Each Tuesday, we’re happy to turn over our blog space to a Guest Genius, someone who can give a fantastic and fascinating perspective about making word of mouth work.
This week’s guest genius:
David Meerman Scott
Bestselling author of "The New Rules of Marketing & PR"
NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR PRODUCTS (EXCEPT YOU)
Let’s be honest, OK?
Nobody cares about your products and services except you and the others in your organization.
What your buyers do care about are themselves. And they care a great deal about solving their problems. The good news is that this knowledge has the potential to make you many times more successful. It may quite literally transform your business (that’s not just my opinion; many people write me to tell me so). When it’s obvious that you understand your buyers and their problems, it jars your visitors into paying attention. The result is a World Wide Rave of people who are excited that your organization might be able to help them and eager to tell your story for you by sharing with others.
Buy truly understanding the market problems that your products and services solve for your buyers, you transform your marketing from mere product-specific, ego-centric gobbledygook that only you understand and care about into valuable information people are eager to consume and that they use to make the choice to do business with your organization.
This isn’t the same old marketing and PR that you and your ad agency have been practicing for years. To succeed you’ll need to throw out some old ideas and pick up some new ones:
- Don’t obsess about being “on message.”
- Don’t break the bank with expensive advertising.
- Don’t beg mainstream media to write about you.
- Do tell your story directly to an interested market.
- Do make it easy for people to share your content with others.
The best World Wide Rave promotes your organization and its products and services by delivering great online content (a video, an e-book, a great blog post, or an interesting photo or graphic). Instead of creating jargon-filled, hype-based advertising, you can create the kind of online content that your buyers naturally gravitate to—if you take the time to listen to them discuss the problems that you can solve for them. Then you’ll be able to use their words, not your own. You’ll speak in the language of your buyer, not the language of your founder, CEO, product manager, or the PR agency staffer. You’ll help your marketing get real.
Companies that understand their buyers know exactly why people are will be eager to learn about their products and services. These organizations get out of sales mode and instead work to educate potential buyers. A focus on buyers and away from your own ego transforms your business. (Really.)
Learn more from this Genius:
- David’s blog: Web Ink Now
- David’s book: The New Rules of Marketing & PR
- Free e-book: The New Rules of Viral Marketing
