Whose Ego Are You Satisfying?

In marketing there's a tendency to put personal priorities ahead of our clients.  What might look or sound good to us may be of little or no consequence to our client in their purchasing decision. 

Everyone has been guilty of this at some time as we're all proud of what we're offering, and the effort it has taken to get to where you are.  The simple fact is though, your target audience isn't interested how you got to this point.

Sell The Outcome, Not The Process

I encountered this problem with a client recently where they wanted to retain a particular colour in their logo as there was a lot of blood, sweat and tears it represented from over 10 years of product development. 

The product is now developing momentum in the market and its reputation is being built on its reliability.  This particular colour would have proven difficult to work with for a number of reasons.

So the real question is not how can we retain the colour, it's will the target audience really care about how long it took you to perfect your product?

The answer is no.

What they'd be focusing on is the process and not the outcome or benefits.  After learning more about their product we identified countless ways it could benefit the customer.  It not only reduced costs, it also helped them to be more profitable. 

I'm not suggesting that you ignore company history in your marketing.  Past achievements help to build credibility.

However if you want your brand to become known for helping to solve problems and help your client's position, you need to focus on benefits.  Selling outcomes will give you better leverage during the sales process.

You need to cater to clients egos whatever you're selling.  When approaching brand design you need to consider the ego of your audience.  When they buy your product or service, they want to look like they've made a smart choice.

Give your market what they want, it will give you a better return.

© Hamish Chadwick, Image Substation 2009