I've talked a lot with business owners and professionals about marketing their business. Something I find interesting about these conversations is the tendency of the business to unconsiously position the product ahead of the customer. 

Of course businesses want to talk about their product or service, it's what they sell and why they exist! And there are valid arguments to be had about creating demand for a product the customer didn't even know they wanted.

But, for most of us, we exist because we saw a need and we created a product to fill it. Therefore it follows that the easiest way into a customer's consideration set is by positioning the product as what they're looking for. Yet somehow we tend to get caught up in our wonderful product and the journey we are on as a business and forget why we took those very first steps.

To illustrate my point:

Sally needs new running shoes 'cause she's worn her old ones everywhere and they're looking too tatty, even for walking the dog.

Which message do you think Sally is more likely to respond to?

Message 1:

Shoes Are Us sells shoes great shoes. The best shoes. Everyone wants our shoes more than other shops' shoes. They're on sale! Yay for shoes!

Message 2:

Shoes Are Us sells shoes for active women. Easy to clean and hardwearing they'll take you from the track to the dog park and then the cafe for a latte. On sale today!

Yes, I exaggerated the difference (and Trump might have slipped in there a bit...) but hopefully, you see what I mean. The more you tailor your message to the customer, the more likely you are to skip straight onto their list of 'must check outs'. And if you craft the journey well, once you have Sally's click or she walks in the door, you'll have much less work to do convincing her that your shoes are just the shoes she needs.

Give it a go. Next time you are crafting some copy or directing a product shoot, try sitting your metaphorical customer in front of you and showing them how your product solves their specific problems. If you do it right you'll end up with quite the audience, 'cause it turns out Sally isn't your only customer with problems to solve! Although it's more work up front, with multiple messages comes the opportunity for highly targeted campaigns and impressive ROI... but that's a post for another day.