Last night I watched an interesting video which really challenged the whole notion of the way I’d thought about marketing. For me, marketing had always been about informing people about the benefits of a product/service and explaining how it’s awesome! What I’d missed in my thinking was the reason “why” a business behaves the way it does and how this concept impacts customers.
The below circle diagram illustrates how most marketers think about their marketing activities. They proceed from the outside of “What” they do and move inwards towards “How” they do it and finally some get to the “Why” they do what they do.
Pause to think about this for a second. Brochures inevitably espouse the “What” is great about a product and “How” it’s going to benefit you. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach other than the “Why” you made the product has been left out.
In the video, the presenter encouraged the group of entrepreneurs he was sharing with to work from the inside of the circle to the outside. Talk about the “Why” and work your way out to the “How” and “What”.
He then highlighted that both “Apple” and “Harley-Davidson” use this approach in all their marketing communications. When customers understand the “Why” they then begin to associate with the company’s values.
