“It’s not you, it’s me”
While these five words may signal the end of a romantic relationship, they can also be the beginning of a great relationship between a brand and its consumers.
Too often, we marketers fail to think and act in business as we do in real life. We offer up solutions to problems of our own invention. We obsess over every competitive advantage. We mistakenly think our customers truly care about us.
They don’t. They’re just like you and me – more worried about making it to daycare on time than whether a product on the store shelf is 10 percent better than before. We’re pretty selfish by nature, putting the people, places and things we interact with in terms of our own experiences and emotions. It’s not you, it’s me.
What we really want is universal – to feel proud, powerful, excited, safe, loved, smart, sexy and whole. We want the promise of better tomorrow. These are the benefits we buy again and again.
Whether its complicated medical technology for doctors or tube of toothpaste for moms at Target, we don’t buy claims or jargon written entirely for senior management approval. We don’t buy strategies and tactics that speak more about what the brand is than who we become when we buy, use or flaunt it.
We do buy products that are relevant, that make us feel good. We pay attention when a brand asks us what we think (and will share if you ask nicely). We prefer conversations to monologues. We hate intrusive advertising, especially if it is all about you.
Understanding these simple facts of human nature is the difference between the clearance rack and global dominance, passing notice and brand evangelism. Just ask us. We’re the customer and we’re always right.
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