true today as the day it first was uttered. What he meant was that quality prevails in the marketplace.

      A Better Mousetrap
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      • Profile picture of the author AdwordsMogul
        Originally Posted by myob View Post

        ...

        And what Emerson actually said rings as true today as the day it first was uttered. What he meant was that quality prevails in the marketplace.

        ...
        I disagree, almost completely. This statement was never true.

        If you have better goods, and you let your prospects know about them AND they find it hard to get comparable value elsewhere... then that may be true.

        There may be people with higher quality goods but if they don't know how to market and them, and have a sustainable business model, that quality is pretty much useless.
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  • Profile picture of the author kellyburdes
    If you had great marketing you could sell $1million worth of gift wrapped dog turds. Yes - you'd have an 80% refund (20% of the people would never even open the package) -but it would outsell most of the best products in most markets.

    I think Emerson dad obviously consumed a few too many cocktails when he uttered is famous words - and those who continue to believe it do themselves a great disservice.

    Many of the very best people in my niche, in terms of the quality of service they provide, are barely covering web hosting costs because they don't know squat about marketing and are too stubborn to learn - happy instead to complain about all the "Crap marketers put out"
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  • Profile picture of the author rrm
    Originally Posted by The Niche Man View Post

    "If you build a better mouse trap (product or service) people will build a pathway to your door."
    If I build a better mouse trap to get you to stop sullying up the WF with trolling for hits, will you beat a pathway to it?
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    It's not enough to want it... you have to want it enough.

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    • Profile picture of the author myob
      Famous remarks are very seldom quoted correctly.

      - Simeon Strunsky
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    The problem with the "buiild a better mouse trap" theory is that it takes a "product orienttion" to marketing.

    Instead, it's better to take a marketing orientation and try to determine if there's a market for the product.

    You can build the best buggy whips in the world, but unless people want buggy whips, it doesn't matter. And you can build a better mouse trap, but I wouldn't try to sell them to researchers in Antartica, where there are no mice.
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  • Profile picture of the author James Hessler
    All this talk of mice in traps, are they there..hmmmn Now put Shroedingers cat in there, followed by Pavlovian Dogs, you'll have a product. Or at the least the start of a pet shop.
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  • Profile picture of the author karakoram
    You can build the best mousetrap in the world, but if no one knows about it, no one will buy it.

    Promotion and marketing are key.
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