The topic of stories holds a never ending fascination for me.
You see, everyone tells themselves a story when they purchase a product or service.
And every product or service, like it or not, has a story to tell as well.
Sometimes, the story is that the product or service is shabby and not worth purchasing.
This isn’t the kind of story you want to present, obviously.
According to author and marketing expert Seth Godin, it is up to the entrepreneur to match the product or service’s story to the story that the customer tells herself.
For example…
“Aston Martin has the new hot $150,000 of the moment. The New York Times gave it a twelve on a scale of one to ten. You can also buy exotic cars from Jaguar, Volvo and Range Rover.
And every one of them is made by Ford - and you shouldn’t be surprised to discover that they may even share part.”
Knowing this, why in the world would anyone even consider purchasing a $150,000 Aston Martin when they could go from Point A to Point B just as easily in a $30,000 Volvo?
It’s the STORY that the Aston Martin tells, and how well that story resonates with the story that the customer tells himself.
Aston Martin oozes class, wealth, power, distinction, and a bit of a James Bond-ish type of feel. (See? These are the stories I tell myself!)
Obviously, it is a wealthier clientele that Aston Martin is shooting for, but the fact remains, the customer must resonate with this particular automobile’s story (because the story justifies the customer’s worldview or their view of themselves, or who they wish to be) in order to purchase it.
Let’s take another car example.
Why would one purchase a Toyota Prius then?
The story is obviously much different.
According to Godin, “People buy this car in order to show the world how smart they are (even if they’re not smart)”.
The Prius doesn’t just have remarkable gas mileage (so you can brag to your friends about how smart you are), even the keys are smart.
The car actually detects when you have the keys in your pocket so you don’t even have to get them out or even press a button. You just open the door.
Imagine how gleefully Prius owners can tell their friends, family, and coworkers about these options.
Just as Aston Martin owners can sit at the country club, sip on a dry martini, and point with their top hat to their automobile and say with a yawn, “Yes, I drove the Aston today because I hardly use it and figured it needed a bit of a run… I’m getting bored with it lately though… yawn.”
(Again, the story I tell myself!)
Match the story that your customers tell themselves with your product’s story, and see what happens.
You might find yourself pleasantly surprised.
-James D. Lee
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