You’ve done everything you’re supposed to.
You have a solution to your customer’s most annoying problem. Your team is wearing all the swag you could slap your logo on. The website is live with all the flashy photos, videos, and graphics you could pack into it. Flyers are packed with all the information your customers could ever need to know about your product or service. Now all you have to do is sit back and wait for the business to come rolling in. Right?
But it doesn’t. Your email inbox sits empty and the phone isn’t ringing. Even when you get in front of a customer, they don’t seem understand how amazing your offer is.
Next you try some marketing.
Google Ads, check!
Facebook Page, check!
Magazine Ad, check!
Banner Ad on an Industry Website, check!
And still, nothing. So what exactly is going wrong here?
The truth is, you’re not alone. Most companies waste the money they spend on marketing. They get someone to build a beautiful, functional website that doesn’t sell. Social media posts are just pictures of their building and team members birthdays. Sales collateral talks about how long you’ve been in business and has a long list of ‘features.’
The problem? The focus is all about you. You’ve used all your available space talking about yourself and your products and its amazing features. And you’ve given no attention to addressing the deepest problems your customers experience.
Here is the hardest thing for most companies to understand.
“The customer is the hero, not your brand.” – Donald Miller
This switch in perspective changes everything. All of a sudden the goal isn’t to slap your logo on everything, it’s about making a difference in every interaction. Your website is no longer a digital billboard, it’s a story describing the greatest struggles of your audience and showing how you can guide them to success. Those lists of features on your flyers? They become lists of benefits your customers can experience if they’ll only use your service.
We’re told that people are naturally drawn to stories. So as businesses we create tales meant to engage customers. Unfortunately we often tell the wrong stories and make ourselves the hero.
If you’re the hero, your customer is the victim. And no one wants to be the victim in their own story. When you last watched Star Wars, did you think to yourself, “I’d love to be one of those people that gets blown up on that planet.” Or while watching any superhero movie, “I just really want to be running for cover as the bad guys blow up buildings and rubble falls from the sky.”
When your customer is the hero, your brand’s story becomes their story. And who doesn’t want to be the main character in a dramatic story? We grow up dreaming of being Luke Skywalker or Katniss Everdeen. These are the stories we need to be telling our customers. Ones that invite them to overcome their problems and get what they want with the help of a guide. Hint: that’s you!
This is how marketing becomes easier and more effective. We invite our customers into the right kind of story. Our websites don’t just sit silently on the web collecting digital dust. They become conversion machines. Our sales materials become tools to engage customers and tell them how great life could be for them. Social media becomes a place to add value to people’s lives with relevant, helpful content.
The phone starts to ring. Your inbox is full of leads. The loading dock is full of product going off to excited customers. The business you knew could succeed is growing faster than you ever imagined.
So you’re business isn’t growing as fast as it should be? Let’s change that. Give us a call or click here to schedule a meeting.
