Last week, I bought 3 boxes of chocolate chip cookies. The thing is, I really don’t like chocolate chip cookies. My wife and son are not fond of them either.
So, what was it that motivated me to buy them? And… what can you learn from this, to improve the effectiveness of all your marketing?
People buy the story
When a kid from our village school comes to my door selling cookies, it feels different than when a shop is selling them. Even if the product is the same, the story behind the product is what we pay for. In this case, I wanted to support the school, so I am now the proud owner of 3 boxes of chocolate chip cookies.
My friend Karl recently spent $4,000 on an Apple Mac Pro for his office. Sure, it’s a nice looking computer. However, he could have got an equally powerful computer for around $1000 less. So, why did this savvy business owner spend all that extra money?
Apple’s story about design and innovation resonates with people like Karl. They enjoy the way they feel about owning Apple products — and the way they feel being seen using Apple products. They would rather pay more for an Apple product, than pay less for a brand whose story means nothing to them.
Your story
Your business already has a story. The story is being told right now, through; your marketing, your prices, your promises and guarantees, your website, your social networking updates, your decision to use professional photos and images [or not], etc.
In order to work, your story needs to resonate powerfully with the world view of the clients or customers you want to attract. This is exactly what happened with the cookie seller and why I now have 3 boxes of cookies.
It’s also how Apple inspired Karl to pay $4000 for a computer. On a larger scale, it’s why Apple were able to achieve record breaking profits, selling high priced goods, throughout the last recession.
If you want to know more about how a story can transform your marketing results, here are some ideas and examples to help you.