Tips for entrepreneurs: Get ‘banimin’

“Ba-nim-men” is the word. It loosely means “taken in” by something you read, saw, smelled or heard.

By ISSAMAR GINZBERG
Israel gold bullion coins money wealth economy 370 (photo credit: Eli Gross/Keren Or)
Israel gold bullion coins money wealth economy 370
(photo credit: Eli Gross/Keren Or)
There’s a Yiddish word that deserves to enter the general English lexicon, just like the words nosh, kvetch, and yenta.
“Ba-nim-men” is the word. It loosely means “taken in” by something you read, saw, smelled or heard.
Whenever you advertise, or respond to an advertisement, 99.9 percent of the time there is really nothing new or different about what you’ve just seen, versus what you saw six months ago.
What has changed are your circumstances. Perhaps then, you weren’t in the market for an engagement ring, but now you are. Perhaps then you weren’t thinking about getting a new car, but now you are.
You’re in the buying zone – and that’s why you took action this time. In the past you would have treated the same message by the same person no differently than you would an ad for giant, ugly yellow unicorn shaped lawn ornaments (unless you’re in the market for such things).
How many times have you finally done or bought something, while groaning to yourself, “This is exactly what Grandpa told me to do years ago! Why didn’t I listen then?” Kids grow up and suddenly recognize that behaving maturely results in more benefits. It’s the same with adults. We all make business mistakes that cost us untold sums in lost profits, productivity, and grief until we realize that there’s a better way to operate.
Why do you buy bread? Because you need to have something to toast with your eggs for breakfast. But why do you eat breakfast, if you do? (31% of people do not eat breakfast). Is it habit, or tradition, or for health reasons? Or is it because having breakfast when the kids are in school, and before you head out to meetings, is the only quiet time in your busy household? When you see an advertisement for bread that talks not just about the physical item made out of dough, but the product or brand itself, why do you buy it? Does it resonate with your subconscious somehow? If your subconscious prods you to buy the bread that’s what I call “banimen”. You have been taken in by the advertisement and the call to action, because the advertising has managed to get inside you and push your buttons.
Each of us has different reasoning for taking the same action. One person takes a flight for vacation, another for business, a third is on the way to a funeral, and a fourth is sitting there because he’s paid to do that. He’s called the pilot! When a marketing campaign is undertaken, it’s really about mapping out why different people take the same actions. Marketers want to understand how to hit those triggers. At seminars, some people come to learn, and others come to network. But everyone wants to have a good time and listen to speakers that use humor and create a palpable excitement. This is why edutainment is the perfect form of lecturing and imparting information! That’s also the reason why stories and parables work so well in conveying information; they’re easily remembered and easily triggered with just a short reminder.
One person buys a new doormat because the old one is no longer wiping muddy shoes properly, while another buys a new one because it needs to match the new front door. To one, price is most important, while to another, any old welcome mat just won’t make the cut; they want one that says shalom! It’s the unique wording, a slightly different message, or a subtle shift in context that makes all the difference.
Is a Cross pen worth so much more than a regular one? Maybe, maybe not. But as soon as the company makes you see it’s not just a pen, but also a finewriting instrument, then they’ve placed their product in a different league. When you see the title Dr. in front of someone’s name, you respect them more, and studies show that when the person opposite you has degrees or pictures of themselves with famous figures they are more respected.
This is an important element to why political functions charging $50,000 a plate can do so; many of the people attending are really coming because of what a picture of them with the President can do for their business and personal image cultivation.
If you want to attract multiple audiences with different desires and motivations to your product or service, don’t try to cater to them all in one advertisement.
Rather, create a marketing mix with a variety of different images and messages, each one catering to a target subgroup. And as the results come in, you can fine tune your campaign even more by seeing which ads and offers are bringing in the customers; you just might be pleasantly surprised by what factors are fueling your business growth!