How to Use Questions to Drive Marketing Results

We've all been trained to make strong statements as part of our marketing message. 

We claim everything from "market-leading" to "best-in-class" to "world's 1st" and more.   Sometimes we even add evidence to support those claims -  but more often than now, we just make a powerfully strong statement.  And then we sit back and wait for our buyers to run to our stuff. 

Many vendors are still waiting for those buyers.  Wondering why their shocking (and therefore compelling) claims haven't attracted the attention they expected.

Perhaps a question is in order here?

I firmly believe that questions are much more powerful than statements when it comes to driving powerful marketing messages. Let's start this post again - in a questioning way - as an example of just that power.

Have you been trained to make strong statements as part of your marketing message?

Are those strong statements successfully driving the buyer response you intended?

Are you wondering why those power statements aren't driving more revenue?

Which is more compelling and draws your attention?

If you're like me (and most buyers), the questions are by far the most engaging and compelling.   That's because questions draw us into a two-way conversation, whereas statements  are often perceived as a one-way lecture.

Statements do have a place in our marketing message. After the question. Or better yet as another question!  Say what?  Here's an example:

 Is poor application performance limiting your business responsiveness?

 What if you could triple your performance and reduce your processing costs by half?

Two questions, one powerful message, delivered in a compelling way that will be heard by your buyer.  Why?  Because you engaged the buyer in a conversation about their problem -and then piked their interest with a What if solution.

 We vendors lost our credibility to make claims long ago. That's one of the reasons that questions are so powerful as a marketing tool.  You direct the focus of the conversation to the buyer, where it should be focused - and away from yourself. 

How can you best use questions to capture buyer attention?

I believe I just did:)  Seriously, - here are a few ideas.

•  Open with a question.  That should be the first statement on the agenda. Instead of starting out by promoting yourself or telling them what they need - ask them what they need! It's easy to do this in a way that sets up your solution.  For example,  instead of saying "You need a new strategy for success in today's market," ask the question. " Is your strategy driving  the success you expect in today's market?"   The statement comes off as telling them they are a failure,  the question spurs them to think about what you want them to think about.

•  Shift your claim to a What If?  Instead of letting ego lead the way with a chest thumping claim -  switch  your value statement to question. For example, which is more appealing?  "Our proven strategy approach will make your business a success."  Or.... " What if you could leverage the same approach that made Apple what it is today?"  Duh - that's pretty obvious, now isn't it?

•  Practice shifting statements to questions.  Often, I ask clients to go ahead and write the marketing message the way they always would. Then we go back and shift the statements to questions.  That's usually the easier approach vs. trying to write questions from the get-go.  simply start reviewing everything you create,  then spin the critical power statements into compelling questions.  Before you know it,  you'll be using questions as an everyday practice.

We are all humans and business.  When marketers recognize and leverage that fact -  we achieve  increased success.  Questions are just one of the approaches that leverage human nature to drive powerful marketing and sales results.

Any questions?

Photo courtesy of Flickr and swishphotos

Lipstick on a Pig

I am so sick of companies spending valuable dollars on rebranding.  Why would anyone think that the key to powering breakthrough success is a new logo and color palette?

It’s ridiculous.  We spend TONS of money, time and resources re-coloring that logo, rebuilding materials, changing the website and revamping the building.    What a worthless exercise.  As if that’s going to solve the revenue problem we’re facing.

Every single time I work with a company that has a revenue problem (turnaround or start-around), that's hired a new CEO, or whose had some market embarrassment – the cry to rebrand is top of mind.

Sometimes I think it’s executive ego, sometimes it’s flailing in the face of a storm, sometimes it’s because no one knows what else to do to fix the problem.   So – change our colors like a chameleon, or shape shift our company, hoping our customers and prospects will forget those problems if we look different.

• Do we really believe that the new logo and colors will drive revenue? Or make folks forget that nasty product of customer service debacle?

• Do we think customers will throng to our doors just because we changed our name?

• Do we really believe anyone cares what colors we use on our website????

I’ve worked with over 150 clients in my career – and in many cases the cry for rebranding was so loud it was deafening.   Early in my career I went along with it….it was the way we’d always done things.  But then I saw the light.

Rebranding is expensive. It’s wasteful. And it’s rarely the solution to the problem the business is facing.

Have a bad rap about a product or company incident? Step up and address is head on. Tell the truth, put your cards on the table and move on.  People will forgive if you handle it correctly.  Changing your name and logo doesn’t change what people know…although it can make you look pretty untrustworthy.

Hit a wall, floundering to find a profit -and your whole industry knows it? Changing that color scheme doesn’t change your reality.  Instead of spending the resources on the rebranding – spend them on revenue focused actions, on new sales folks, a new distribution strategy – an upgrade to your offering. Those actions will have a much better chance of improving your situation than that new purple logo with the dancing widget on your fancy new website.

Moving into a new market opportunity, expanding or shifting your focus?  Don’t dump your history.  There’s tons of value in that brand you created in the other space. Bring it with you instead of starting over.  A new or modified brand takes a long time and lotsa dollars to establish – spend those resources on the new market and not cosmetics.

But a new brand energizes the company.   Do you think that a shiny new logo or bright colors will generate excitement in the downtrodden troops?  Don’t kid yourself.  That  brand will cause grumbling when folks are stretched thin, the company is in a tight spot and everyone is wondering why the dollars are going to rebranding instead of hard-hitting revenue generation.

I’ve always said that advertising is for ego in many tech markets.  So is that new brand.  Forget your ego, forget the colors and logo and new business cards.  

Focus on delivering Customer Value in terms of your offering and your service – that’s the fastest way to fuel your business success.   Leave the coloring to Crayola...

Photo courtesy of Flickr and gisele13

Are You Captain Ahab?

We all remember Captain Ahab – famous for his, um, obsession with Moby Dick. Then there was  Don Quixote  who just loved to joust at windmills.  We see that same theme throughout our history – ordinary men and women taking on giants to show their power and save the day.   We laud those who take on the Evil Empire or Big Competitor and Win Big!

We’re all programmed to look for the opportunity to Go Big in business as well. 

• We look for the Big Deal that will catapult us to market leadership.
• We strive to drive a Paradigm Shift that will change the way users behave in our specific market - forever.  
• We focus on fueling that Big Bang market launch that will take us viral overnight.

But who said chasing that Big whale of an opportunity is the best strategy for success?  In reality - going Big can be dangerous in today's market. Why?

Because Big is Hard. Especially for smaller companies who compete with big competitors within entrenched markets.  

Why on earth would anyone directly attack a huge in-place competitor, much less try to shift an established market in one big swoop?    

Me thinks that’s ego in action, well, status quo thinking and ego.  It’s certainly not an approach based on successful strategy think.  Yes – there are examples of little David type companies defeating the Big Goliaths – but those are the exception, not the rule folks.

Here's an example.

Imagine a small technology company (SFC) whose offering represents the next paradigm shift in their market.  This firm has been developing the software for 5 years.  It solves a huge problem for users -  one that no one else is solving.  Sounds great right?   Maybe, maybe not.

You see, this vendor's industry is in very complex technology. Today's paradigm is deeply ingrained in the perceptions of the technologists and users.   There is a way it's done, everybody does it the same way and  there are  extensive deployments of expensive solutions already in place that do the job -  as far as they go.  SFC's solutions solve one of the biggest holes in ALL of these solutions.

The problem is - noone believes this problem can be solved. Certainly not by some snot-nosed startup.

In this scenario, we’re focused on a target buying audience with deep Gravity Think.  The do not think things CAN change.  They are stuck in the way they do it  - and changing that is going to be expensive and difficult - if it's doable at all.  

The best strategy for SFC is anything BUT going head-to-head into this market given the Gravity perceptions that are in place.  Yet that's exactly what the company is doing. Why?  Because it's a huge market, they have the next generation technology and they are  bound and determined to shift that paradigm.  Because that’s the way great companies are born.  Because that’s what they know, and they are going to prove it to the world.

It's not going to work.  Why?  Lotsa reasons:

• The Gravity think about how offerings in this market should work.  Everyone agrees to the best approaches – based on today’s paradigm.  No one believes there’s an opportunity for shift.
• The in-place investment in current solutions is huge.  As are the investments in training and management.  Shifting to a new paradigm is not exactly a happy thought for buyers – even if it is better.
• That great big market is a great big dinosaur.   Even though everyone knows there's an issue that needs fixin' -  no one can get their head around SFC's paradigm shift. It's different, it flies in the face of everything they believe.  That equates to lots of time and money folks.

Here’s my question for all.

Who says that the big deals are the ones driving market evolution?  

Those big deals are usually with customers who buy at the height of the market maturity curve.  They aren’t driving next generation opportunities – they are consuming proven solutions.  Read that again.

When we target innovation and paradigm shifts at the Big Deals – we’re often targeting buyers who aren’t that susceptible to new ideas. They’re big, they’re busy and they don’t shift easily.

So why target them for new products and opportunities?  Who in the heck ever told us to do that?  Must’ve been in B School – because it certainly isn’t a real world business practice for success.

Forget Big and go for the sneak attack!

Instead of hitting our heads against the wall trying to get those big established markets to pay attention to our cool stuff – here are some better options:

Find an emerging market for the same innovation – something new and an evolution, involving a complementary yet different opportunity for your offering.  Find the innovators who are new and evolving in the market – and focus on them.  Creating success in that new market that’s already shifting paradigms will help Pull your paradigm shift into the market.  For example – if you’re focused on enterprise data centers for some paradigm shift – try focusing on CLOUD instead….shift the paradigm and solve the problem in the NEW world.  That will pull you offering back into the OLD users when you’re successful – for a lot less effort and cost.

Promote an ability and benefit that adds significant and new value within that big bad established market.  In other words – instead of going head to head – try sneaking into the mix with a high value option that doesn’t threaten the buyers’ status quo.   Find a way to add value to the current deployed solutions instead of arguing for an either or replacement (aka paradigm shift).  Once they see the value off the adder and start to use your offering – they’ll see the value of your new paradigm and shift of their own accord – without you having to do anything.

Give it away.  Heresy you say.  Not really.  The fastest way to get attention in an established market is to give away a new capability.  That doesn’t mean giving away your entire offering.  It does mean finding a way to give away a piece of it that is high value – a piece that will get buyers using the offering.  Then – you can charge for the additional value.  It’s a simple way to package – yet we all tend to get greedy and want to charge from the get go – especially in a startup world.  Giving away some Value can be the fastest way to get market traction.  Think about it.

Here’s the bottom line.  

Instead of taking on that whale of a market or opportunity head on – try finding new opportunities for small successes – successes that will build into big profits and market leadership. 

Marketing Think for the 21st Century

Never before has it been so important to transform our Marketing Think.

Our economy changed, our markets shifted, our targets and their buying patterns advanced, access to information became ubiquitous.... even as many marketers held on to the way we've always done it.

So - for the month of January, I'm going to focus my posts on the critical transformations in Marketing Think that I believe must happen for technology marketers to be successful. For any marketers to be successful for that matter.

Today - I'm going to rant about the ever popular, always necessary and totally dependable Press Release.

 Next to advertising, there's nothing nearer and dearer to executive and marketer hearts than the all powerful Press Release. 

• Board members cry for them to prove company success.
• Executives demand the PR of the Week Club to show business popularity. 
• Whenever there is a marketing issue - whether it be not enough leads, reduced brand or product awareness, credibility or whatever - the Press Release is the old reliable quick fix.

That's just plain NUTS! The world moved on.  So should that Press Release!

First - let's get real. 

• The average day sees more than 2000 press releases distributed across the wire services. That's a lot of noise folks. You better be big and known to rise above it.

• More than 80% of release received directly by media folks are irrelevant to their focus area.  Think about that.  Would you be actively selling to an audience where 80% weren't targeted buyers?  So why are you marketing to them?

• Press Releases are usually about announcing things in the future.  Availability of a product or offering, a partnership that was just signed but that hasn't done anything yet.  Here's a big question for you - WHO CARES? Unless a media type sees successful results - you're throwing words into the wind. No one cares anymore about what you think and say. They care about your customer results. Where the rubber meets the road.  So ask yourself - how many of those press releases you're planning are filled with market results, instead of focusing on your claims for the future?

We need to forget the past and shift - from yesterday's news into today's reality.

Powerful Press Releases for the New Economy

Press releases do have a place in our marketing quiver. It's just a very different place than the way we've always done it.  And therein lies the necessary shift in Marketing Think.  

What's the shift? It's actually pretty simple - we need to shift from focusing on promoting ourselves and our ideas to sharing information that engages our audiences - focused on their needs, their problems, their worlds.  Just as social media is all about engaging in relationships  - so is PR!

Here are some ideas to get you started on a new perspective toward press releases, and PR in general.

In the year 2012 - think about the following "rules of engagement". This is not an exhaustive list - but it's a good way to begin to shift your thinking.

1. PR acts as means of creating ongoing engagement and relationships with key media - not the blanket the wall approach to anyone who might listen.  Let's face it.  Media are specialized more than ever in today's world. That means you have to focus your efforts on those who care about your value - not the media world at large.  Getting press coverage in that online blog may be exciting (and a check mark on the totem pole of coverage) - but if none of your buyers read that pub - is it really valuable?     Want to know the best way to become valuable to that media  target?  Send them ideas for news, connect them with the experts they might be interested in - and not your own.  Befriend that reporter who writes about your area with expertise and sources - not your own marketing story. build a relationship, get to know them as peers in an industry.  Then they'll be ready to listen to your news of success when you come back to them.
2. Press Releases announce successful results, not promises.  I cannot say this often or loudly enough.  Forget the days when you could announce availability and promise the benefits.  They are gone with the wind of all the blowhard businesses who overpromised and never delivered.  Our vendor credibility is shot. You want coverage from that press release?  Then focus on evidence of successful  results for your customers and forget thumping your own chest.
   
3. Press releases are used as part of a thematic strategy.  I am so sick of the press release of the week club that drives out paper and news in search of an audience.  It doesn't work so STOP IT.  NOW. The goal of PR is to educate and advise your audience in the media - not Thump your own Chest with ego messages about yourself. Instead - create a themed strategy that focuses on what's important to all your audiences - buyers and media. Then direct all of your marketing efforts to flesh out and evidence those themes.  A coordinated sharing of evidence and success is the fastest way to get and retain relationships - and attention.

Shifting our Marketing Think doesn't have to be difficult.  All it takes is asking some very simple questions along the way.

Why am I doing it this way? 

How can I accomplish my goal in a better way? 

Whose doing this successfully today and how can I evolve my status quo apporaches based on their success?

Ego, Gravity and TweetDeck

We humans seem to get stuck in the Gravity of yesterday's successes and  power.  Sometimes we get so stuck in our power  - we think we can dictate to users because of our successes.  We forget that the users brought that success.

That's human ego guiding your business strategy - and it's dangerous Gravity.

Yet it happens a lot in technology companies.  We create the latest and greatest cool stuff, we grow beyond our wildest dreams, we are recognized and lauded as a market and thought leader. We start believing our own press releases. We think we know more about our specific area than anyone else.  We may even believe that we can direct our users in our direction, and they will follow like sheep.

Let's be clear everyone. When you shove your ideas and your way down the throats of your users - you've gone too far.  Especially when your  action forces your users to take a step backwards in their own business or worlds.

Twitter let ego get in the way of their new release of TweetDeck. We all lose because of it.

Last week my Mac version of Tweetdeck (the old, good, Tweetdeck) stopped working. Again. I had no choice but to update my TweetDeck, and when I did - boy was I surprised.

• My favorite features are gone, not to be found anywhere. (I've heard that cry from many.)
• The overall functionality is a step backward.
• The user interface and its "ease of use" is designed to mirror the worst of former competitors.

But man does that software now have Twitter's feathers all over it. 

You got it.  It's the Twitter brand and Twitter way (limited though it may be) - forced down our throats as if we didn't have a brain or a choice. Did Twitter really think we'd accept these backward steps with joyous acclaim? 

What are you thinking Twitter??  You bought the best tool in the market, had an opportunity to step up and expand to claim the space with innovation...and you blew it in your first act of Ego.

Here are my questions for Twitter - and for you as well.  When you release new offerings to your buyers: 

1. Do you  listen to your own voices  -  or do you ask your market about their needs?  It's pretty obvious Twitter didn't ask any power users of TweetDeck about their changes to the software.  Who in their right mind would have suggested they take a step backward and mess with us all?  And it is backward folks -if you haven't tried it  - DON'T until you absolutely have no other choice. It's that bad - and that sad.

2. Do you understand what's important to your users - or do you just assume?   I don't care how much you know about your markets and your offerings, NEVER assume you know your buyers, unless you talk to them, ask their inputs and LISTEN.  Assuming that you can dictate what your customers' want and need is your ego talking, not what's best for your customers.  It's beyond obvious that Twitter didn't care about how we all use Twitter - because they changed it to look more like other tools in the market, with less functionality. Do they really think we want the unwieldy User Interface of that competitor?  Come on folks - we use Tweetdeck because its DIFFERENT.

3. Do you know that no matter how "popular" you may be, your customers have choices? I don't think Twitter figured this one out.  In fact, after years in the business my bet is that all the success, fame and glory created quite a bit of ego to feather the collective Twitter nest.   And that's only human nature.  Which is why you have to avoid ego in business.  The new TweetDeck has to be the result of ego - because it is doesn't appear to be the result of strategic thinking focused on customer satisfaction...anything but.

You can argue that TweetDeck is a FREE tool so we should be satisfied with whatever functionality we get. WRONG.  Price has nothing to do with serving users.  Just because it's Free doesn't mean you can do whatever you want and ignore customers.  That's Ego, pure and simple.

Based on feedback so far - Twitter's branding of TweetDeck is going to cost them, dearly. Everyone I've spoken with who has been forced to upgrade had pretty much the same reaction I did. 

Many Tweetdeck users are actively searching for a new solution - TweetDeck has lost our support and loyalty.   We're frantically DMing sharing options.... We are leaving.  Now I know that  I'm only one user - and I'm sure Twitter didn't think one or a few unhappy users could make a difference in their market leader world.

Here's my response to Twitter (and any vendor who gets bigger than their britches).

We grow successful businesses thanks to our Value -  as it is perceived by our buyers.  When we force our brands, our ways, our limitations on our users and promote that as Value - that's Ego.  Ego creates the biggest Gravity downdraft of all as we focus on ourselves instead of our markets.

Twitter still has time to shift away from the Gravity of Ego and into Market Lift.  How?  By listening to and supporting your buyers. 

If you continue to follow your Ego - be prepared for Tweetdeck to be grounded.  It's the Law of Gravity.

The Woolly Marketing Mammoth

If you're using traditional marketing hype to attract your audiences - you're at risk of joining the woolly mammoth.

I know - we were all taught to push our value and features and cool stuff out there for all the world to see.  That's where Me Me Me Marketing began. 

Today's business will go extinct with yesterday's marketing.

You can have the best value out there, but if you continue to approach marketing in the same old way - no one will listen. Why?  Because buyers don't want to hear the same old Woolly Mammoth roar.  They don't CARE about your old wooly self.  They care about themselves;  their needs, their businesses, their perceptions.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Today's buyers don't need you for anything.  They can research, compare, select and buy products without you being involved. So get over yourself and evolve before Natural Selection takes you out of the market.

When we Evolve our Marketing - we have a GREAT opportunity to grow our business.

Today’s connected world gives marketers the best opportunity ever to create true relationships with their customers. How many times have you wanted to ask target buyers questions, test your messages and more?  Now we have an environment to do just that with customers and prospects in current and totally new target markets.  But only if we shift our approaches and patterns, ceasing the bombardment of the past ME, ME, ME and focusing on quality, targeted, customer-relevant conversations.  That's right - conversations - the two-way kind.  Not just the Woolly Mammoth roaring for all who listen.

That doesn't mean trying to prove we're perfect or boasting about our cool stuff.  That's the fastest way to stop a new relationship in its tracks. Remember your last date? Think about it...

Instead of focusing on you and your products in all their glory,  here are a few key tips to gain credibility and create a real relationship with audience members who will buy your stuff.

Tell the truth. Making false promises, creating fake success stories and all the other bogus claims won't get your business ahead. It will sink your opportunities. Today's audiences are too smart and too well informed to fall for that fake crap. Stop it. Tell the truth, honestly. If you don't have the value to tell the truth, then go back to the drawing board and find it.

Cut the hype. People are just plain overloaded with hype and SPAM. It’s the bane of social media and the backlash is becoming significant for those who continue to play that same old game. Hype marketing has gone the way of the Dodo bird (she lived next door to the Woolly Mammoth). You push your audiences away with big flashy claims. That’s especially true with interactive social media as well as your blogs and e-communications. Inform and advise. Leave the hype to that oft lambasted used car salesman.

Show yourself, warts and all. We are programmed to think we have to show perfection for our products, services, leaders and our company. That couldn't be farther from the truth. We all know that none of us are perfect—our businesses aren't perfect and neither are our products and services. So many business disasters could be avoided—after the incident happens—if we simply told the truth about our flaws. Open the kimono and be real. That’s whom your audiences want to know—the real people and culture behind the company image. People trust the company that is 100 percent open, above board, honest and, well, slightly imperfect.

The Woolly Mammoth stuck to his ways and look what happened to him..... are you ready to evolve to attract your Digital Buyers?

When Less is Best

Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.  

~ Steve Jobs

Steve did SImple better than anyone - ever.  I ahd hte chance to yet again appreciate his creative genius thanks to this killer article about Steve's drive to simplicity at Apple last week. When he returned to lead the company the 2nd time around - Apple had a product roadmap that was a "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" kinda strategy.  One look at the graphics in the article reminded of me how bad it was. There were too many variations and not a lot of leverage.

With a strong and relentless focus on simplicity - in every aspect of what we know to be Apple  - Steve created, and then recreated, the Apple brand of SIMPLE. His is a work of art.

But Complex is Cool!

We tend to equate complexity with value. We're programmed that "more" brings "value".  Think about it:

•  We get caught up in the lure of the complex - we can attract customers with whizbang product features that will just keep on coming forever after.  We create more complexity for ourselves - and our buyers, who really wanted simple.

•  We focus more and more on the competition - matching every feature tit for tat in a never ending feature war.  We build feature-rich products that increase customer complexity and cost, assuming they want more. But do we ever ask.. Do our customers really want - or need more?
  

•  We rush to serve more markets than ever before, knowing that one (or maybe more of those markets) will become our profit driver. We lose our distinction as we try to chase everything that moves in our grasp for more more more.

•  We begin to drink our own KoolAid,  focusing on delivering more and bigger innovation. We get so focused on delivering the next cool thing - we  forget to focus on our customers.
  

It's easy to fall under the spell. Yet complex rarely sells.  Simple Sells.

Buyers want simple - not complicated.  That doesn't mean that's what's under the hood has to be simple - we can deliver those complex and sophisticated capabilities if we want. But our delivery to our customers, everything they see and touch, must be simple and straightforward.  

How do we simplify?  Here are three steps that will get you to simple.

1. Streamline that SuperSize. As we discussed above - we have this idea that "more" and "complexity" equates to "Value".  Wrong.

Instead of getting into the race for the most possible capabilities or features - how about focusing on the least possible features to deliver exactly what your customers need? That's right - challenge yourself to focus only on what your customers need and what you do well. Know your customers and leave the bells and whistles to the other guys.

2. Match Packages to Markets.  Have you ever tried to buy a product online and thought WTF as a long list of "packages" and  "options" unfolded.  There's choice and then there's ridiculous.  The only reason we vendors need all those packages and options is because we  haven't taken the time to understand what our diverse markets really want. We take the easy way out and throw a bunch of options at our buyers - expecting them to decipher what they want from our mash of features.  

Matching our packaging to specific markets is the fast track to simplicity.  Instead of throwing everything against the wall - gather your market knowledge,  think like your buyers and build what they need. Simply.

3. Stop the Babble. We're experts in our business field. That's a given. But with expertise comes a greater risk of complexity - because we know our subject matter so well.  We understand our offerings, the intricacies about them.  We're proud to share those details with one and all. The more complex - the more impressive we sound, right?  WRONG! 

Our babble begets complexity - and complexity begets confusion.  You may understand it all - but your buyers just plain don't.  Simplify your stories.  The simpler, the better. I know - that sounds like heresy in markets that thrive on complexity. But the reality is that Simple Sells and Complexity Confuses. So go with Simple!

It's great to want to be expansive in our businesses. That's how we become market leaders. 

True market leaders do anything and everything they can to mask their complexity from their buyers. 

Forget the complexity - they know that less is best....

You'd Better Damned Well Know Why!

" Stop worrying about Why your buyers buy.  

They don't even know why they buy!"

I heard the above guidance at a marketing event last week.  It came from a prominent and well-respected marketing speaker.

I almost fell off my chair.

I had to fight the urge to stand and scream, "Are you nuts?"   I just couldn't believe I heard someone say that. 

The marketing guidance went something like this:

•  Buyers have no clue why they buy.  We vendors shouldn't worry about it either.

•  All we need to know is who buys,  what they want to buy  and how they want to buy.

•  For success, all we need to do is market and sell what buyers want and make it easy for them to buy it. 

If it were only that easy.

Now that I think about it, business can be that easy. If you want to follow everyone else and compete on price then the above approach works.

If you want to be a profitable market leader,  you'd damned well better know WHY your buyers buy.

"Why" is the most important thing we marketers need to know.

•  Only by understanding the "Why" behind a purchase can we expect to understand the problem that's driving the buyer to purchase in the first place.

•  Only by understanding the Why can we identify our Distinct Value that's driving their decision.

•  Only by understanding our buyers' problems (or their opportunities) can we identify and create innovative and distinct solutions that meet their needs, today and tomorrow.

I have no clue where the idea came along that we don't need to know Why buyers buy.  It's inane IMHO.  And it's dangerous to think that Why isn't important. Understanding Why means the difference between market leaders and followers, between innovative Value that powers profitability or Me Too Value that succumbs to competitive margin pressure.

Here are five "Why" questions to show you just how important "Why" is to your business. 

•  Why were you searching for a solution? We need to know what problem our buyers' seek to solve, or the opportunity they wish to exploit.  Only by understanding this Why can we position ourselves to deliver a distinct, high-Value solution, ahead of the pack.

•  Why did you choose to review our offering? This tells us what specific Value attracted the buyer to our business. I've learned through the years that the answer we expect is often not the buyers' reason - so listen and learn from the responses to this why. 

•  Why did you select specific competitors to review? This tells us what Value our competitors are sharing that buyers like.  It doesn't matter what you think about your competition - nor does the truth about them matter.  The only thing that really matters is the perception that compelled customers to them.

•  Why did you choose our product? This tells you the specific Value or Values that fueled their purchasing decision.  This is probably the single most important Why we need to understand.  Don't just settle for their off the cuff answer - dig deeper. Underneath the throw-off claims of price or packaging - there's a subtler, more compelling reason.  When you understand this Why - you often find the focus point that fuels your future innovation.

•  Why do you think you'll get a return on your investment? This Why helps you understand their expectations of your offering.  Tracking this Why - and your ability to deliver those results - allows you to gather powerful evidence of your Value in real world business applications.  What could be more powerful fuel than customer success?

So - if you happen to hear  a marketing speaker tell you to "forget the why".....  Forget them and keep digging!

Photo courtesy of Marco Bellucci

Are you Chasing the Rush?

Did all that Halloween candy give you a sugar rush last week?  Make you feel invincible? Give you that power spurt that turns a normal motivation into hell on wheels?

It surely did for me.  But then there was that nasty crash on the other side. UGH.

That sugar rush set me thinking about the rushes we get in business, too. You know the feeling - that "we just knocked it outta the park" adrenaline rush that comes with success.  Whether it's a new product that's selling like hotcakes, winning that big proposal, finding that new customer that shows so much promise - we get juiced when we win.

But there's always a down side to that rush. That's true in business - just like it is with sugar.

The downside of that high in business is, well, Gravity.  You see, the big success that gives us the rush becomes Gravity over time....limiting our future as it weighs us down thinking we found the Holy Grail in that single rush.

Why?  The belief or action that we imprinted because of that rush is the enemy. That truth fades quickly as our markets shift.  When we keep believing it - and acting on that belief - we're drinking Koolaid to keep the rush.  Unfortunately - that Koolaid may be yesterday's flavor, and our rush yesterday's news.  Think about it:

•  So you closed that big deal by positioning a specific Value within your offering. GOOD for you.  But that doesn't mean that same Value will be important in other markets, nor does it mean that Value will hold its power for the long term.  That same Value will become yesterday's news - quickly.  And if we're still clinging to the belief that the same Value will give our business the same high - we're stuck in Gravity.

•  Maybe we won a big opportunity - and now we want to find more just like it to keep the rush going. Do we ever ask ourselves if we can really profit from that big huge deal we won - at a deep discount?  Or do we continue on the hunt for the rush that comes with the big win?  I'd like to point out that if you keep up those rushes - you won't be profitable. Chasing the rush of the Big Deal is usually Gravity in Action!

•  Sometimes the Gravity born of the success rush is so subtle we have a hard time feeling it. I'll share a personal example.  When I was launching Defy Gravity -  I got stuck in the high of the "most successful way".  I hired a marketer who knew how to power a successful book launch.  The problem was, that marketer was stuck in yesterday's paradigm, based on a launch success from the year before.  Needless to say, we found lots of Gravity in the approach - some of it a bit later than I would have preferred.  But - this experience made me more aware than ever of how quickly our markets change - and how important it is to evolve from yesterday's rush to today's reality.   Even if the approach was hugely successful, creating the biggest high ever a year ago. It wasn't going to create that same high today.  We needed to shift.

We all love the rush that comes from success.  There is nothing like that feeling.  So enjoy it when it happens.  Then - let it go and focus on grabbing the reality of the moment.  Stop betting your business on yesterday's Rush!

Our world is shifting, every day, faster than ever.  Our buyers are empowered and moving quickly too.  They're moving forward, looking for new solutions to new problems and challenges.  

Shouldn't you be looking for real ways to provide those new solutions in today's world?  When you do - you get to create the next rush of success - and the next, and the next...

It's ALL about Them!

Today’s buyers can research, select and purchase their products without getting you involved in the decision. You won’t even know they were buying.

Welcome to the world of digitally empowered buyers

Our choices?  Shift, too—or get left in the past.

We all know that perceptions fuel buying decisions. We had a fair amount of control of perceptions of our businesses in the past.

Today’s perceptions are created through the Internet and word of mouth. We no longer have tight control over the way our market sees our business, the information that is available about us or the buzz about our brand.

That's another huge shift. The bottom line?

Marketing, the way we’ve always done it, doesn’t work anymore.

Yesterday’s marketing was all about pushing:  Me, Me, Me chest-thumping claims, emails, flyers, newsletters and more. We sent direct mail and used telemarketing—all focused on telling the world how great we were and spouting product propaganda like there was no tomorrow.

Guess what? That doesn't work with digitally empowered buyers! They don't care what you say about yourself.  They have better options for information.

In today’s world you have less than five seconds to get your audience’s attention, and the only way to do that is to focus on them. If you don’t get them in five seconds, they are gone. Off to another article, webinar, video, website—off to a competitor who grabbed their interest.

There is good news. With the right positioning stories and interactive communication models, you can and will attract prospects and customers to your door and keep them coming back. You can build strong customer relationships, if you remember one thing.

It’s ALL about Your Buyers

Today’s buyers do not listen to Me, Me, Me marketing when making decisions about purchases. Buyers want credible evidence. The challenge? Buyers no longer view vendors as the best source for credible facts. We blew that opportunity with too much chest thumping over the years. Even if you are sharing your truth, buyers may not believe you, thanks to overdone hype and under-delivered results. Buyers go straight to the market—your buyers, prospects, partners and their friends—to gather information today.

When was the last time you trusted vendors to guide a personal buying decision?

•  Do you believe what the manufacturer says about that refrigerator, that car, that hot new sound system you want to buy?

•  Or do you go ask your friends about their likes and dislikes, their experiences? Maybe you read what Consumer Reports says.

•   If you’re like me, you don't drink the vendor’s marketing Kool-Aid when deciding on your new refrigerator. You don’t have to anymore, thanks to the Internet. You’re empowered.

Why would you expect your own customers to be any different?

Just because you’re a vendor doesn’t mean your customers behave any differently than you do when it comes to buying, whether you’re in a B2B or a B2C environment.

The perception of your audience has never been more important.

Marketers must focus on creating relationships based on customers’ interests to get and retain positive buyer attention. Forget your own opinions—they don’t matter, unless you’re buying your product. Get to know your audiences. Learn what they need, what they care about, what they think about their business, markets and challenges.

Then, share stories of your qualitative value—the intangibles that matter to them.

• Focus your stories on other customers’ successes, other people’s perceptions.
• Speak to your audiences about how you’ve helped others just like them, show them you understand their needs, you care, you’ve been here before.
• Treat them as individual friends, not the masses.

If you want your digitally empowered buyers to flock to your business - remember one rule.

It's ALL about Them!