If you’re marketing your business on the Coast, chances are you’re already doing the basics well. You’re sharp on service, you know your numbers, and you work hard to stand out. But when everyone says they’re friendly and fairly priced, it gets noisy fast.
Most of us have learned the traditional service and price models for basing your business marketing on:
1. Understanding your customer’s needs
2. What you do that solves this need
3. How you solve it uniquely
4. Offering competitive pricing
Selling on price and service are crucial success factors, but only strong as long as you have the best offer. So in this highly competitive market, is it still enough?
Selling with your WHY is more sticky, because it helps people connect with you on an emotional level too. It’s the difference between “we can do that” and “we’re the people you want in your corner.”
Keep doing what you are doing, but take a step back and look at it from a different perspective.
Here are some things for you to consider in finding your WHY
• What makes what you do meaningful for you?
• What gives you energy?
• What’s your cause?
• What can you speak about where your passion will show?
• What keeps you going when it gets difficult?
• True problems you solve?
• What is your tribe connection?
• What gives purpose for you?
WHY isn’t to make money, that’s a result. WHY is the reason you do what you do. The right people will buy your WHY and they’ll likely pay more for it. For example, Harley Davidson don’t make the best motorbikes, not by a long shot. But people will go on a waiting list for 2 years to buy one.
Take Apple, they don’t have the best hardware. In fact they can lag in technology and they are more expensive. But some people won’t use anything else.
People want to make connections, and buy off people and brands they like and trust. Your WHY gives them something to recognise, remember, and talk about.
If you want to know your own WHY
Say what you do out loud. Then ask yourself ‘why’? Answer this, and then ask yourself ‘why’ again. Keep repeating it until you’re done. You’ll be surprised at what comes out.
Once you’ve got it, work with a branding expert to apply it to a selling proposition for your business, and to make sure it shows up in your website, socials, and the way you talk about what you do.
Some more good reading on this is ‘Start With Why’, by Simon Sinek.
Part of a discussion held between the members of the local Independent Board, facilitated by Daniel Duarte.