For almost two years, I’ve been working on the development and launch of a portable electronic health record for consumers to carry on a USB thumb drive. This is a very challenging undertaking for reasons I’ll likely share in a future post. But today something happened that prompts me to write on the danger of familiarity. I see it all the time in product development, marketing, sales system development, and even among entrepreneurs raising money for new ventures.
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You’ve invested the time. The campaign is well thought-out. It’s strategically sound. It looks great. And what do you know? It works! Leads are rolling in. As you should, you’re feeling great… until you discover that sales have barely budged.

“How could this be?” you ask. Alas, you have fallen prey to the silent killer. And even worse… as great as it is, your campaign may actually be doing your business more harm than good.
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I’m treading on sacred ground here.  I recognize that.  But let me offer a thought (dare I say criticism) of Apple’s Mac campaigns – and in doing so, maybe raise an issue that we could all look for in our own messaging.

Let me first say that Apple’s marketing is simply out of this world.  They’re geniuses in more ways than one. I’ll actually stop fast forwarding my DVR to watch that Mac ad with the security guy asking the PC to “allow” everything. It’s great.

So here’s my problem.

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