It’s the number one question of all businesses: “How useful is my product to my customers?” But ironically, most marketers are so concerned about other questions that they forget to address this major issue. With the prevalence of the internet and other multi-media channels, many businesses are forgetting that the primary focus should be on ensuring that their product or service is useful to their consumers.
Technology has completely changed the way consumers interact with each other and the products and services they use. In today’s age, the role of engaging brand stories is no longer the foundation of consumer-business relationships. We must go beyond telling great product and service stories and begin to focus on how our products and services are actually being used – not on how we wish customers would use them. Bottom line? We need to learn how to make our products and services more useful to the consumer – regardless of the original design plan drafted by us as businesses.
We can advertise and market to our heart’s content, but no amount of fluff is going to create success for what the consumer perceives as a sub-standard product or service. We can no longer count on the marketing or advertising channels to sell what we’re marketing. We have to rely on the product or service to advertise itself. We have to start figuring out what is unique about our brand – not as the business defines it, but the one which is created by our consumers in today’s society. It’s no longer about developing competition with other similar products. It’s now about discovering the consumers’ number-one driving value in the category and ensuring that it is met – and even exceeded.
It’s no longer a market where success comes from discussing what your product or service does – it’s actually DOING it. Communication? It’s key. But action is what’s succeeding with consumers in today’s world. So stop focusing on selling your product or service. Instead, ensure that it’s able to sell itself.
