What do you sell?
Did you answer content or design? Did you answer an e-course or a book? Did you answer consulting services or marketing tools? Well, if that’s what you believe you sell, you’d be wrong.
What you’re selling isn’t about what you sell at all.
A Conversation With James
I’ve had many revelations this past month as I think more on our business, the systems we use, how we work and how it all fits together. A conversation with James on one of my recent revelations had him laughing.
“Let me ask you something,” I began. “What do we sell?”
There was a pause and I could almost see the expression on his face. He probably wondered if I’d been working too hard.
“No, I’m serious. I mean, not what we sell, but what we sell.. It’s not about the content or the design at all!” I was all fired up about my enlightenment.
Then I heard him chuckle. “It’s not, eh?”
“Nope. What we sell is more than that. It’s more than just the commodity. We’re selling what the client gets from the experience after he works with us. What we sell is just that – a feeling.” I was proud of myself.
But James was two steps ahead. “Harry.” A pause. “That’s called branding.”
Oh.
I suppose it was branding, the emotional association people have with a company. It had just never clicked with me before, and I finally understood.
I thought for a moment, determined to dazzle James with my brilliance regardless. “Alright then, what do you think we sell, then? Mercedes sells sophistication and luxury. Victoria’s Secret sells temptation and sultry sex… What do we sell?”
“Success,” he shot back, but then James went quiet and thoughtful. “You know,” he mused, “That’s a damned good question.”
Stirring the Senses
James and I tossed the answers to the question of what we sell around for a good 15 minutes. It’s actually quite difficult to pin down in one or two words what you sell.
Every business sells a feeling. I’ve often said that I’m a sucker for packaging – there’s one example. Packaging that appeals to my senses and evokes a feeling draws me in.
Commercials and television ads play up feelings too. Many people I know buy a product simply because they like the commercial and want what that ad promises.
Rock star bands and musicians put their image and feelings together, selling that. How many times have you bought a CD because the band’s image struck a chord with you? What about the visual impact of their video – how did that make you feel?
You want what they have. You want what that ad promises. You want what that company sells. You want to be just like the guys in the band, the models in the commercial or the exec in the fancy car.
Crafting Your Image
When you start your new business, especially one in an area of high competition like writing or design, you need to think beyond the product you sell. Before that product hits the virtual world shelves, you have to decide on the image you’re going to portray to the public.
If your image is boring, dull, or average, who will buy? Who wants to pay money for that feeling? You have to offer people more, a fantasy of emotions. You need to give customers an experience, not just a product.
If you take a good look at television commercials, you’ll notice that many never mention their product at all until the very end. They don’t need to push their product, because they’re selling their image.
These are the commercials you remember, and they’re memorable because they evoked your emotions.
The next time you think of that product, you remember those feelings. You might wonder if you too could be as sexy or cool as the people you remember. You might be tempted to buy and see if it’s all true.
Think about it: How would you feel if you could drive a Mercedes around town?
No one is really interested in a product at all. Strip away the branding image from so many products out there and you’re left with very little. A Mercedes is just a car. Absolute is just vodka. Revlon is just makeup.
So, tell me, what do you sell?
Harry,
Ass-kicking. You help folks kick their online presence into gear, and ass-kicking is what you sell.
(& I totally agree with the article. Everybody needs to know what they Really Sell.)
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post…Tip of the Week: The Empty Office
@ Kelly – Oh, you totally stole that ass kicking from Alex.
James,
As I said over there, dear Pen Man, I knew that was you right away because it’s been said in a hundred places. It’s what people say about you two (oops, three). It is what you sell.
Did I ever mention that your CommentLuv is very funky?
Until later,
Kelly
Gentlemen! Ahem.
All we really have to sell is ourselves. Period. The fact that we might deliver a product/service and collect money for it later within the relationship lifespan is incidental. We sell ourselves and our ability to deliver a solution with trust, accountability, making it fun, and the entire host of additional attributes that make us…us. Period. Maybe those who buzz with words would call that authenticity. “Me,” “we” and “us” haz fewer letters, and all we need to do is make us easier to buy.
@ Betsy – Nope. No one is interested in buying James. (I don’t come cheap, after all.) People don’t care about “me,” “we,” and “us”. Not one bit. They care about themselves. Buying a James doesn’t give them what they want.
But they want James’ ideas. They want feedback, a different perspective, a better plan, an ass-kicking. They want to go, “OOOH!” and make money and have a better life.
They don’t want James. They want what James sells – and it isn’t himself.
“How many times have you bought a CD because the band’s image struck a chord with you?”
Heh. Pun.
Being that I don’t personally sell anything, I’ll have to take Victoria’s Secret as an example. Sure their bras last about 800 years and could probably protect my breasts from a nuclear blast, but what I really like about them is their environment. It’s the most girlie place on the planet, which convinces me that they understand what a woman needs.
Not wants, but _needs_. A woman needs bras. And lipstick. And lotion. And perfume. And… In any case, some marketing genius at VS headquarters has convinced me that I _need_ to spend bunches of money.
Perfect. Or, as Seth said today, “We don’t need very much, actually. We want a lot.” This is why I try to convince execs that their presentations and speeches must evoke emotion, not just thought.
Jean Gogolin’s last blog post…How to Really Convince Your Audience (HINT: Don’t Apologize)
@Kelly: We sell ass-kickin’, huh? I like that.
@Betsy: No, I have to agree with James, nobody wants to buy an individual, they want what that individual represents.
@RL: Where’d that pun come from? The blog gremlins must’ve put it in there.
@Jean: Your comment ties in nicely with RL’s – how much do we really *need*? It’s true, not much. Perfume? Cologne? Need it to survive? Not really.
One good thing about the sucking economy is that it’s making most of us reexamine what we need. Kinda liberating, actually, since our stuff owns us more than we own it.
I also have to agree, people don’t buy “us”, in fact, they usually don’t even give a crap about us – they buy memories, a weekend away from the kids, something that will make their life a bit easier, etc.
Being that I live in Las Vegas, here’s a perfect analogy for this article.
What do big hotel/casinos sell – or better yet, what do people buy from them?
Do they sell Steve Wynn? (owner of the Mirage, Wynn, Treasure Island, etc.)
Nope.
Do people buy a hotel room?
Literally yes, but that’s not what they’re really buying.
Do hotels sell show tickets, restaurants, night clubs?
Nope.
What they do sell (and people buy) is entertainment and a step away from life for a little while. Casinos aren’t in the gaming business, they are in the entertainment business.
When people say they want to book a room, there’s a reason for it. If you figure out what that reason is and fulfill that unspoken need, you win.
That’s the secret (one of) to being successful. You have to read between the lines.
Excellent article Harry. I can see your face during your conversation with James.
John Hoff – eVentureBiz’s last blog post…Open Discussion: What Would Make For A Great WordPress Hosting Company?
@John: Let’s take that a step further and look at the slogan for Las Vegas itself: “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”
This whole town offers a massive fantasy for visitors. Every casino, restaurant and attraction is founded on this. Vegas sells the fantasy of stepping outside of your normal hum drum life and being wicked and wild.
Of course, living here, we know it’s all smoke and mirrors.
John,
You can see Harry’s face?
Wow. I’m impressed. All I noticed was that his elbow looked pensive.
Until later,
Kelly
Hmmm. Perhaps semantics are getting in the way, because at the core of what I tried to say, I think we’re really agreeing. If we are not selling ourselves, then we are not what we represent and deliver in our own way. If folks don’t want James or Harry, or Betsy, then our unique selling proposition isn’t unique. At all. Where would SEO School be without Naomi?
Another example: there is nothing particularly revolutionary in Barack Obama’s message; some might even say there is nothing at all, as hope and change has been packaged up since God lost His sandals. Barack has yet to even deliver product in prodigious amounts. But people are buying Barack because he’s Barack (and, to a lesser extent, because of who he’s not).
If I want Barack, I don’t want John McCain, even though John’s selling change that is remarkably the same when you boil it down to the factual elements. If I want or need what James, Harry, or Betsy deliver based upon what I already know or someone’s recommendation, I want them. Not “just like them,” or something “close to them,” but THEM. I may not even know that I need what they can provide, but because of the RELATIONSHIP I feel I have with them, I trust them enough to confide my situation and open the door for them to provide a solution. The longterm, repetitive, communal relationship is the heart of consultative sales.
Anyone can provide a reasonable approximation of the tangible aspect of what I, or you, sell. For some customers, this is of no matter. Many people selling products and services are concerning themselves with the transaction as an independent entity. When it’s done and the money is collected, it’s done, and they’re on to the next customer. You can make a perfectly good living at this. But you’re commoditizing your product, and thus more vulnerable to price competition.
It’s all about how and what we do prior to and around the delivery that creates the perception in the customer. The process elements are interdependent, and delivery of exceptional quality is expected as a matter of course. But, ultimately the relationship is paramount, and that is us.
@Betsy – I see what you’re saying, but I think you’re looking at the person being the brand and perhaps are thinking more in terms of the freelancing business.
Think for a moment about a bigger company like Wal*Mart. Do you think they would do better by marketing and selling the owner of Wal*Mart, the products of Wal*Mart, or the benefits of shopping at Wal*Mart?
What highly successful multi-million dollar company sells a person? Does Oprah sell Oprah or does she sell the “idea” of what you get from watching Oprah?
True, in the end building personal relationships are key, but people don’t buy Harry, they buy what he can give them, and by continually giving people what they want above and beyond their expectations, his reputation grows.
Re: Barack
I think people bought Barack not because of Barack, but because they are disappointed with the opposite of Barack – George Bush – and they feel John McCain would be like another George Bush.
I know for me, my vote for Barack wasn’t for Barack at all.
@Harry – good example. And thanks to our great (yeah right) mayor, Las Vegas makes tons of money not by selling hotels and gaming, but by selling sleaze and dreams that could break up marriages.
@Kelly – I suspect we will never see their true faces. They don’t want to, “Jump the shark”.
John Hoff – eVentureBiz’s last blog post…Open Discussion: What Would Make For A Great WordPress Hosting Company?
That James. Always taking the wind out of people’s sails. *grin*
What do I sell? Well, nothing at the moment. But let’s just say I am selling something (because someday I will be), the word that comes to mind is Validation. Huh, that just popped into my head.
Validation that we are not all that unique. Validation that it is okay to feel certain things. Validation that it is okay to make mistakes. Validation that it is okay to laugh at yourself.
Yes … Validation.
Huh, who knew?
Urban Panther’s last blog post…Support in a time of need
John,
I will.
Panther,
My 2-second MCE evaluation: “Brand Panther,” to me, sells sexy, modern, vivacious, “one of the boys” energy.
Can you bottle that?
Until later,
Kelly
Hi John – Yes, I am thinking of freelance or small business primarily. I *thought* perhaps that was the overall focus of this blog.
But big companies realize more and more that person-centric focus and empowerment is the way to achieve remarkable results. To use your example of Walmart: Walmart is selling their people, big time. Who else has a greeter? They know good business is the relationship with the real people at the store, to the employees who are the models in the catalog, to the recent television advertising campaign, and the relationship you think you have with the powers that know what your priorities are: low prices, reasonable quality, availability. Anyone an compete on price and eventually drive it down to zero. It’s about more.
Big successful hotel chains like Ritz-Carlton, to use another example close to the Vegas one, empower their employees to develop customer-centric relationships with every encounter. The employees, by extension, are selling themselves – folks who have an exceptional ability to deliver on behalf of their company. Nordstrom is the epitome of this. I don’t have a relationship with Nordstrom per se although I love to shop there, but I sure as hell do with Kerry, my shoe salesman who happens to work at Nordstrom. If he goes somewhere else, I will follow. Nordstrom enabled Kerry to make the relationship with me, but the relationship is between me and Kerry, the person. He very much sells himself.
Re: Barack, again. With all due respect, when you’re voting against someone, by default you justifying your voting “for” someone else. If not, you wouldn’t have voted at all. Votes of those who wanted no more of George Bush notwithstanding, there are millions for whom it’s all about Barack. The Democrats, and John McCain, all ran on who they were not. Obama ran a transformative campaign that started similarly, but turned out to be very much about him.
Ultimately, I think we’re approaching a remarkably similar result in values arising out of this discussion. It’s great that we’re all about exceptional customer-focused service, whether we choose to say we’re selling ourselves or not.
Betsy’s last blog post…REAL
@ Betsy – Still have to disagree with you, though I’m certainly interested in your discussion and views.
These are not cases of selling “people”. These are cases of selling “experiences”.
You may love Kerry at Nordstrom, but should Kerry die tomorrow (heavens forbid), you’d still shop at Nordstrom because they provided a fantastic experience to you through Kelly. What are you buying at Nordstrom? Not Kelly. You’re buying a fantastic, personal shopping experience with focused attention and service.
People did not vote for Barak or John. They voted for the right to bear arms or the hope that gay marriage would pass. They voted for freedom from war or the fight against terrorism. They voted for the belief that black people should have a chance in positions of power and they voted for smaller, focused governments.
No one voted because they wanted Barak or John. They wanted what these people were selling them – their beliefs, values and dreams.
Hi James – I appreciate your point of view, too, and don’t necessarily disagree at all. If Kerry was no longer, I’d start looking around at Nordstrom. With their environment, I might find close to what I get with him and it would be sufficient. But it wouldn’t stop me from looking elsewhere, either.
And…there are plenty of voters for whom the character issue is paramount. While the perception of character certainly can be manufactured and sold, authentic character resides in the person. Or not.
Trust you boys to spark another provocative discussion! Now I really gotta get to work! Thanks for the fun!
Betsy’s last blog post…REAL
Hey Guys,
I read quite a bit daily with school, magazines, blog posts and so on. This is one of the better posts I’ve read lately. I completely agree. How many times have we sat in front of the TV ( at least when I used to) and asked what the hell was that commercial about? It’s about image, emotion, feelings… to answer your question, it would feel special to ride around town in some high profile car, why? because of the sense of confidence, power, pride- all FEELINGS! Not to mention the perception, among other factors. A good question, what do I sell? A thought provoking post! Time to do some thinking and writing. Thanks for sharing!
Miguel’s last blog post…Advice For Bloggers
The image for today’s post (gun girl) could easily be replaced with the ‘Go Daddy’ girl from the super bowl commercial. I don’t remember the teams who played in that football game but I still remember the ad and the company to this day. It left you with a feeling of hot, edgy, and can’t miss. The ad definitely left a lasting impression that evidently still works for them to this day.
@Mark W.: HA! I was waiting for someone to notice. 100 internet points to you! That’s exactly what I was thinking of when I put the image up.
Excellent piece Harry. Stumbled
Me? I sell a better online presence. With words.
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post…Russell Simmons Recommends: Personal Success Books
This is a most excellent question, and really hits at the heart of marketing. Get them hooked on a feeling, not sold on a service.
What do I sell? Professionalism, peace of mind, an extra set of (creative) hands.
That’s the goal anyway.
~Graham
Two cents from the Tyler Durden look-alike… interesting discussion here.
I suggest what we want to *strive* to do is sell the experience, not the person.
But until you reach a certain size, the experience is still largely the person. If you replace the top 3 people at Wal-Mart or Nordstrom with 3 other executives, you will still have the experience.
If you replace the top 3 people at Men With Pens, you have – something completely different.
See what I mean? James, Harry, Charlie *are* the experience right now – so in a sense, you still are selling “you”.
At some point in the future when the three of you are sitting on a tropical island counting your money, and your minions are running the show and delivering the same great stuff you three are delivering now, *then* you’ll be 100 percent selling only the experience.
Sound reasonable?
@ Brett – I disagree. But I’m too tired to formulate coherent thoughts on exactly why I think you’re wrong, because it’s complex. (Ha, aren’t you proud now, eh?) I’ll come back to this one.
LOL disagree if you like, but if the three of you are abducted by aliens tonight, the Men With Pens experience heads off to Alpha Centauri with you.
I cannot then buy your domain name and blog tomorrow and have a hope in hell of running it the same way you can, because you’re the founders of the business and until enough of your mojo is passed on to someone else, it remains with you.
But once a company reaches a certain size, it takes on a mind of its own, in a sense, and you can probably replace the founders without changing the experience felt by the customer where the rubber meets the road – assuming the founders did a good job of setting things up.
(If I had the money) I could buy Wal-Mart tomorrow and no one would be the wiser.
Brett Legree´s last blog post…the game.
PS – did I tell you I like your new gravatar/ad square? If you have a spare one kicking around in 125×125, I’d love to put it up at my site
Brett Legree´s last blog post…the game.
I think a lot of the “selling a person vs. selling an experience” argument is stemming from the fact that you guys don’t just sell web copy and website designs to people – you also “sell” your blog.
For example, on Sushi Day, I sell super comfortable (not to mention awesome) shirts. More importantly, though, I “sell” the idea that anyone can make sushi, I “sell” interesting and yummy sushi recipes, and I “sell” drool-worthy food porn. (How much you wanna bet I get stuck in moderation or spam for saying porn… twice?
)
So for you guys, you sell an experience with your business, yes. If you hired other people to code or design or write for you, as long as they provided the same if not better quality and provided the same experience, most people probably wouldn’t be the wiser.
But you also have your blog… and I would argue that in that case you are “selling” yourselves. If you three were to hand your blog over to someone else tomorrow, it just wouldn’t be the same. We want Harry and James and Charlie – not some impostor *trying* to be the Pen Men. Even if your replacement gave us the same butt-kicking experience that you guys give us, it still wouldn’t be the same.
So Harry and James, you’re right when it comes to your *real* business, but I would say Brett and the others are also right when it comes to your blog.
Allison Day´s last blog post…Island Roll
My problem with the whole selling a feeling thing is that in the TV and print-ad world, I can see right through the emotion and I think “oh bullshit, you’re selling freakin’ cookies! You’re not selling repaired broken marriages!” (yes there’s a commercial in Spain where a couple is arguing and the kid offers his parents a cookie and then every sits down laughing and loving.)
Crap, crap, crap.
I look at underwear boxes that are selling the sexy bodies more than the underwear and I joke around saying “ooh, will my body look like this when I put on the underwear?”
I remember a small housing project near my house in Toronto with tightly packed narrow townhouses, but what was the ad they used? Two straight couples enjoying wine in the Napa Valley (or something) with a pool below them and a view of rolling vineyards. WTF?
The sad part? People eat it up. No one pays attention to the lies they are being sold and they say “oh, if I buy this poorly built cramped little house for too much money I’ll feel like I’m living in the utmost luxury!”
So, when I think of what Men With Pens sell, I think: really good design and writing with a dose of friendship. You make me feel welcome and a friend. Are you selling friendship? No. You’re selling design and writing but the way you do it includes friendliness (and ass-kicking).
Let’s go back to the cookies – what do cookies sell? Cookies that taste good.
Underwear? A nice design, good support.
Wine – now wine is wine. I don’t know shit about wine, so I tend to buy from the label – but I’m not buying a feeling. I’m buying a design. I don’t want to feel funky or hip. I just like the colours.
Now me – what do I sell?
I sell solutions to being stuck.
How do I sell it? With care, with a sense of my own foibles, and yet with confidence.
So, in your terms, what do I sell? I sell freedom and happiness. I make barely-imaginable journeys (literal and figurative) possible.
If I were to be one of those ads that people seem to adore then I’d be first a harassed couple trying to get their kids ready to go to school and to get to work, in a dark cramped kitchen with lots of unintelligible noise, then I’d be a sailboat on the Mediterranean with all pale blues and soft whites, with a couple relaxing and their kids in sparkling white clothes playing around them, the only sound the water and the occasional giggle from a child. With just one question: Are you doing what you really want to?
Then a flash of SomedaySyndrome.com and the commercial would end.
Wow, am I ever in a cynical mood this morning!
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog post…Clearing Inner and Outer Space: Lisa Chang Interview
Hot *DAMN*, Alex, rock on!
@ Allison – (How much you wanna bet I get stuck in moderation or spam for saying porn… twice?
) – Not on our blog, baby. Takes way more than that. 
I’m still gathering my thoughts on this. It’s a very good discussion and rounds back to business branding versus personal branding.
And I know all about that stuff!
I agree, this is a good discussion and it should keep us thinking for a while…
Brett Legree´s last blog post…the game.
Oh, I do hate to get back into this, but I can’t let James sit there alone saying No No No like a kid having a tantrum, even if the typing hurts my eyes. (dig, dig, c’mon, boys…)
You aren’t selling you, even those of you who think “I’m all alone, of course I’m selling me.” Nope. You aren’t. Sure, if you went away and you’re a solopreneur, the business would go away. Still, not what you’re selling.
The easiest way to figure it out is to get an outsider’s persepctive. Ask a customer, why did you decide to use my service (buy my product), as opposed to the millions of others?
If you have a unique angle on what you’re selling (and if you don’t, get one or get out of business), and if you’re communicating it well, then it’s that unique angle they contracted with you for.
I’ll use a small café I know of as an example. A young couple ran the place nearly alone. They were sure it was their delightful personalities, and their semi-Mexican food, that people were coming in for. They called me in deep trouble. Why, if their smiles were still delightful and their food was still semi-Mexican?
Because they misunderstood what people were there for. When they began, the two staggered their shifts to be there all the time and felt mightily burnt out. Lunches were great, but dinners and later were only a steady stream, not a great big punch, so they decided to tighten hours around that lunch crowd and get some sleep.
Turns out their college-age crowd loved the late hours, made a 7-day hangout out of the place, and yeah, came in for 15 minutes at lunch. Those folks were there to mope about classes, to meet with friends, to fall in love. Not to see the owners (whom most of them couldn’t even remember, when we asked), and not to enjoy the semi-Mex food, though that happened too. They loved having a central place to drift in and out—and eating was secondary.
Unwilling to see what their unique angle really was, the folks closed up shop.
You aren’t selling you. You’re selling something folks take away from the Experience of buying from you. If you’re figuring it out as James says, then you know what it is, or you’re willing to determine what it is.
If you keep your head in the sand, don’t know what folks are buying, or don’t even want to see it,… ouch.
There is a reason why Barack Obama said the word “change” until those cynics and savvy among us wanted to throw up. Because he was selling Change. Not, definitely not, Barack Obama. Ditto Mr. Maverick. Ditto the late, incredibly great Sam Walton, who began with one little store and around $70,000 in revenues. Never sold Sam Walton. He sold Cheap. Because they never waver from that focus, they’re the one bright spot in the economy today.
Too long. Oops.
Until later,
Kelly
Kelly´s last blog post…They Say It’s Your Birthday!
@Alex – We can all see through it, can’t we? But that’s not quite the point. We live in a culture of change, where we are constantly looking for the next best thing. When I was younger, it was OP t-shirts, Swatch watches, and Sperry Topsiders. This generation it’s iPhones, PS3, and anything with Batman on it.
And it is very much how it makes you feel. Apple is all about image (though they generally back it up with great products), as is Coke & Pepsi, beer companies, even music, etc. etc.
I believe that old adage that you can’t sell something to someone who doesn’t want to buy. I collected Swatches not because I needed another watch, but because it was fun. As for the billboards you mentioned about the wine drinkers in the townhouses — well, people want to believe that, don’t they? They want to believe that they are “living the dream” even if they can’t. (Though why anyone would want to buy a $600,000 townhouse is beside me — move to Milton for God’s sakes…).
But nobody is forcing them to believe, just suggesting it to them.
I suspect that there might be one or two items in your own list of consumer peccadillos. It might not be iPods, but it might be only eating Heinz ketchup or shopping at Home Depot, or buying a certain brand of dish detergent. The reasons might be different too: we are all creatures of habit. But why did you start buying at Home Depot in the first place? Maybe you went there with a question, and got the solution. So the next time you had a problem, you automatically went back there first for the solution, and the next time, and the next time…
It’s because you had a great — wait for it — experience that keeps you coming back.
So whether it’s the excitement of buying the latest 128GB iPhone Plus (before anyone else, no less) or the comfort of knowing you will get that toilet fixed, it’s still selling the experience.
We scoff at the young’uns reliance on new-fangled toys, and the young’uns scoff at our practical nature. But both personalities move product — the only difference is the flavour of the Kool-Aid that we choose to drink.
~Graham
Graham Strong´s last blog post…The Art of Perception (Part IV): What Colours People’s Perception of You?
Kelly,
You are right, of course – you are selling the experience, not you. My point which you seem to have agreed with is that as a small business or a solo, the line might be a bit blurry sometimes.
Perhaps that’s the challenge in that situation.
About politicians though – smart people like you and me buy into the concept. Sadly, a lot of voters vote for the “good looking guy with the smile”.
-Brett
Brett Legree´s last blog post…week 1 – report card.
@Graham
I disagree – I don’t think most people see through it. The number of times I’ve tried to have conversations about it and have gotten “hunh?” as a response would make me bang my head on the wall if I wasn’t worried about losing my ability to see through it.
As a teen, I smoked Moore Lights because they were cool and long and thin and went with the gothic image, but I also did it laughingly because I knew I was being pretentious.
As for selling the image: re the sexy underwear models – no I’d never buy from a fat model, except maybe in irony – like the wine called Rotten Grapes, again knowing the reason for the effect it was having on me.
I’m more or less an anti-consumerist, so I end up looking at my purchases carefully. For example, I bought my Zen instead of an iPod because the Zen had 8Gb and a bigger screen for the same price of a 2Gb iPod with a smaller screen.
But then again, I’m sure I am influenced by things – we all are, but I try hard to see past the message to what I’m actually getting, meaning I rarely end up buying.
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog post…Clearing Inner and Outer Space: Lisa Chang Interview
Oh, which I think makes my blog topic perfect for me because it’s about looking past the hype and the pity parties to find out what options really exist.
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog post…Clearing Inner and Outer Space: Lisa Chang Interview
What Kelly said. Yes. Thank you. You’ve obviously had more coffee than me, which is excellent.
Here’s the thing: We’re not selling web design and content. We’re not selling James, Harry and Charlie. (Trust me, no one wants to buy James.)
We’re selling the experience of us. We’re selling the feeling that you get when you have the great James, the wonderful Harry, the exuberant Charlie right there, giving you confidence, ideas, creativity, direction, guidance…
We’re selling the fact that after you do business with us you will feel fucking fantastic. You’ll know where you’re going. You’ll feel powerful, enlightened. You’ll be able to take charge of your life, and you’ll know it, feel it within you.
James? Oh yeah. He’s the guy who got you there. Awesome guy, seriously.
But you have more now. James was just the tool that gave you what you wanted.
Ass-kicking success.
(Hey! Coffee worked!)
That’s what I bought and what I plan on buying again (and again and again)
There are lots of people who could do an excellent job with design and writing, but MwP get me excited about my web presence – and that’s worth a lot more than I pay them! (but shhh don’t tell them that, especially James, it’ll just go to his head)
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog post…Clearing Inner and Outer Space: Lisa Chang Interview
@Alex – You’re right, not everyone. By “we” I meant people reading (and writing) this blog. But my point is that even when we know, we still want to drink the Kool-Aid and live the dream.
But is there anything wrong with that? I got an iPod because I wanted an iPod. It made me happy, and all the gigabytes in the world wouldn’t stop me from feeling somehow ripped off if I had bought any other “knock off”. I also eat Heinz ketchup only, and Bull’s Eye BBQ sauce only, and Old Dutch chips (mostly) only.
On the flip side, I buy no-name garbage bags instead of Glad, and I use clear leaf bags for recycling instead of blue bags. I can’t understand why people would spend the extra for blue dye #8. I don’t shop at Walmart for personal reasons, and I buy my clothes at Winner’s and outlet stores because I would rather get last year’s fashions at 10% of the cost.
The bottom line is that some things matter to me, and some don’t. That is likely true of most people. I’m sure there is a study somewhere that breaks down consumer loyalty based on age. And I’m pretty sure we all become smarter consumers with age.
But hey, there is a reason why 18-24 is a popular target money: they’ve got money, and they’re prepared to use it.
~Graham
Graham Strong´s last blog post…The Art of Perception (Part IV): What Colours People’s Perception of You?
@ Graham – You actually spied on me, didn’t you. A few days ago, I was standing in the grocery store holding a can of tomatoes. Not just any tomatoes. Aylmer’s diced tomatoes with Italian herbs.
And I began thinking about loyalty and branding. Why didn’t I try Del Monte’s tomatoes? They’re just as good and probably better.
But something about that warm red label, the photo of a tasty pasta dish, the feeling of being able to be cuisinier extrordinaire for my family beat out that green label showing fresh garden tomatoes.
I don’t want fresh. I want to be cuisiner extrodinaire.
And of course after I leave the store, I pick any gas station and go fill up. Why? Because I’m not shopping for an experience. I don’t care.
No gas station is promising me speed, luxury, the ability to get where I need to be in the utmost comfort. And I can sincerely say that if a gas station went up today that offered full service, a hot coffee, pleasing images of Solstices and Mustangs, and buildings that remind me of contemporary boardroom success, I’d be all over that place.
Because that would be an experience.
Another story:
I bought an Mp3 player. “Should I get the 4 GB or the 8 GB,” I ask my teen.
“Get the iPod,” she shoots back.
“Why?” I crinkle my nose at the price. “It’s more expensive with less features.”
“Because if you want to be cool, you own an iPod.”
Selling an experience? I think so.
@James — wow, there’s an interesting marketing gem there. If you wanted fresh, you wouldn’t be buying in a can, would you? When you want canned, it’s because you want fast or you want help or both.
Either way, as you say you are buying the experience.
~Graham
Graham Strong´s last blog post…The Art of Perception (Part IV): What Colours People’s Perception of You?
Good post that made me think a little on what I’m selling.
So in terms of sales, if you’re selling feelings they are intrinsic benefits which are using the product directly or taking some action. And using emotional appeals related to the senses.
And the extrinsic benefits are what the sales people add on to the product or action. The rational appeals use reason and intellect appealing only to the mind.
I am selling both the experience and the product. I combined freelance writing with an island theme. The feelings I wanted to evoke are calm and relaxing but also professional. I just envisoned myself writing on an island or people reading my work on a calm, peaceful island.
Michelle Kafka´s last blog post…Blog Action Day 2008 – Poverty, Island Whispers Blog
@Kelly re: sexy, modern, vivacious, “one of the boys†energy. Ooooo … I like that! Feminine with a touch of tom-boy. Ya, baby!
Urban Panther´s last blog post…Check that phone at the door
Panther,
When you’ve got it bottled, send me a review copy.
Are you done yet?
I sell an easier online dating experience! Most people are at a loss for words when forced to write about themselves, so it’s a lot easier to have someone else do it for you.
Geek’s Dream Girl´s last blog post…CONTE$T: What If Your Ex Had A Personal Ad?
@ Geek – No you don’t. You sell hope and love
@James: Bah, you beat me to it.
When I’m helping clients w/ this question I start w/ the end. What’s the problem that needs solving. Then we sell the solution.
There might be several inter dependent problems, Victoria’s Secret, but the ultimate winner will be the best solution to the real problem. That’s what you should be selling.
The Other James´s last blog post…16 Things Customers Know
OTHERJAMES! *rejoice*
Do you have any idea how difficult it is for businesses to truly see what the problem that requires solving might be?
Wait. Yes. I’m sure you do know that.
For example, they’ll say, “The problem? Women need to support their boobs! And look sexy!”
No. No no no. Women need to feel inwardly and outwardly desirable, and fine lingerie lets them achieve that level of confidence. (At least that’s my take on it.)
Ahhh, isn’t marketing grand!
@James if it was easy everyone would know how to do it.
It’s hard but definitely worth the trouble. When a marketer gets it right, and assuming it’s a problem that needs solving, the world really will beat a path to the door.
The Other James´s last blog post…16 Things Customers Know
Heck, I don’t even know what I DO, never mind what I sell.
Things I never had and never will have:
o Mission Statement
o Elevator Pitch
o Unique Selling Proposition
I will cheerfully admit that everybody else should have those things – or at least the last two. Do as I say and not as I do and all that..
You sell people on the possibility of attaining their own needs, strengths, and desires. In short, you sell them on their own personal goals and wants, which translates into a positive emotional experience.
This is the reason that if you help people get what they want you will get what you want. Charles Schwab sold the middle class on the possibility of getting rich through investing by marketing his firm as a way for the middle class to get rich, which is what they wanted. In turn, he’s become rich.
This blog attracted me because I want (desire) to be a successful entrepreneur- it holds out the possibility to me that if I read it I can take a step in that direction. That feels nice.
May that truly be the case-