While driving today, I saw this billboard.
Ahh, the state elections are here. But let's remove politics. Put on your marketing glasses. What do you see?
I see a bold statement.
I read the headline, then the subheadline. The black background stood out. The billboard was unusual (most were colorful), and it worked. It was a purple cow.
Alas, the message is a huge miss.
The billboard was in an area filled with middle class people. People who mostly got around – driving a car.
They don't take buses.
Do you really know your customer?
The billboard tried being clever.
But it didn't understand its audience. Yes, buses are late – but is it a burning pain for people there?
The lack of car park spaces is probably a much bigger pain.
Most entrepreneurs do this
Just like the billboard, instead of talking to customers and figuring out what they want, they focus on themselves – and try sounding clever.
- I want passive income.
- I want to start a cool music recommendation app.
- I'm going to build the next unicorn!
Your customers don't care.
Stop focusing on what you want. Get down to your customer's level – and figure out what they want.
- What are their burning pains?
- What are their hopes and dreams?
- What keeps them up at night?
Then serve that need.
For someone to care
It's not just gaining their attention.
You can scream like a mad person in public and get a lot of attention. But I'm also sure nobody is going to want to go near you.
