We have become a society of “ME’s”…it’s all about ME. What can you do for ME? How is this going to help ME? What are the benefits to ME? And the list goes on…
We can’t change that…at least not in the near future. But companies and the people that make them up still think they can. This includes Sales, Marketing, HR, Leadership teams…just about everyone in the company. The belief is still…”IF WE CAN TELL THE CUSTOMER MORE AND MORE AND MORE ABOUT US THEY WILL WANT TO BUY FROM US.” The key word here is US.
Here’s the problem. Companies spend thousands (and millions) of dollars trying to shove US down the throat of their customers…when all we (the customer) wanted was for them to talk about ME. I just want to know how this solves my problem or helps ME do better at what I do. That’s it. It just isn’t more complicated than this simple goal. But companies make it more complicated. Why?
My view is pretty simple…we don’t know what they really want or who they really are. So much time is spent getting our processes and operations and sales and marketing internal engines so fine-tuned that we forgot who was actually the one driving this bus…the CUSTOMER. Today, because of the internet and social media, we have become very specific customers. I don’t want to waste time (today’s most valuable commodity) being sold in a general way. I want to know specifically about my specific need and how you are going to help me solve my issue. That’s it.
So in a world that is all about ME, the customer, when you talk to me, I’m not listening…because you are talking about YOU and trying to get my attention. It isn’t working. If it did, we would still be thriving in the traditional media world of “interruption marketing and messaging”…we aren’t. That world is either dead or rapidly dying. We, the customer don’t have time for this approach any longer.
Solution. Fine tune your customer audiences and KNOW WHAT I WANT…then help ME understand how you can help ME solve my problem specifically and I will BUY FROM YOU! You have now added lots of value to ME. And what does ME do? I tell everyone I know, usually via my social media channels (most have over 1000 friends/followers/connections today) and spread Word-of-Mouth.
Sounds simple…yet less than 30% of the companies do this today. Sad. But the bright spot is that it is the ultimate economic engine for a company. Those that focus on ME will dominate…the rest…well we won’t remember their names in a few years…after they are gone.
