School for the Gifted: Are you pushing when you should be pulling?

So many times I have caught myself looking like an alumna of The Midvale School for the Gifted. You remember, from the Gary Larson Far Side cartoon of the kid pushing on the door that says “Pull.”

When we are enthusiastic about our company, we tend to vomit out all the features of our service or products. We tell you all about how we do it or make it. We are shoving way too much information at our prospective customer. Pushing won’t get them interest; it’ll get them overwhelmed.

What they really want to know is “WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?” People don’t want to know how to make it. They don’t need to see the magic behind the curtain. They want to see clear benefits of how you can solve their problem, make life easier, make them more money and so on. Benefits lure, pull, entice, intrigue and create a desire to engage with you to learn more.

When I work with client to facilitate brand building, here are five examples of the survey questions I might use to help them define benefits:

• What do your ideal customers need that they aren’t getting now?
• How do you or your product serve customers differently from what they do or use now?
• How do satisfied customers describe their experience with your business and your product?
• Why do customers return to you for repeat business?
• Where is your opportunity to be great?

When you are clear and confident in the benefits behind your brand, you can express to customers what you can do for them. And, that shows how gifted you truly are.

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