Hey there,
Ever been in a room where everyone's frantically taking notes on someone else's success story, treating it like a magic formula they can copy-paste into their own business? That's exactly what I witnessed this week at the most Portland thing ever - a panel featuring local hot sauce makers.
As the panelists shared their strategies (what software they used, which marketing trends they followed), I watched something fascinating happen in the audience. They weren't just absorbing the answers - they were seeing them as silver bullets.
Here's what I mean: The owner of Marshall's Haute Sauce mentioned that her husband routinely films her filling hot sauce jars, then they post those videos on TikTok as ASMR content. Instantly, heads started nodding and pens started moving. Even Hot Mama Salsa's owner said, "I should do that!"
But me? Sitting in the back, I wasn't immediately opening my phone to schedule my own ASMR shoot.
Don't get me wrong - this strategy is working beautifully for Marshall's Haute Sauce. Their TikTok shop is moving serious product. But here's the thing that everyone seemed to miss: what works for one audience might completely flop with another.
If your customers are over 35, they're probably spending way more time on Facebook than TikTok. If your audience isn't into ASMR, those carefully crafted videos you spent hours filming? They'll scroll right past them.
Quick gut check: How often do you hear about someone else's success and immediately think "I need to do that too"?
Instead of copy-pasting tactics, here's what I do: dissect the strategy first, then test whether it fits my audience.
For the ASMR example, I'd want to understand:
Then - and this is the crucial part - I'd survey my own audience to see if this makes sense for them:
This way, I can decide if it's worth investing time, energy, and maybe money on ring lights and fake nails before diving in.
The most successful businesses I know aren't the ones that copy every trending tactic. They're the ones that understand their audience so well that they can quickly spot which strategies will work and which will waste precious resources.
Your customers are unique. Your audience has specific preferences, behaviors, and quirks that no one else's strategy can account for. The magic isn't in finding the perfect tactic - it's in knowing your people well enough to adapt any tactic to fit them.
Next time you hear about someone's amazing results, pause before you copy. Ask yourself: Does this align with how my audience actually behaves? Because the best strategy in the world is useless if it's aimed at the wrong people.
P.S. Marshall's Haute Sauce really is killing it with those ASMR videos, and I genuinely admire their creativity. But their success comes from knowing their audience loves that content - not from the tactic itself. That's the real lesson worth copying.