Fresh Fish for Sale Here: Are You Emphasizing the Wrong Thing?

I was linked to a fantastic article by Ryan Sauers that reminded me of a story I heard about a fishmonger's sign many years ago. One of Ryan's points in his article is that you should be able to tell someone in 17 seconds why your company is great without using the words "quality", "service", or "price," and I have a similar challenge for my own readers at the end of this article.

The fish story has made the rounds, but for those who are not familiar, I'll summarize it.

A man approaches a fishmonger's stall which has a sign out front that says "Fresh Fish for Sale Here". The man asks the fishmonger, "Do you think that sign is effective at selling more fish?"
"I guess so," the fishmonger replies.
"Well, it says 'here', but where else would you be selling the fish?"
"Good point," answers the fishmonger as he removes the word 'here' from the sign.
"And 'fresh'? Of course it's fresh. Would you sell old, bad fish?"
"Certainly not!" the fishmonger declared, reducing his sign to "Fish for Sale".
"You don't give it away do you? No one would expect that, so why say 'for sale'?"
"Good point." The fishmonger's sign now said 'Fish'.
"Your stall contains nothing but fish. I don't think you need a sign to explain that." And that was the end of the sign.

Every business tells you about their superior quality, excellent service, and best prices. You hear it all the time, and you believe absolutely none of it. You tune it out. I tune it out. Everyone tunes in out. Let's imagine a generic pitch that hits on those three concepts.

Dumcorp's best salesman.

Dumcorp offers you high quality products at the lowest prices. We promise to beat our competitor's price without sacrificing quality, and our service is second to none.

It sounds like copy written by a lazy copy writer that likely has no bearing on what the company actually does. Basically what you read when you see that is...

Dumcorp sells something.

"Quality", "Service", and "Price" are probably your "Fresh", "Fish", "For Sale", and "Here".

When I sell, I don't sell on quality, service or price. I sell on what sets me apart.

Minuteman is a good printer with great quality, but there are other good printers with great quality in our market. Is our quality better than most? Certainly, but can I prove that?

Minuteman has good, competitive prices, but their are other printers with comparable costs of doing business, equipment and quality, so the prices will be comparable. I can't promise ours will always be better, but they are competitive and fair. We take good care of our customers in terms of price, but can I prove that?

Minuteman has good service, but so do our competitors, so I cannot guarantee that our service will be better, and once you're at the top tier of service, what is "better" anyway? And how do I prove it?

Included free with every purchase.

So, when I sell printing, I sell on the greatest asset I have to offer: myself. I don't just print your stuff. I bring my experience and expertise in small business and marketing into the process. I don't just ask what you want to print. I ask why you need it so I can maximize the effectiveness of your printing dollar.

Here is a challenge for you. Can you describe your competitive advantage in 50 words or less without using the words "Price", "Quality", or "Service". For added challenge, let's also avoid the buzzwords of "Value", "Best", and "Competitive". Show us what you've got in the comments.

On Superweapons and Overnight Success

In this article, I will discuss why superweapons in movies have taught you the wrong lessons about success. How has the Death Star made it harder for you to succeed? Read on.

In movies, TV, and comics, there is often a focus on "superweapons". The villain is building a laser that can destroy the earth. The Empire builds larger and larger planet destroying weapons. Why is that? Let's consider the Starkiller Base in Star Wars VII. If the same resources to make one super base were instead used to build a fleet of ships, those ships would have the power to bombard a planet into ruble. It would also avoid the single point of failure that destroyed both Death Stars and the Starkiller Base.

That is precisely why they don't do it in the movie. Major fleet/army engagements are complicated. Victory is determined by complex things like intelligence, logistics, and morale. Those are much messier to show on the screen or the page than our hero heroically performing acts of heroism as he flies in to destroy the single point of failure and save the day. It allows the writers to wrap up the story in an hour or two hours neat and clean. It is the action movie equivalent of the overnight success.

But here's the thing: every action movie does this. There has to be a single point of failure, a single target for the good guy or else the story is too complex. Thus, every action movie you've seen has taught you that there is a magic bullet or big red button or simple trick to win. The hero doesn't spend years training and many more years fighting. He has a training montage which is cut short by suddenly needing to go and blast the flashing red box on the superweapon.

Unfortunately, in real life, there's no single weak spot on the enemy. Whether you are fighting ISIS or building a business, it's about the long, hard work of building a campaign to victory, step by step and inch by inch.

Overnight success is the result of thousands of days of preparation. There is no secret trick and there is no single weak spot to hit. There's just long, hard work.

What's In It For Them?

“There is no human relationship that is not based on self-interest” 
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, The Great Pearl of Wisdom

Have you ever done anything you didn't want to do? You may think that the answer is yes, but is it really. You may not have wanted to go to work today because you'd rather hang out at the beach, but you wanted to go to the beach less than you wanted to continue to have a job, so you went to work. On balance, you wanted to go to work. If a mugger points a gun at you and demands your money, you may not want to give him your money, but you want not to be shot more than you want your money, so there goes the money.

Everything that you or anyone else ever does is because they want to do that thing more than any
other option. Let that sink in for a moment.

Now, consider the last time you tried to convince someone to do what you wanted them to do. Were you thinking about what you wanted or what they wanted? Too often, when we are trying to persuade, we think of our own desires and not those of the audience.

Have you ever seen a social media post along these lines:
"Hey, guys. I just started selling BeachogenalucaWay, and I'm really excited. It's an awesome opportunity. I'm trying to build a team of 20 by the end of the year and really get the word out. Please attend my virtual party and learn about the products!"

Did you do what they asked? Probably not, unless it was a very close friend, maybe a spouse or family member, which I refer to as a "compersive relationshop." But otherwise? Probably not.

Why did you not help out? Because they didn't offer you anything you want. They spoke entirely in terms of what they wanted, not what you wanted. Thus you were not interested. There is nothing wrong with that. Your responsibility is primarily to yourself (and those you are responsible for like kids and family). I'm sure you'd be happy to hear that your friend was successful with BeachogenalucaWay, but only in the same way you are pleased to hear that the unemployment rate is down when you already have a job.

What if it was worded this way?
"Hey, guys. I know some people on my friends list have been really struggling to get their weight down and get healthier. I've been using BeachogenalucaWay for a few months, and the results have been very good. I've never felt better and I've lost twenty pounds. I would really like to share because I think it can really help some of my friends. I've got an online event coming up. There's no obligation, but I think that you might learn some really useful information."

If your friend posted this and you were trying to lose weight, you would be more inclined to log in to their event. The promise of "no obligation" reduces the apparent cost and the piece is in terms of solving a problem that you have, or, put another way, in terms of what you want.

In the book How to Win Friends and Influence People, he discusses the application of this concept with children. People so often tell children to do things because they want them to.

"Be quiet, because it's too loud in here."
"Eat your vegetables because I tell you to."
"Go to bed because I have things to do."

A toddler can even be convinced
to read a book on investments
if properly motivated.

Naturally that is ineffective. More effective is putting things in the child's terms. The example in the book is that a there is a child who refuses to eat wholesome foods and they cannot get the child to eat. However, the child also has a problem with a bully who keeps stealing his tricycle. Once they explain to the child that eating well will cause him to grow more rapidly and develop more muscle to be able to stand up to bullies, the child starts eating anything offered. He wouldn't eat one string bean because his parents wanted him to, but to grow strong enough to defend himself, he'd eat pickled herring if that's what it would take.

Next time you are seeking to convince and persuade, whether it is to make a sale, earn a vote, or even get some peace and quiet, think about what the other person wants, then put your request in terms that make it beneficial to your counterpart.

Past Glories or Between Glories

We all know that person whose best days are behind them, The high school sports hero. The failed entrepreneur. The divorcee who never got over it. You may yourself feel that all of your glory is in the past.

I once felt that way. Not long ago, I thought that all my best days were behind me.

Between 22 and 23, I graduated college, met a woman to whom I would become engaged, started a business. Over the next couple of years, that business, a store called Phoenix Games, became a great center of community for dozens of people, and I led it. I co-founded and helped to lead a Rocky Horror Picture Show shadow cast called the Come Again Players that was a center for dozens more people. I co-founded and led Pi-Con, the primary sci-fi convention for the Western Massachusetts geek community.

How I saw myself in 2006.

It was a small mountain, but I was living on top of it.

During my 27th year, I broke up with that fiancee, I was involuntarily removed from leadership of the Come Again Players. I was convinced to step down from leading Pi-Con and subsequently entirely pushed out of the organization.

By my 28th birthday, most everything that was most important to me in my life was gone. It was gone because I failed to understand one thing, which is that without other people we are nothing. My power in that community was because other people made that community possible. I coordinated them into great organizations, and that was valuable, but those who worked with me were equally valuable. I got caught up in my own greatness and forgot that my greatness was only the result of my relationships with others, and I had not properly appreciated those relationships.

The next few years, I got by, struggling a bit financially and wondering what would be next. I tried a few endeavors like the ill-fated Nexus Faire, but I was clearly past my prime. At 29, I was washed up.

It was then that I had the opportunity to speak to Terrance Zdunich, the director and creator of Repo: The Genetic Opera, which was recently out and quite popular in certain circles. I was volunteering with Wicked Faire, and my task was to help Terrance with whatever he needed while was a guest. I

Terrance Zdunich played the role for me
that is usually reserved in movies
for grizzled old bartenders
and wise black janitors.

had a conversation with him in which I mentioned that I was approaching 30 and didn't feel I had accomplished much. He said something I will never forgot. He told me that when he was 30, he had not even thought of Repo: The Genetic Opera yet. When he was my age, the achievement that brought him fame was not even a twinkle in his eye.

That put things in perspective.

By 32, I had gotten into the car business and started making a decent living, discovering for the first time in my life what it was like not to struggle and count every penny.

Amazing wife Amy and
beautiful daughter Rowan.

By 33, I had met the woman who would become my amazing wife.

At 34, my daughter Rowan was born, and I knew that if I did nothing else in my life, raising her could provide all the purpose I would need.

At 35, the opportunity for my current job appeared, and I seized it. Working with Minuteman has given me the opportunity to work with a fantastic variety of people and organizations from Sofia Sees Hope and Fairview to having my show Open for Business on WBLQ to coordinating the Third Thursday New London Art event.

Life goes in cycles, up and down. When we are up, it is easy to believe that we can see the vast horizon and be fooled that it will go on forever. When we are down, it is easy to look back at the mountain behind us and see its glory, and it is easy to be fooled into thinking that the glory of the mountain behind us cannot be matched by anything in the future. That is merely a trick of perspective.

Every experience. Every challenge. Everything we do makes us wiser and stronger. As long as we do not give up and do not surrender to the fallacy that our best days are behind us, then the glories of the past will merely be foreshadowing of the glories of the future.

Who Are You? What Do You Want?

One of the greatest television series ever created aired in the 1990s and was called Babylon 5. While it took place in space, and had vast, sweeping storylines, it ultimately was a story about people dealing with a large and complex world. People just like you and me... but in space.

Throughout the first couple of seasons, there were two questions that were frequently asked, and the answers to which had profound impact on both the answerer and the world around them.

Two simple questions:
Who are you?
What do you want?
Simple and yet complex enough to build an entire five year story arc on. So, Who are you? What do you want?

Who Are You?

In Babylon 5, the Vorlon Kosh would often ask "Who are you?" He knew the identity of the person he was speaking to. He wanted a deeper answer. He wanted to know who the person really was. What was beneath the facade that he put up? What would he do when the chips were down and it was all on the line? 

So, who are you? I don't mean what is your name. I mean who are you? How do you describe yourself to yourself? What do you do? What do you offer that no one else does? What do you do when the time comes to lay it all on the line? Would you risk it all for an important cause or would you play it safe? Do you see yourself as one who sets their own course or do you drift with the current?

This is a foundational question, and if you cannot answer it then you may find it difficult to answer many other questions. It informs what you can offer, the tools you have to achieve your goals, how other perceive you and so much more.

What Do You Want?

A very interesting character named Mr. Morden comes to Babylon 5 and asks every key character this question. "What do you want?" he asks. Many laugh the question off initially as ridiculous, but he continues to insist until he gets an answer.

On the surface it is a simple question. What do you want? In other words: What is your goal? What is your motivation?

But it reveals another piece of information:

What is your weakness?

That which you want is also that which you lack. How much do you want it? What would you give up to get it? Your time? Your money? Your integrity? Your family? Your country?

Londo Molari is
slave to his own
wants.

If I know what you want, what you truly want more than anything else, then I know how to control you, especially if I understand it better than you do. So, do you know the answer to that question. What do you want? How far are you willing to go to get it?

In the series, Lando Molari deeply desires to see his people, the Centauri, once again lead a great empire. He believes he would do anything for this. However, he does not understand what price he is and is not willing to pay for a return to greatness.

His lack of self knowledge, and Morden's superior understanding of his mind, lead to great strife and suffering for many before the story ends.

Know Thyself

Ultimately, this all comes down to understanding yourself. Too often, people find themselves too busy to stop and find the quiet space where they can understand their own mind and their own soul. Take that time. Understand yourself. Sometimes your ego will prevent you from seeing you flaws, while other times a lack of confidence may prevent you from seeing your strengths. Both are equally dangerous. Find a way to set aside both tendencies, and learn to discover your true self.

The alternative is to never achieve your potential while leaving yourself vulnerable to your desires being exploited by those who might manipulate you.

Know yourself, or else.

Adapt or Complain

Who is responsible for the success of your business. Hopefully you know that the answer I am looking for is that you are responsible for your own success. Most people know how to answer that question, but do you know how to live that answer? Day to day, you are responsible for your success.

But, what if the big box stores are offering really awesome sales? You’re still responsible. What if there’s a huge snow storm? Still you. What if you employees are letting you down? You guessed it. Still you.

Black Friday sales: making down merchandise that they
have been marking up since July.

I was speaking to a woman who owned a small consignment shop a few weeks after Christmas. She was not interested in doing any kind of marking because she was very tight on cash. The Christmas season had not been kind to her. Of course such things happen, but she said some things to make me things that there may be more underlying issues.

She said that her December had been bad because the “Black Friday Sales” had been especially good that year, and “Cyber Monday” seemed to stretch on all month. This was not her first year of operation, or even her second. She had been in business over four years, and it all that time, I am fairly confident that the big box stores have been having big holiday sales each of those years. I am also pretty sure that the big online stores had been doing Cyber Monday for all those years as well.

So, I asked her what kind of sales she did during the season. Other than the usual clearing of older items, she did nothing. No special discounts. No special programs. No special marketing. Just a dedicated campaign of grumbling about how awful the market was for the little guys.

What face are you showing your customers?

This meant that she was doing two things wrong. First, she was not responding to the conditions of the market in any way. Second, she was probably making worse by carrying this discouragement around with her. She personally runs her store most of the time, so when customers would come in, it is quite possible that she would express to them how tough it was. She may have thought that she was innocently grumbling, but she was really telling her customers that there were some awesome sales to be had… somewhere else.

There is some light down the tunnel for her. In February, she always runs a big sale to clear out the winter inventory and make room for summer. However, I spoke to her in mid January. I asked her what she was going to do in January to catch up. She said that she would be doing nothing because no one wants to spend any money in January.

I took the liberty of getting this data from the U.S. Census that tracks, among other things, total retail sales in America.

December 2014 $499 Billion	January 2015 $396 Billion
December 2013 $477 Billion	January 2014 $383 Billion
December 2012 $462 Billion	January 2013 $376 Billion
December 2011 $451 Billion	January 2012 $355 Billion

Source: http://www.census.gov/retail/index.html

$396,000,000,000 is a whole lot of money to spend at a time when “people aren’t spending money.”

There is a reason that store owners don’t pack up and go on vacation for a month in January. It’s because there is still money to be made. So, if you find yourself in a situation where you are thinking that no one is spending money in a certain month or the competition seems to be stronger or any other situation in which you are ascribing your own poor performance on a global factor, ask yourself this: Is this really something in the market or is it something I am doing. The business owner I spoke to thinks no one is buying in January, but another consignment shop owner two towns over is having a great January.

Is it that no one is buying, or just that no one is buying from you? And if they are buying something somewhere, then what can you do to make sure that your business is getting a piece of it?

Know Your Marketing: Chapter 1. Know Your Customer

I have been doing marketing for some time, and have decided to write a book about it. This is partly because I want to share my knowledge, and partly because when I offer my marketing experience, some think that it is just a salesman trick to get my foot in the door rather than a sincere offer to help with their marketing.

I would like input as I write so I can stay on the right track, so please comment or email me with your comments and suggestions.

I am tentatively calling the book Know Your Marketing, but I'm open to suggestions.

Chapter 1. Know Your Customer

Customer Versus Consumer
Let us first define one key set of terms: “customer” and “consumer”. The distinction I about to make is slightly different from the definitions you will find in the dictionary, but the dictionary, while excellent for definitions and spellings has never been a strong resource for business advice.
The word customer uses the British root “custom”, as in “If your service is unsatisfactory, I shall take my custom elsewhere.” The customer is the one who gives you money for your goods and services.
The consumer, on the other hand is the one who actually consumes your goods or services.

What’s the difference? For many businesses, there is no difference. The customer and consumer are the same. However, for many businesses they are quite different. If you make scarves and sell them to stores, the store is your customer. However, the store owner and his staff do not wear the 1200 scarves you sell to them. They turn around and sell the scarves to their customers. It is the store’s customers who are your consumers. They “consume” or use your product.

In this indirect business model, the people who actually wear your scarves will never give you money directly, yet they are a critical part of your business. It doesn’t matter if the store owners think your scarves are the best that they have ever seen. If the consumers do not buy them from the stores, the stores will not buy them from you.

It can be even more complex if you are selling to a distributor who sells to stores who sell to customers. To an extreme example, let us say that you make a unique product that is used in crafting gift items. You sell your product to a distributor who sells it to stores who sell it to crafters who put it into gift items which they sell to stores who sell it to consumers.

Why is this important? In the craft example above, you are dealing with 5 separate markets. There must be consumers who want to buy the finished items. There must be stores who believe there is a market for the finished items. There must be crafters who want to make the finished items and believe there are stores to buy them. There must be craft stores who believe there are crafters to buy your product. There must be distributors who believe their stores will buy your product. Each of these constituencies has different needs and motivations, and you must understand all of them and have a compelling story for all of them.

Maybe you are a crafter yourself and you created your product because you know it solves a problem that you have. That gives you a very compelling story for a crafter, but the store does not care about this problem except in so much as it will drive crafter consumers to buy the product.

Influencers Effect on Your Consumer
Whatever you make or do, there is ultimately someone who will make use of it. That individual exists within a system of people and influences. Let us a take a simple example. Imagine a stereotypical 60s TV family: Mom, Dad, and the kids Billy and Suzy. Dad works at the office and Mom takes care of the family affairs.

Most people reading this in the 2010s are probably appalled at my choice of example. A 60’s style nuclear family? I use the example for the same reason that a modern reader might find it peculiar. It is oversimplified. As I move through this example, you will see that even in this oversimplified family, there is great complexity. From there, imagine how much more complex things are with modern and realistic dynamics.

It is important to understand, that we understand the world through simplified models, in which we discard the details which we hope are not crucial. The more details we include, the more accurate the model of a thing is, but the more cumbersome it is to understand. The perfect model would not discard a single aspect of the thing, but such a model would be the thing itself, and thus of no use as a model.

So, back to Mom, Dad, Billy, and Suzy. Mom does all the grocery shopping. She goes to the store, picks the items, and pays for them. Mom appears to have the decision making authority so she would be the target market for any item sold in the grocery store. In the Customer/Consumer model discussed above, she is the consumer. As a maker of a grocery item, you would target your advertising to her, then you would focus your sales efforts on the grocery store that your product is in.

In the real world, we know it’s not that simple. Around a consumer, there is a constellation of “influencers”: people who influence the buying decision even though they are not directly involved in it. Mom must take into account the family’s desires. Mom may be at the store making the choices, but if Dad sees marketing that convinces him that real men eat Westco’s corn-fed beef, then he might push for that purchase. Billy might see cereal commercials that make him want to collect all the toys in SugaryOs. Suzy might have heard in school about the plight of migrant workers and want Mom to buy local produce.

There is a long chain of decision makers that extends from your business down to where your product or service is purchased and beyond that determines the market for your product. To  market successfully, you must understand every link in the chain and how you can influence it. In each transaction that your product passes through, understand who is involved in the decision. Who are the influencers? Is there a business partner or advisor involved? Is there a spouse or family member? Will the buyer be considering the opinions of friends, coworkers, or the community of their purchase?

Tastes Great, Less Filling
Story sources http://allaboutbeer.com/turning-lite-origins-miller-lite-light-beer and http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/63816024/
In the 1960s, there was a recognized gap in the American beer market. Men were beginning to become more aware of the importance of eating right and staying healthy. Beer is a fairly high calorie beverage, and a lower calorie version would appeal to many men. There was  problem. “Diet” products were generally thought to be for women. Men did not want to be seen as less manly by drinking a “diet” beer, although they might be interested in the health benefits of a healthier drink. With men being the primary consumers of beer, bars, the customers of the beer distributors, stocked very little if any of the diet beer.

Miller Brewing Company had a product that could exploit this market but knew that its consumers were concerned about image, so they launched a marketing campaign to not only appeal to their consumers, but also to change the opinions of those who influenced their direct consumers. They hired retired athletes, coaches and celebrities, including Bubba Smith, Dick Butkus, Bob Uecker, John Madden, Red Auerbach, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, Joe Frazier and Rodney Dangerfield. Manly men! Men so manly that if the ad campaign had shown them carrying purses, it would have made people consider purses manly.

These manliest of men were shown to drink light beer and argue in their manly voices as to whether Miller Lite were better describe as tasting great or being less filling. The one thing no one
was arguing about anymore was whether it was okay for a man to drink light beer in public.

This great shift in the market occurred Miller understood that they needed to first understand and then market to their consumers’ influencers, not just the consumers themselves. Chances are, if you are reading this book, you don’t have the resources to launch a national campaign to change the public’s view of a product, but you can at least seek to understand how the people who influence your consumers feel about your product.

And That Means...
There is a saying in the world of sales: sell the sizzle, not the steak. When someone considers a purchase, their interest is not in what the product is but what it can do for them. In my work selling printing and mailing services, if I am suggesting that someone get a brochure made, I do not tell them about the quality of the paper stock and about how the brochure will contain text and images laid out in a pleasing format. They are not interested in the details of what a brochure is. What they want to know is that a brochure is a low-cost, easy to distribute vehicle to get information about their business to their customer. The brochure is a tool that will bring them more business, because ultimately, that is what a business owner wants: more business!

Think about most marketing that you see. A billboard for Six Flags shows people in a roller coasters with excited expressions. That advertisement is selling fun and excitement. It says, come to Six Flags and be this smiling person. What would be more effective, that kind of advertisement, or a billboard telling you how many rides they have and how late they are open in the season and what admission costs and other factual details? Obviously, the ad that sells the fun, and that is why they use that.

When I sold cars, I had a sales manager who taught us the expression ATM: “And That Means”. Of course, it also means “Automated Teller Machine,” which he said was appropriate because both forms of ATM get you money. It is a great expression because it reminded us to put things in terms that the customer would care about.

“This car has Electronic Stability Control,” says the salesman.

Woop-di-doo, who cares? thinks the customer.

“And that means that when you are driving your family in the car and hit a patch of slick pavement, the vehicle will automatically adjust steering, braking, and engine power to keep you on the road and safe, keeping you safe from an accident that would have otherwise happened.”

That’s something I care about, thinks the customer.

The best examples that we see of this strategy is with products that people don’t like to talk about: products like adult diapers, tampons, and hemorrhoid cream. Think of the commercials that you see for these products. In many of them, the product is never actually shown. Instead, the commercials show people being happy, free, and liberated.

Consider the Charmin “Enjoy the Go” campaign. This is the text on Charmin’s “About Us” page

Life is full of little pleasures.
Watching the sunset. A hug from your kids. Walking barefoot in the sand.
And going to the bathroom.
Trouble is, you might not always take the time to enjoy these little moments as much as you should.
Especially when it comes to going to the bathroom.
At Charmin, we want you to enjoy going to the bathroom as much as we do.
The relief. The calm. The clean. The joy. The pride.
And we believe you can’t do that if you finish it all off with the wrong tissue.
Which is why we make a tissue that’s just right for everybody.
That's why Charmin users actually look forward to going to the bathroom; why they enjoy being in there; and why they aren't afraid to show it.
Fact is…
We all go to the bathroom.
Those who go with Charmin really Enjoy the Go.

For those of you not familiar who may have thought that this was some sort of Tantric enlightenment ritual, Charmin is toilet paper. It’s paper that you use to clean your bumm after you do what you do. It is indeed soft, durable, high quality toilet paper, but it’s still toilet paper. It’s not infused with special herbs and perfumes to bring balance to your spirit.

They compare the experience that Charmin gives you to watching a sunset, getting a hug from your kids and walking barefoot in the sand. Let me tell you that, while I’m not a fan of walking barefoot in the sand, if there were any product sold in the grocery store that compared to getting a hug from my daughter, they could keep enough in stock to satisfy my demand.

Enjoy the Go is a very slick, expensive, marketing campaign, but there is a lot to be learned from it. Join me in this brief exercise.

Think about your own product or service. Take out a piece of paper. At the top of it write what it is. For example: “Brochure Printing”.

Under that, write the problem that is solves. e.g. “Solves the problem of being able to explain our business in depth and being able to share that with other customers”.

Next, we will consider what your product should do for the customer. “Distinguishes their company over the competition and increases sales.”

Here’s where it gets fun. Let us imagine that your product is incredibly successful at what it is supposed to do. Best case scenario. How would it change your customer’s life. “More revenue, more profit, more income personally. Less time spent marketing. Less time spent working. More time with the family.”

Keep following that line of thinking until you have a way to express the value proposition of your product that is incredibly compelling. Then call me and we’ll see about designing a brochure with that value proposition which will grow your business and give you more money and time with your family.

Of course I’m kidding about that last part, but you can see how making more money, having a more stable business, and more time with the family is a much more compelling selling point that a good looking folded piece of paper.