Well if you don’t eat it, why should anyone else?
The most effective marketing is when you are able to connect with a group of like-minded individuals. It’s not just a connection, it’s a genuine connection that is rooted in a common experience. And that common experience serves as a testament that you see things the same way as those who you seek to help.
To make that authentic connection, it means that you see things the same way in an expanded sense. You have lived through the same struggles and types of problems that your target audience is experiencing. And you have found a better way to move forward. Your story is far more than “We do this”. It is much more akin to “This is what we live for” and “This is how we have overcome the obstacles.”
The key of course is that you exhibit signs that you are really into “it”. “It” is whatever activities you are putting out marketing messages about. For those messages to be effective, you have to show signs of living through the pain and grind of whatever problem you are solving. And you must bring forward real insights that you have garnered from your experiences.
People want to follow those that have similar pursuits. It just provides an extraordinary learning opportunity. Both from their achievements, and especially form their mistakes and failures. Look around to all the common interest groups or the industry associations, and the evidence is quite strong. People like to gather around a set of common interests and goals.
And to attract prospects, you really do have to demonstrate that you do eat your own cooking. It means that you really do know all the nuances of dealing with the problem that you are solving. You can relate to the trials and tribulations of having struggled with the problem. You bring forward good insights into alternative ways of dealing with the problem. And you have realized gains with the solutions that you espouse.
To win the attention of new prospects, you need to be able to pull back the curtain and say “I did that”. Effective solutions that solve a problem are often derived by working with a lead customer. And sometimes that lead customer is you. There are many examples but I will draw on one of my favorites: the Dyson vacuum cleaner.
As the story goes, James Dyson was doing his part of the housework on a Saturday morning by using the Hoover upright vacuum cleaner. The problem was that it was not sucking up the dirt. So of course he changed the bag and very quickly again discovered that the amount of dirt that was getting sucked up, declined very rapidly. Continually needing to change bags that were not even close to being full was a nonsensical solution. So he came up with the concept of the bag-less vacuum cleaner and brought the product to market. (This part did take him 3 years).
This is where the story gets interesting. Amongst the vacuum cleaner establishment, i.e. the industry players, no one believed in the solution. James Dyson was left to tell his story directly to those that paid attention to how much of the dirt was actually getting sucked up. And within 3 years, the Dyson model was the best-selling vacuum cleaner in the UK. It was selling at twice the price of the next most expensive model, and had no advertising.
James Dyson knew the problem very well. He communicated his understanding of things with those in the retail channel and was effective in having his message echoed by the average retail sales person. Soon enough, the demand for his solution grew by leaps and bounds. Prospects were able to relate exactly to the same set of circumstances that James Dyson had personally experienced. That shared experienced was inextricably connected with the solution that was provided.
Your goal is to have prospects listen to you, follow you, and believe in you. In order to catalyze that process, your prospects need to be able to share in your experiences. It means understanding the passion of why you do what you do. Knowing that you eat your own cooking and why, serves as powerful attractive force.