If you watch NBC’s The Office, you may have wondered, when, amidst all the shenanigans, do the good people at Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch get any work done. In fact, because you rarely ever see them actually do any work, you’ve probably also wondered what they do. No matter: What they do is not interesting. You watch the show for what happens outside of what they do – it tells you who they are, it tells their story. What makes them interesting is, in great part, what they love. (Just fill in the blanks.)
The same goes for your sustainable marketing. Nobody cares about what you do – everybody else is doing it. They want to know what happens outside of what you do. Because what you do for work is what you get paid for, the things you do because you love doing them make you more interesting – they express who you are, they tell your story.
The development or manufacturing of your product? Boring – every company has a production process. What services you provide and how? Boring – every company provides a service. What you helped your customer achieve? Less boring, but still not it – every company helps achieve something. Add a dimension to your narrative: tell them what you do outside your company’s processes or sales.
(You’ve surely heard the advice to sell the benefit not the feature, to sell the sizzle not the steak, to sell the hole not the drill bit. In the conflict-resolution narrative your customer had a problem, which your product helped resolve. That’s not what I’m talking about. After all, how many companies deliver the same benefit as yours?)
My favorite example: People at Rose City Mortgage Specialists don’t talk about what they do, i.e. helping people get mortgages – a ton of companies do that. Instead, they talk about their contributions to the community. They talk about their hobbies. They talk about what they do for the planet. They talk about what they love.
I love my wife, hockey, writing, mountains, trail running, good books, and traveling.
What do you love?
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Image credit: elsamu
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When I worked as a fundraiser, we called this showcasing your value, not your need. It’s hard to remember but it’s true that stories are what matters most because they help your consumers find meaning – not only in what your company does but also in what their support of your company says about their own values and beliefs. It’s so easy to get caught up in talking about your product’s attributes or features – but you’re right, in so many cases it’s the story and value behind the product or service (that is, why you love it) that actually makes the sale.
@Ashley: Don’t you just love fundraising jargon? I’ve been reading about meaning a lot lately. The simple, rational feature-benefit or other considerations are no longer enough to make a sale or encourage loyalty. Differentiation through meaning is now a must. Expect more blog posts on the topic.
I think you are right, people are interested in the story of you, not so much the boring stuff about the product
Dr. Wright
http://www.wrightplacetv.com
I did like reading about what Rose City valued and it did set them apart and make me more inclined to visit them if I’d not enjoyed the typical bank experience. It was cool to see that real and interesting people worked there.
But it meant that the instant I stepped in that door they’d have a much greater burden of proving to me that they knew what they were doing than if part of their website had discused products ALSO. The press releases, which did a little of that, didn’t really impress me.
I believe you need both the logical and the emotional side available.
As for me, I love reading, stitching (although I haven’t done much lately) and playing with my highly energetic almost two year old.
@Beth: I believe it comes down to offering a combination of rational, emotional, and credibility statements. I wrote a blog post a while back about using the logos, pathos, and ethos in marketing http://www.semiosiscommunications.com/logos-pathos-and-ethos-of-sustainable-marketing/. Basically, the ethos is what underlies all your other arguments – if people don’t trust you, it won’t matter how logical or emotionally powerful your argument. Saying what you love helps with the ethos side of things.