Nobody cares about you - and why that’s OK
The more I read from Drew McLellan the more I want to buy him a beer. In a recent post entitled Where in the World is Your Customer?, Drew highlights a common affliction of many businesses: Aren’t-We-Great-itis (AWG for short).
AWG is a naturally occurring problem whereby a business focuses on itself in its marketing communications and completely ignores the prospective customer.
“We were established in 1965″
“We supply industry leading widgets to widget retailers nationwide”
“We believe in world domination”
That kinda thing. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that nobody cares. Customers, quite rightly, are focused on what’s in it for them. They want to know how you’re going to make their lives better, wealthier, easier, safer, sexier, more rewarding - whatever. They just don’t really care all that much about you.
Don’t take it personally. They don’t care about me either. Or any other company. They don’t even care about Drew.
So what can we do about it? How can we make prospective customers interested in what we have to sell?
A simple formula to remove AWG from your business
Tell them who they are - That might sound odd but start by identifying who you are speaking to. Even in a crowded bar you will hear someone calling your name. Simply put we’re more likely to pay attention to something we feel is aimed at us in particular.
Feel their pain - Identify their problem, this is the real reason people buy, to solve that problem. Focus on emotive points, how problems make them feel.
Suggest your biz as a solution & back it up - Use examples, testimonials, facts and figures and case studies to prove your solution works for people like them. Do your best to paint a picture of the outcome so they can envisage it working for them too.
Make them an offer they can’t refuse - What’s the next step? How can you make that as easy as possible for them to take? What barriers to them saying ‘yes’ can you remove?
The key all the way through is to keep the focus on the customer, not you. You can follow this basic structure in direct mail, sales pitches, presentations, advertisements, website text or anything else you like.
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3 comments
I want you to know that I’ve printed off this post. I have it in writing. You owe me a beer!
Your formula suggestions are an excellent addition to my post. Thanks for extending the conversation!
Drew
No problems Drew, the next time you’re in Ireland the drinks are on me. In the mean time I’m sure there’s a way to send virtual beer …
Beers aside, I can’t recommend your blog highly enough for anyone looking for practical, usable advice.
Glad I could add something to the conversation.
[...] Mark Nagurski calls companies’ penchant to write mostly about themselves Ain’t We Great (AWG) Syndrome: AWG is a naturally occurring problem whereby a business focuses on itself in its marketing [...]
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