You don't need better marketing. you need this...

You don’t need better marketing.

You need to build better products.

Things that people would drive across town for.

And wrap them in experiences that people want to share with others.

(That’s a conversation I had with myself not so long ago…)

It’s tough to accept when the product isn’t good enough…

In our case, there wasn't anything obviously wrong with our products, but maybe they weren’t as interesting anymore.

Sales were flat. And we felt flat too.

It meant we had to test new things to prove if that was the case. 

To create something more special. 

And hopefully more surprising.

At first, it’s daunting. Cutting out core products and replacing them with better ones. 

Even when feedback says that they’re 'fine' the way they are…

Fine… It's such a dumb word really. You never know if it means completely shit or genuinely good. 

Anyway, we took the plunge to reinvent some of our classic products even when no one was asking. 

We could have just tried to push our marketing harder... But I'm going to show you a different way to come at it that has more upside.

And the good news is that the timing to make stuff better has never been better.

Over the last couple of years, nearly every other business has let their standards slip. 

It means that the benchmark for what ‘good’ products and experiences look like is now lower than ever, and easier for you to over-deliver on.

Marketing has almost become an excuse to not fix products and experiences these days. 

We’re told to look at the ‘metrics’. 

To not do something if you can’t directly track the results. 

So we spend our days looking a false metrics trying to understand exactly where each customer came from, how they heard about us, what they liked, loved, shared and everything in between. 

But instead of putting up more ‘average’ content and products, and measuring clicks, views and shares...

What if we came back to basics?

What if our products were so freaken good that people would drive across town for them?

What if we made people feel so special that they can’t stop themselves from telling someone else about it?

And afterwards, what if they kept coming back for it over and over again, at the same time as recruiting more new customers to join?

In that case you'd have no freaken idea where all the people are coming from, 'just that they'd heard about you'.

It’d be beautiful right?!

That magical organic growth every business secretly wishes for.

And even though marketing and advertising really work, increasingly relying on it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

It gives you a false metric.

Because you never really know if the business can survive without it.

So what are you left with?

Turning customers into your own marketing army!

Let’s look at how we could pull it off: 

1. Be more interesting, by being more interested. 

Service isn’t just about giving people what they want. 

It’s about going deeper. Making people feel seen, heard, and valued. 

We gravitate towards people who can do this. People who listen to us, empathise with us and do something positive with it. 

If you’re not this type of person - find people who are.

They will transform your service and your business. 

2. Make better products

I’ve kinda covered this in the above points.

But the goal here is to make things so good that people will drive across town for, share with others and return for again and again. 

3. Create better experiences

It’s often not ‘what’ we sell in business that defines success.

It’s how you sell it. 

I could have the best croissant in the world, but if I’m an a*shole selling it to you, you’re probably not coming back. 

On the other hand, even an average product, with a remarkable customer experience will gain massive traction.

Customer experiences are a huge differentiator in business today. 

And the last one... 

4. Help people talk about you. 

If you leave it open for interpretation, your customers will end up screwing up your elevator pitch. 

They miss the punchline!

The way to help them nail it for you is to simplify your messaging. 

Give them tiny one-liners that sum up what’s special about you or the product they’re buying so they can share it with friends. 

 I hope all of this helps in some way.

Remember to always solve core problems in your business. It makes every other activity in your business easier.