Marketing 101 For Startups - Part 2

Yesterday I explored what companies resort to when they don't design their marketing around WHY. I explained that often, they have to start using unsustainable and manipulative strategies such as breakage, fear, peer pressure, price amongst others. You can't fully understand marketing if you If you missed it, here it is - part 1

Today, we'll focus on the much more saner, ideal and effective ways to get your company noticed.

ALWAYS START WITH WHY

When companies don’t start with WHY, they are expected to differentiate themselves using features, price differences, promos...and they often result to manipulations.

Lets take a practical example of a company that always starts with WHY: Apple. Apple isn’t special, they only know how to craft their message to start with WHY. When everyone else makes a very good computer, their advert would resemble something like this:

“We make great computers. They are beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. Wanna buy one?”

Apple would do sell the same computer but start with WHY:

“In everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. And we happen to make great computers. Wanna buy one”

People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it. Don’t sell your features. Sell your reason.

Did you see the difference between both messages? Apple started with WHY. Let's go a little bit deeper. Apple did not invent the technology that powered the iPod or the MP3 but they are largely credited with changing the music industry. The actual portable hard drive player was invented by Creative Technology Ltd, a company based in Singapore. They developed the technology that allowed PCs to have sound. Apple entered the industry 22 months later. This adequately raises questions over the first movers advantage. Creative Technology Ltd. should have been in a better advantaged position to do what Apple did. They indeed did, but their marketing was the challenge. They marketed their product as a 5gb MP3 player which was actually exactly what it was.

Apple came with a different message: 1,000 songs in your pocket. The difference is that Creative Technology Ltd told us WHAT their product was while Apple told us WHY we needed it. Apples ability to shine light on WHY is what gives them the remarkable market position they have.

Only after people decide they need your product is when the WHAT matters. After deciding you need an iPad, that’s when you’ll begin to consider the WHAT - 5gb or 10gb version.

Regardless of your value proposition, never define your company by what you do.

Never try to impress people with your features. It’s manipulation and manipulations doesn’t inspire loyalty. It will get them to buy from you once but it will not build loyalty for you. If you start with WHY, it helps more. How you phrase your pitch matters.

Lets take another example; on a date with a beautiful lady sitting across the table and saying you are extremely good looking, appear on TV, know a lot of stars and saying you are rich and famous won’t earn you a second date. Even though the lady may have accepted to go on the date because her friends told her you are good looking, rich and famous. The fact that it appears you are bragging about these makes it practically your undoing. You’re definitely not getting a second date. Picture the same guy with the same lady again and the guy starts by saying what he loves most about his life is that he gets to wake up everyday to do something he loves, inspire people to do things that inspire them and he happens to also make a lot of money from it and that is the most amazing experience in the world. He also gets to meet lots of famous people and be on T.V as well which is good because he’s good looking. Spot the difference? I believe by now you should have understood the importance of starting with why.

What do you think about the second approach? Assuming the lady sitting across the table believes what he believes, he’s definitely getting a second date. He said the same things but he started with why. Everything else was a proof of the WHY.

Now apply this to business. You already have heard of a company that can solve a specific problem you are experiencing, you’ve seen their ads and even know some people personally with good testimonies. Then you invite them over and the rep starts talking about how beautiful their office is, cool advertising, being in business with the best companies...it’s the same with that guy on the date we talked about before. Providing you with a long list of experience, what they’ve done, who they know and why you should do business with them. Same thing with the lady, you can’t start building a trusting relationship with a potential customer by showing your rational or logical benefits. They need to start with WHY. How about if he says everyone comes to work to do things they love, having to figure out all the ways they can solve challenges such as yours for other individuals and businesses, and it’s a feeling that is really good. We do really well, I’m sure you’ve seen our ads and we happen to work with some of the biggest companies. This is a better pitch than the first one.

You will definitely consider giving them a shot right? We'll continue tomorrow with more focus on building your team starting with why.

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