How to nimbly outmaneuver competitors
By Mark Overbye
I want more people to buy my stuff. So do you.
We’ve significantly invested in developing products like nothing else in the market, believing success lies behind being either the best or the only. We’re attacking both fronts.
That model isn’t easy or inexpensive. And just because we’ve developed something noteworthy doesn’t mean anyone takes notice.
Accordingly, promotion is crucial. And within the arc of our mallet is the mental work of forging a brand. The brand-building component may be more important than the product. The absence of a spotlight on your product keeps it cloaked in darkness. Buyers can’t enjoy benefits they know not of. So we engage the opinions of influential experts, put products on shelves, do demos, educate, entertain, and spend.
It reminds me of the author’s lament, a best seller is a book with a better agent.
Giving your brand wings means singing a song buyers like hearing. It’s your magic dust they want sprinkled in their lives. So the story you tell must be compelling. Stories resonate with everyone, everywhere. They’re the key to unlocking the art of persuasion.
A reflection.
On November 19, 1940, British RAF night fighter ace, John “Cat’s Eyes” Cunningham shot down the first of his 20 German warplane kills. His impressive record happened at night, thus his extra special recognition.
It was the beginning of the end for the Luftwaffe’s air dominance. Broadcasting Cunningham’s success in downing enemy planes at night, the press labeled him “Cat’s Eyes”. Repelling the overwhelming Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain, Cunningham’s 604 Squadron forced the Battle’s turning point, saving Britain.
Promoting Cunningham’s success, Britain’s Ministry of Information revealed the 604’s secret weapon, carrots. Loaded with carrot’s vitamin A, Cunningham could see enemy fighters before the enemy had a chance. Elevated to super vegetable status, carrots became the balm for better vision, especially at night.
Kicking their propaganda machine into high gear, the Ministry of Information espoused the countless benefits of eating carrots. Ongoing, broad-reaching leaflet campaigns contained recipes for carrot pudding, carrot cake, carrot marmalade, carrot flan, and other carrot concoctions.
In addition to hailing carrot’s superpowers, the Ministry of Information implored growing Victory Gardens to ensure the availability of carrots across the war-torn country.
Curious to learn Britain’s advantage, German officials took note. Carrots for breakfast, lunch, and dinner became the staple diet for Luftwaffe pilots. Of course, they too, needed to see better to be more effective. It was clearly working for the Brits, Germany’s survival was put in the hands of Nazi chefs preparing tasty carrots.
But frustrated German pilots, with guts bursting with carrots, didn’t increase their kill ratios. German carrot consumption went up, but they couldn’t stop the increasing effectiveness of the RAF. The Luftfwaffe’s air superiority was destroyed by something as devastatingly simple as carrots. Or was it?
The Ministry of Information’s sensational carrot campaign deceived the entire enemy nation. It wasn’t carrots at the root of RAF pilots’ success, it was radar. Radar-enabled RAF pilots could see 100 miles out, hammering the incoming Luftwaffe before they reached the English Channel.
Radar was truly the advantage but camouflaging the technology with carrots is heavenly brilliance.
For maximum success, promotion is vital. Your product won’t willingly jump off the shelf. The value of your precious oil needs to be pumped first. What story are you telling? Are you saying something so compelling that everyone wants to eat it up? Your success is embedded in your story. Ask yourself:
- Is our story thorough and designed to drive action?
- Are we selling features or telling our advantage story?
- Comparatively, have we determined that target customers find our story more appealing?
Don’t get shot down by someone else’s better story. For greater clarity in refining your message, first consider munching some carrots.