spreading ideas
846 posts
How To Communicate Value Beyond Describing Features And Benefits
In an attempt to gain the trust of prospective customers we often resort to simply telling them about our product’s features and benefits. While describing value might seem like the easiest way to communicate it, the simplest strategy isn’t always the most compelling one. When value is demonstrated
The Power Of Story To Find Value
As business leaders, entrepreneurs and marketers we’re used to leveraging the power of story to describe value. We mostly use stories as a tool for telling. Because we believe the way to succeed is to be more vocal and visible, we create campaigns, sales letters, videos and press releases. We craft
Sustainable Attention
The box office was due to open on Monday morning. The first fans took their place at the front of the line at 3 pm on Sunday. By midnight a hundred had gathered, and at dawn, the line snaked around on itself, as people armed with deck chairs and milk crates, queueing for the one-off…
Buzzworthy
On my recent travels in country Victoria, I came across an incredible artisan gluten free bakery miles from nowhere. The owners baked only three types of bread. The bakery sold fresh salad rolls and quality coffee on the premises. As we got chatting about how well they had nailed their story, the ow
Changing The Customer Experience Narrative
My husband, who is a doctor has been trialling ways to improve the patient experience at the practice where he works one day a week. There are many things about the experience that are out of his control. He can’t control how the receptionist speaks to the patient on arrival, cut the waiting time or
What Are Your Words Designed To Do?
How often have you read website or marketing copy that uses words we’d rarely use in conversation? The real estate agent’s copy describing homes as abodes or residences. The jargon in the consultant’s brochure. The officious tone of the notices in the dentist’s waiting room. We’re often left wonderi
More Than
In hard-headed, rational commercial environments where tangible advantages are sought in order to make the books balance, we often overlook the value of our products and services being more than commodities. Everything a customer chooses to exchange time, attention or money for says something about
The Potential Downside Of Maximizing
There’s a great cafe in East Melbourne where you can order half a sandwich. This addition to the menu seems trivial, but it tells us a lot about the values of the cafe owner. He knows that a peckish diner will order the whole sandwich and leave what she doesn’t want. Of course, this would…
The Characteristics Of Successful Ideas
In an era when we have self-driving cars and delivery drones it’s still possible to encounter: Underwear with five uncomfortable care labels sewn into the seams. A beautiful teapot that becomes too heavy to lift when it’s full. Inconspicuous assembly instructions that confuse rather than clarify. Sp
The Path To Business Growth
Sal was already sweating as she blustered into the gym on Monday morning. She sat down heavily on the bench in the changing room. The things she had hastily stuffed into her gym bag tumbled out as soon as she unzipped it. Sal stopped for a second, realising she hadn’t replaced the three-day-old swea
Why Story Sells
The bicycle store owner was walking the customer through the range of helmets that were suitable for her teenage son. He described and demonstrated the features and benefits of three models in various price ranges. The woman seemed unsure and looked for a moment like she was about to leave with a pr
What Are Your Marketing Goals?
We devote a lot of time to growing our businesses—often around the loose metric of ‘more’. It’s worth defining what ‘more’ looks like for your business. You get closer to your goals when you match effort to desired outcomes, and you can’t do that without understanding which numbers you’re trying to
Worth Vs. Worthy
As business leaders and entrepreneurs, much of our energy and resources are spent understanding how best to communicate our value to customers. Many of the most successful companies flip this thinking on its head. If we create things that are worthy of the time, attention and money of the people we
Acts Of Differentiation
One reason we market to customers, beyond our desire to create brand awareness, is to communicate how and why our products are different and better than those of the competition. Of course, how products are created and experiences are designed can be differentiators. But we sometimes overlook opport
When To Fall In Love With Your Idea
Every business is founded on an assumption. We see a problem and propose a solution (maybe a new product or service), that we assume will be embraced with open arms. Before long we’ve fallen headlong for our idea, often without challenging our assumptions. Even with all the data in the world, it’s n
How To Tell A Brand Story Customers Believe In
It was a slow Wednesday morning, and the smell of freshly baked croissants wafted from the new French bakery. The store was almost empty, as were the display cabinets that should have been teeming with tempting pastries at this hour. The rock music blared. The bakery assistant who wore yesterday’s a
The Forgotten Power And Purpose Of Story
As business leaders and entrepreneurs, our motivations for understanding the power of story are clear—we want to create compelling narratives so more people will hear, believe and buy into our stories. We know we can use story to inform, educate, entertain, inspire and importantly, persuade people.
The Power Of A Value Strategy
The city centre 7-Eleven fulfils the need of a particular customer. It’s a place for the every day, unplanned or forgotten last-minute purchases, where the worker returning home from late shift might grab headache tablets or a pint of milk. Convenience stores are not trying to deliver a premium cust
The Five-Step Brand Story Framework
Most people say the hardest part of telling their brand story is knowing where to begin. That’s because we start in the wrong place, with the wrong question—at the ‘how to’. Instead of wondering what we should say, we need to start our storytelling by asking who the story is for, and then by asking…
The Key To A Sustainable Marketing Strategy
When we moved house a year ago, we had the bathroom floor tiles professionally cleaned. Exactly one year on I got a message from the company about a special offer. At first glance, I thought this was a helpful reminder and smart marketing on the part of the cleaning company who had anticipated my ne
