“Great marketers don’t make stuff. They make meaning.”
— Seth Godin
If we have any product or service to sell, hopefully it is because we have something that is important enough to us that we’d like to share it with others.
The product, the “stuff” is just a by-product of what really matters, what really has value: beauty, relationship, growth, health, etc.
It’s tricky, though, in business sometimes to really communicate the heart or “meaning” of what is really being sold.
I’ve worked with a client who sells gorgeous, vibrant scarves – but what she really sells is beauty and confidence. When she is able to share how a woman feels confident and free walking into any room when wearing her scarf, she is able to naturally appeal to other women who are looking for that same feeling. When I share stories about women who I’ve been able to help step into something bigger than themselves, it triggers something inside of other women who can resonate with that same yearning to start their own gig, as well. I “sell” logos, websites, content marketing systems, but that is not why people buy.
For all of us as marketers, even when we are just recommending something to a friend, we should think about the meaning behind our products and continually seek to communicate that clearly in a way that connects authentically.
Sonya Dalrymple 