Sounds harsh? Well, it might be – but truth often is. And the truth is human beings are slightly selfish. When we need something, whether a good or service, it is about US. Our needs. And that’s is why so much marketing content fails.
When your customer is spending money, well, it had darn well better be about them. And they had better be happy. So why do companies spend so much time talking about themselves? How nice they are, how great they are, how many people they have working for them.
The simple truth? Customers have problems. They want solutions. Period.
Yes, it’s marketing 101, but it needs to be repeated often. Very, very often.
Your customers don’t care about you, your prestige (if any), your age, your size, etc. First off, they care if you can solve their problem. The rest comes later. So when you create marketing & advertising content about your company, always place their needs first. And if you can tailor your offerings to each individual (which is where the social media dynamic is bringing everyone), you are much further ahead. Car companies realized this a long time ago, and some are taking it a step further.
Heck, in the future due to intelligent design and manufacturing on demand, car makers may build your car to order as you are ordering it.
To broadly paraphrase The One-Minute Sales Person, put your customer’s needs and happiness first, and the money will follow. Get it the other way, and you will see disappointment. Create your marketing with their needs in mind, and how you will solve it.
Any other approach is both obvious and irritating. And, well, it’s just embarrassing.