Marketing Building Blocks #1: People do not care about you.
(As seen on LinkedIn, Published on 2020–04–21)
Over the last 10 weeks, a lot of you have been lucky enough to be reading my other blog series. As the weeks passed, the topics became more and more serious and the writing lost its comedic tone as the critique of business practices became harsher. I found myself in a dilemma: the craving to write in a sarcastic tone while tackling important topics in the industry. The two do not mesh well together, and my business critique has been slowly gaining traction in some hush circles around me.
This is why you are reading the first entry in my new blog series. Those of you who know me, know that I am an Industrial Engineer by day and a Marketing Consultant for SMEs during the night. I’m the Batman of marketing if you will, just without the inherited fortune… Parents are still alive. This series will afford me a funny tone, all while addressing the other half of my audience.
This series is targeted towards anyone without a marketing background wanting to learn the basics. There are lots of misconceptions and voodoo magic perpetuated by marketing “gurus” out there. I’ll tell you the secrets behind marketing. There are no hacks or tricks for generating demand. Only simple concepts: Logic, Self-awareness, Experimentation, and Execution.
I promise you, this is the last time I do such a long introduction. Wouldn’t want you guys to click aways before I start to insult you and your clumsy marketing, would I? Ah, it feels good to have the sarcastic tone back. On with why nobody cares about you or your story.
Marketing is not about how good you are
A common misconception most laymen and some bad marketers have is this: Marketing is a platform for me to show off my history, my success, and the qualities of my product. To help you find the error in this statement, let us consider one of the simple concepts I previously mentioned: Self-awareness.
I heard you like roleplaying (I won’t judge), so let us do some simple role reversal with a sprinkle of self-awareness.
Consider a company that manufactures consumer barbecue grills. Its founder — let’s call him George — worked his whole life as a foreman in a factory that makes industrial grills. One day, George decided that he can make grills for consumers. I don’t remember what he ended up calling his company, but that’s not the point.
Imagine if George spent all his time telling you about his work at the grill factory, how he spent years learning the craft, and how one evening, he decided to leave the corporate world and follow his dreams of making grills for consumers.
A big round of applause for our friend George…Buy a grill? No, why would I buy a grill?… Why would I support you, I got my own kids to feed…Stop it, George, before I grill you for your selfish marketing message. Ah, segue puns, how I missed you!
Critique is easy, but so is good marketing. Do not obsess about yourself. Instead, consider why you would buy a grill yourself.
Imagine a clear sunny sky. It’s a Sunday, your brother is visiting with his family and children. Your garden is brimming with energy and laughter. Your kids are running around playing with their cousins. A light cold breeze caresses your wife’s shoulders as she looks over the children from afar. The smell of sizzling meat fills the air as everyone gathers around the embers where you are preparing food for everyone. At this barbecue, you are the man, you made this happy occasion possible.
All you need is a grill! … Hey George, COME BACK!
This was a long-winded example to illustrate a simple fact: People do not buy a product, they buy an experience.
This is why it is important to steer clear from any self-congratulatory messaging, describing the features of your product, or the achievements of your company, or the heroics of your founder.
Instead, find what experiences your product enables, what problems your product solves. If you follow that idea, I personally guarantee you will resonate with your target audience. And if that doesn’t work, just call me on this number +52 55 1234 5678… If Jorje answers tell him that it’s about the grills, he’ll know what you’re talking about.
It’s not a sin to be proud of your achievements
We’ve all been there. You just won a prize for the “best worldwide marketing consultant” for the third time in a row, and you just want to tell everyone about it. Oh, you haven’t? You’re not marketers? Right, anyway…
Bragging about a new big account, or your current community empowerment project or even awards you’ve won for your products, all of it is great. It creates a nice brand image and puts your audience in a comfortable state knowing that they are dealing with a successful company. But alone, it will never generate any demand. You will not be seeing business leads from the childhood story of your founder.
Treat your selfish marketing like a chocolate cake: If you binge on it, you will end up fat with a tummy ache and no space left for nutritious food. If you instead, eat it as a treat to top off a well-rounded meal of nutritious food, you will stay fit, healthy, and satisfied.
When in doubt, learn from the best
First things first: I think Apple is the best at Marketing. That does not mean I endorse their products. In fact, because their marketing is a masterclass in selling a lifestyle instead of a product, they manage to shovel overpriced status symbols instead of cost-effective consumer electronics.
It just works, bro! That’s why I have 1,500$ smartphone with a 250$ pair of wireless earphones and a 450$ smartwatch
If this statement sounds ridiculous, then you haven’t seen the worst of it. It is, however, proof that effective demand generation through marketing does not revolve around the product or the company itself. Apple never puts its products at the forefront. They always shy away from direct comparisons and they “dare to innovate” just to be different. And their audience eats it up. Every new incremental iteration of their devices sees a surge in demand and a spontaneous waiting line at the doors of the Apple store at 11:59 PM.
But how do they do this? The Apple lifestyle: Simplicity, clean and elegant design, and an interconnected ecosystem.
They never brag about the specifications of their processors or the capacity of the battery. And if they ever do showcase a technical feature, it is because this feature will enable a new, never seen before experience.
The headphone jack was a staple of smartphones until Apple was “brave enough” to remove it. A feature that users relied on to connect their headphones, earphones, or other 3rd party accessories. A whole industry was wiped away. Yet, Apple’s audience ate it up.
Why? Because Apple sold the removal of the headphone jack as the missing piece to enable a fully wireless lifestyle. Welcome the Apple AirPods!
It doesn’t matter if it was possible to have wireless earphones and a headphone jack simultaneously (The AirPods were not the first wireless earphones), nor does it matter that the fully wireless lifestyle was still an illusion chained down by a charging port.
By removing a feature, Apple added a new experience.
And by ending this post, I give you the experience of starting a new journey to learn the truth about marketing. Don’t let anyone sell you “snake oil” courses about digital marketing hacks to grow your business 10x.
Instead, reach out to me, ask me a question, I’m always ready to answer.
A question would not cost you anything! Unless it is along the lines of “Can you prepare a marketing strategy for my business?”, then my standard rates apply…
