Courtney Abbott's Key Ideas from Difference: The method for reimagining your business and reinventing your marketing
by Bernadette Jiwa

So much time has been spent explaining to people the features of services and products but that is speaking to a rational buyer's mind. People really want to know what is underneath the product or service, and what could potentially change for them by using it.

Spend more time thinking about what promises you can make, and less about what the obvious features are. You need to “stand in a potential user’s shoes and understand the impact that an innovation and its design might have on that person’s life (and thus in the market).

A modern marketing strategy involves not screaming at potential customers but instead telling stories they can relate to or identify with.

Airbnb, for example, offers great stories about the company. It is aware of the high cost of hotels and their impersonal service. Therefore, Airbnb offers more than just cheap hotel rooms. They encourage customers to experience the world in a whole new way.

How can you create a story that people can relate to? A different model should be followed, which involves the six P’s: principles, purpose, people, personal, perceptions, and product.

• The first step is to focus on your truths. Where do you excel and where do you struggle? Are there ways to incorporate these into your goal-setting?
• Your industry also has its own truths, which you must recognize. How does your industry function exactly? Is it possible to use or change these truths to your advantage?
• You must analyze the principles of your customers. Put yourself in the shoes of the people you want to influence. Are there truths driving their behavior? Do they feel restricted or unhappy due to those truths? How do they wish to live?

Getting to know your customers’ needs and wants is important, but that alone won’t make your business successful. It’s also important to make sure your business matters.

In order to ensure that people perceive the difference in the quality of services or products you provide, the next step is to develop a personal connection with them.

The life that your potential customers are leading should resonate with your product or service. Using your product or service should make people feel good.