A couple years back I had the opportunity to eat at Cafe Gray, the (unfortunately now closed) fine dining vision of world-renowned chef Gray Kunz.
To sum it up in one word: holy-wow-I’ll-never-have-another-meal-that-good-so-long-as-I-live.
The thing I remember most about my meal at Cafe Gray was the mysterious, teeny-tiny spoonful served before the meal. Thankfully I was with people who had experienced fine dining before. This, apparently, was called an “amuse-bouche“, a single bite-sized hors d’oeuvre meant to excite the palate and spark a guest’s interest in and anticipation of the meal to come.
That technique works just as well for marketing as it does for cooking.
The marketing amuse-bouche can be anything. It can be an elevator pitch that focuses on an interesting facet of your business, leaving space for your audience to ask questions. It can be a uniquely designed business card that surprises someone into slowing down and noticing your unique style. Maybe it’s a signature pair of red sneakers that people will think of everytime they remember that party where you met.
So next time you’re going to a networking event, try this: instead of explaining the ins and outs of your work, talk about why your work is exciting. If you can communicate the exciting parts, suddenly you’ve got an audience anxious to hear more.