eNOISE

I had an interesting discussion with a client recently debating the ideal approach for a cold call presenting a new product to a targeted group of potential customers.

The debate stemmed from the positioning of a value proposition within the call, and the depth to which we need to probe, profile and analyze needs before making a presentation of said new product.

I’m a big proponent of the SPIN Selling methodologies, and firmly beleive in the adage that people value information they ask for more than information they don’t ask for.  Especially in the world of a complex sale.  Conversely, in highly commoditized products or relatively simple sales a more transactional model can work.  And we see this in spades in the B2C space.

In the context of my recent debate, my client clearly had  a better mousetrap.  These mousetraps have existed for years.  The vast majority of customers large and small are generally accustomed to hearing about mousetraps.  A significant portion of my client’s business is in mousetraps, along with mousetrap parts, service, accessories, and a vast variety of cheeses.  I’m taking the mousetrap analogy too far.

Given the mousetrap’s maturity, my client’s prescribed approach was to follow a traditional transactional method, where we focus on highlighting the competitive differentiators and advantages of the new and improved mousetrap.  Essentially, go in, show off the new mousetrap, and point to the bells and whistles.

At first, this approach seemed logical given the relative simplicity of the product and the general level of familiarity with the type of solution.  And in truth, the product/feature approach is all-too-common in other similar product pitches.  But something didn’t sit right with me.  The entire approach seemed based on the maturity of product, rather than of the customers themselves.  The product-focus completely essentially discounts or ignores the potential customer’s perspective.

How does this product-driven approach work for those who’ve never had issues with mice?  If the whole idea of a mousetrap is meaningless to them, what value are we brining in talking about the next best thing in mousetraps?  For net-new mousetrap consumers, a product-driven approach only creates intrusion, nuissance and frustration.

Shouldn’t we be considering the maturity of the individual buyers themselves first, regarless of where the product sits in its grand lifecycle?

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock…

“LOST is an American serial drama television series. It follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, United States crashes somewhere in the South Pacific. For its first three seasons each episode typically featured a primary storyline on the island as well as a secondary storyline from a previous point in a character’s life, though the introduction of shifts forward in time and other time-related plot devices changed this formula somewhat in later seasons. The pilot episode was first broadcast on September 22, 2004 and since then four full seasons have aired, with the fifth currently in progress. The show airs on the ABC Network in the United States, as well as on regional networks in many other countries.” (Wikipedia)

For me, LOST is somewhere in the realm between guilty pleasure and outright obsession. When it first aired, I couldn’t be bothered to watch, and even as buzz started to build up and water-cooler-conversation ran rampant, I refused to allow myself to be pulled into the abyss.  At least at first.  When ABC’s Lost was in its infancy, I too had a beautiful newborn baby to tend to… and to clean up after, and to lose sleep to, etc…

Needless to say, I was very selective in my TV choices, and all else that involved “free” time.
But eventually, I had to cave it. It was destined to happen… and I mean that more than just as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the recurring “destiny” theme on the show.

For years, my wife and I had abstained from paying for cable.  Really, the non-cable idea was as much a personal decision as it was a financial one at the time. We didn’t want to have the television as the focal point of the home and at the time were more interested in movies and film as a pastime – rather than throwing on whatever happened to be on to pass the time at a fixed monthly cost with very little perceived value.  (That is of course until a new HDTV finally justified the need “premium content”.  And as an aside, Hockey Night in Canada has never been the same since, and I appreciate every minute of it)

And so, at the time, I was left with a very small number of options… and it was merely a matter of time before I was “stuck” watching an episode of LOST… and found myself drawn in.

And that’s the very point.

As marketers, when we’re reaching out to new prospects, the goal is more than just making contact. We need to draw them in.

We need to grab their attention, keep it, and drive them towards the next step in the funnel, all with the hopes of building and maintaining a fruitful customer relationship.

Capture. Captivate. Compel. Cultivate.