What are you selling?
by Fred on 23/02/07 at 2:16 pm
6 comments
Mike (my business partner) and I realised something around 15 months ago: If we carry on selling websites, our business will fail.
This is not a hypothesis, this is a fact.
This is also not an accounting forecast – it’s a marketing truism. One that we, as small business owners, all need to understand. I can explain by recalling a well-known segment from Philip Kotler’s ‘Principles of Marketing’ that I had to read as a 1st year student. In the book, Kotler asked: ‘What is the product?’ He was referring to a new brand of perfume. In a class discussion, when most of us agreed that the product was ‘bottled scented water’, our lecturer shook his head.
The product, he told us, was self-esteem. When you sell perfume, you’re selling a way of thinking about yourself; you’re satisfying people’s aspirations.
In World Wide Creative’s case, we came to the realisation that, in order to market our wares effectively, we had to understand exactly what we were selling – and it wasn’t websites.* I know that in 15 years from now I will look back on that realisation as a pivotal moment in our business.
A client of ours, Bright House doesn’t sell furniture; they’re selling a life-style. Another client, Ferrari SA, doesn’t sell cars – they sell status. Estate agents don’t sell land, they sell dreams. With the Bug Zapper, we’re not selling an electric racket, we’re selling fun (or in many cases, a good night’s sleep).
So, what are you selling?
*In case you’re wondering, World Wide Creative sells a way to increase your profit. We subsequently changed our tagline to ‘Creating Profitable Websites’ and our sales are now focused on measuring return for our clients.
Fred Roed is the marketing guy in the Ideate crew. He runs a web marketing company called World Wide Creative and loves writing about people out there doing marketing right. View more articles by Fred.
Karin
Feb 23rd, 2007
Another of your customer doesn’t sell wooden flooring, they sell piece of mind with advice for the best suitable flooring in your circumstances, your interior design and your budget; they sell added value to your home; they sell ‘healthy homes’ and easy maintenance.
(Wow, is that what we do?)
One of the items that will always stick with me after reading Good to Great (thanks again for suggesting that one, Fred) is: find your hedge-hog concept (do what you do best – note the verbe do, doesn’t mean ’selling’) and keep doing that.
Karin
Feb 25th, 2007
Hi again
Been thinking about this post this week. And I know/read The heavy Chef project blog also where what is preached is practised by WWC. But… and don’t get me wrong on this, something essential is missing here (and on heavy chef) frequently.
Conversations. You ’sell’ profitable websites/prducts, you test what works – so you should know by now that “conversations’ work, you blog about it. But most of the times it ends there: one blog post. Comments are rarily replied to – when some reader does take time (invest in you – the seller) – hardly anytime the conversation is kept going by you (the seller).
I had a conversation this week about this (marketing and blogging) on another blog: there the conversation went back and fort, we are building a ‘relationship’.
I do think you should read this:
http://healthywebdesign.com/blog-marketing/5-things-marketing-gurus-need-to-learn-from-bloggers/
(and hopefully ‘act’ on it, it’s worth it, I know, because my business is growing due of these kind of conversations)
Mike Perk
Feb 27th, 2007
I totally agree with you and hang my head in shame that as part of the Heavy Chef team we don’t converse in conversation as much as we possibly should. I could give excuses of moving countries and offices and time being so short over the last two months, but I know this wears thin and one must make time. to let you know I haven’t actually read a single blog posting for the last three weeks, due to everything that is happenning in the company at the moment.
Your post has caused quite a bit of discussion here in the office with regards to blogging etiquette. The two main questions raised were as follows:
1) Is a blog a discussion forum or is it a place to post your thoughts and views and then let the general public comment if they wish? You then choose if you wish to interact again?
2) If one has a personal relationship with the blogger and has an issue with their blogging or a particular post that sends a negative vibe out about that blogger, should one let them know independently or via the blog for all the world to read?
(Karin – this isn’t a sly way of me saying I think you should have spoken to us first, its genuinely an issue we have had split views on in the office this week and had some health debate over)
We haven’t come to a group consensus answer on either of the points, but thought we would share them with everyone, to get their views.
Karin
Feb 27th, 2007
Hi Mike (and the rest of ‘the gang’)
Don’t consider this a sly off, but is was something I’d been thinking of to ‘tell’ you for a while now (and how better to get your ‘attention’
) (Besides the fact that I know most of you, all be it ‘virtually’ and suspect ‘thick helathy skins’)
Anyway, the two point you raise are IMO strongly related if you base it on the ‘reason for having this (or that) specific blog’.
If your aim (like I think it is, and is frequently mentioned also on here) is to create a business blog you write for/to (possible) customers yes then you should post your thoughts/practices/news etc on your business (or views) – as is done now – and have people (general) comment on it. Reacting back on those comments will start the conversation, which in its turn will start (enhance) the relation you have with the (possible) customer.
Win-win ? (And yes, building a relationship costs time, as with all ‘building’, but isn’t it the ongoing, sustainable result that counts? – not my words, my great mentor and dear friend R).
Mike Perk
Feb 27th, 2007
Wise words from the sage himself Richard C.
Karin
Feb 27th, 2007
(And I still get to have lunch-meetings with him, for you it must already be a distant memory