Unlock this brand superpower
There is so much we want to say about our brands. So much that we want people to know. It's easy to work ourselves into a frenzy, cranking out message after message to make sure our prospects recognize all the features of our offering.
I had run into this not too long ago with a client who engaged me to help with their marketing. The client wanted prospects to know about the latest feature they added. Oh, and we couldn't let prospects forget about bullet points one, two, and three as well. And as long as we were adding those, it seemed to make sense to the client to go ahead and add bullet points four, five, and six, too. Just to make sure prospects didn't miss those.
The client wanted to know if all that made sense.
ME: "Why are you asking me?"
CLIENT: "Well, you're the branding/marketing expert."
ME: "True. But I'm not the one you should be listening to."
That probably had him reconsidering my consulting fee.
What would Howard do?
Howard Schultz help Starbucks become a beloved brand during his tenure as CEO from 1986 to 2000. When the company was struggling, he returned to the helm from 2008 to 2016 to help right the ship. And he has now returned a third time as Starbucks once again struggles with its culture. There is a reason.
There are a lot of things you could do when you find yourself in this situation. The natural instinct is to tell everyone that you have a plan. That's what leaders do, right? Come in with a plan and calm everyone's fears?
After you've been around a while, you become a bit skeptical every time this happens. After seeing a number of exceedingly average to wildly ineffective leaders use this tack, you start to ask yourself if this guy is really going to be any different than everyone before him?
Howard Schultz did just the opposite. The first thing he did was hit the road to go listen to Starbucks' employees. Not to talk. To listen.
Somebody’s trying to tell us something
It was the Greek stoic philosopher Epictetus who said, “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
There is so much we want to say about our brands. But before we start to assail our prospects with the litany of our features, we should take the time to listen. For the client I mentioned before, that meant shifting from what he wanted to say to what those he hoped to serve actually wanted to hear.
Honestly, prospects don't really want to hear about you. They want to hear how they can address a need they have. Quell a fear. Eliminate confusion. Pursue a desire. They have their own challenges. Your messages about your features are, at best, a distraction.
If you really want to connect with them then take a page out of Epictetus' and Howard Schultz's playbooks. Listen first.
How to listen
Ideally, you would go out and do some meaningful research with your clients and prospects. You'd hear straight from them what's important. I'm a fan of this kind of discovery. I've been involved in it myself. It is enlightening.
I can't tell you how many times I've had brands tell me that they don’t have the time or resources for this kind of research. I'm not talking about mom and pop companies. I've heard this from international brands.
Nevertheless, it's what happens. This is when I counsel clients to talk to the next most important group of folks. Their frontline people.
These are the team members who interact with your prospects daily. Listen to them. Have them help you understand:
The top three concerns prospects have
The most asked questions
The most cited objection
Have them share the stories the customers and prospects share with them. You'll discover things that change the way you think about your brand.
Once you arrive there, you can start to create a brand with real meaning. A brand that feels useful. Helpful. And meaningful. Because it will be based on what you heard. The real needs and desires of those you hope to serve.