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You will get strong enough to land fish...

· Martin Thorborg

Show customers the benefit of your product. Saying it is fast, big or clever is not enough. What does it mean in the customer’s life? I got a rather funny reminder of that at the breakfast table when I tried to get my son Mads to finish his juice.

In this video from 6 March 2010, I am at the house we have rented. Some people have wanted me to get out of the car a bit and perhaps ride a jet ski to entertain you. That will not happen right now, but you get the view, some birds and a glimpse of the dogs. The story, though, is about something we can use in marketing.

Show customers the benefit, not just the feature

My wife had made juice with lots of vegetables and fruit for breakfast. I thought it tasted lovely, but Mads was not quite as enthusiastic. He would rather have cola and that sort of thing, which of course we try not to give him all the time.

When he had drunk half, he did not want any more. I said: "Mads, come on, drink the rest. It will make you strong." I had said that several times, and it did not really help. You could almost see him thinking: Why should I care?

Then I thought of basic marketing. Why was I not using what I try to teach others? I had said something about a feature or an outcome, but I had not explained why it should interest him.

A fast hard drive needs to do something for the customer

It is like saying: "Buy this hard drive. It is fast." So fucking what? What interests the customer is what that speed makes possible. As a hypothetical example, you can explain that programs run faster and the customer therefore avoids some waiting time.

In the video, I use the example of running Windows programs twice as fast. It is an example of making the benefit concrete, not a measurement of a particular hard drive.

Likewise, "lots of space" is not the whole story. What can the customer use the space for? You can explain that there will be room for the programs and that the customer will not have to keep carrying a USB stick around. You need to turn the explanation into something that makes sense in the customer’s everyday life.

Mikkel deMib’s story needs to offer you value too

That is also how I talk about Aminotastic on 27 March 2010 in Køge. I do not just say that Mikkel deMib is coming and that he is a search engine expert.

I say that you can hear how he went from an unknown programmer to an internationally recognised expert. Then I take the explanation a step further: You can use his story to learn how to become known for what you are good at in your own business.

Then I have explained what you can get from hearing him. If I wanted to take the argument further still, I could also talk about how that might help you make money. The point is to show the connection between the story and what the listener wants to achieve.

Strength became interesting when it was about a fish

Back at the breakfast table, I changed my explanation to Mads: "It will make you strong, and then you can land big fish." Suddenly, that was something he could use.

He had caught a big catfish the other day and had barely had the strength to land it. He had to call me for help, and I could see it annoyed him. He wanted to have managed it himself.

So being able to land a big fish the next time we went fishing was relevant to him. Simply "getting strong" did not mean much to him. But when I connected it to something he actually wanted to be able to do, he picked up the cup and drank the rest in one gulp. Mum was happy, I was happy, and I had been reminded of my own point yet again.

When I go around preaching that other people should explain why something matters, I need to do it myself too. That applies to children, adults and, especially, the customers we want to sell to. Explain how the product can change their everyday lives: make life easier or help them with something that makes them happier. That is the connection you need to bring out. You can find more of my experiences of online sales and marketing in E-pusher.

Best wishes, Martin

Location:Jasmine Ct,Delray Beach,USA

Comments

  1. Man tænker ikke over det, men du har ret. Kender selv til at man står at sælger produktet på ens rutine, og glemmer at sælge situationen varen skal bruges i. Det kan koste dyrt, især hvis man står på messe. Undrer man sig over at folk kan lide ens produkter men går igen, så er det måske en af grundene.

    Tilgengæld undrede jeg mig da lidt over at selveste mr thorborg ikke har en simpel lille funktion hvor jeg nemt og hurtigt kan sende et link med din video til en ven. Bare et lille indspark:)

  3. Hej Martin
    Nu har jeg jo ikke børn endnu, der skal gerne vare lidt år endnu 🙂 men du har fuldstændig ret, og det kan jo ikke kun bruges i forhold til ens børn men alt markedsføring.
    Godt input, det lærte mig en vigtig ting mere om markedsføring og dens mange påvirknings måder.

  4. Hej Martin,

    Du har helt ret. Jeg bruger en masse af den viden jeg får fra mit netværk og e-bøger, det virker. Meget effektivt.

    Dog mener jeg, at jeg stadig skal have nogen mennesker jeg kan snakke uden at analysere deres stemmer, udtryk, nervøsitet.

    Man kan også blive for klog.

    Men i ens virksomhed er det råd genialt, jeg ved det virker. Det er set mange gange.

  5. Hold kæft en fed udsigt og et lækkert vejr! Du vil ik bytte med 15 cm sne og frost?

    Du har helt ret, og det gælder om at udnytte at den menneskelige hjerne tænker simpelt…
    Og lidt sjovt at du fortæller folk det til daglig, men ik selv udnytter det hele tiden ;D

  6. Hejsa.

    Det er så sandt som det er sagt. Det er ren EFU. Egenskaber Fordel & Udbytte. Det skal man altid huske.

  7. altid rart med en marketingopdatering fra fortiden (stadig relevant og tåler også denne gentagelse # 1 milliard)

  8. Hvor ser det bare mega lækkert ud hvor i bor – mon huset man ser til venstre er ledigt :·)))
    Tak for dine gode talkshows – de giver altid en lidt at tænke over :·)

  9. Ja der er ikke noget nyt i det, men der er blot forbløffende få der bruger det.

    Og ja, vi bor dejligt. Vi har 400 m2 ned til vandet for knap 20.000 kr. om måneden i leje.
    Og ja, der er masser af ledige huse!

    Dbh Martin

  10. @thorborg – for 20.000,-? det er jo latterligt……man burde nok våge springet inden børnene bliver alt for store, hvis ens arbejdsliv m.v. ellers tillader det …..(Hvad lå leje priserne på før krisen?)

  11. Nu er det et gammelt hus, men det er ok.
    Hust kostede vel 5.000 $ om måneden får, så små 10.000 kr. mere.

    Du kan købe et 200 m2 hus i ok stand med samme beliggenhed for godt 3 milioner Dkr. og det er sgu billigt.

    Dbh Martin