Describing what your product or service is has become a sales tactic of the past!
Frankly, customers don’t care about who you are or what you do. They care about what you can do to make their lives easier and better. In this article, you’ll learn how sell the lifestyle and invest in your brand.
It takes less work than you think. Before we dive in though, take a look at this short advert. I gives a flavour for how the big brands do it…
Stop selling your product or service. Instead, sell the lifestyle!
Ask yourself: “Which people do I serve?” and “How do I make their lives better?”
Consumers will start to identify themselves as a customer solely because they want to be like the people who use your products or services. Think about a brand that sells beautiful watches (like the Longines video above) or a luxurious spa that offers massages.
Great entrepreneurs and salespeople will sell the desirable lifestyle that comes with wearing the watch or getting the massage.
People will become buyers of this watch just because they want to feel powerful and put together. People will book an appointment for a massage just because they want to feel luxurious, relaxed, and pampered.
Taste the coffee…
There’s a reason why coffee commercials show consumers indulging in a deliciously brewed cup of coffee, having a blissful moment to themselves, instead of listing off the flavour profile or the energy-boosting benefits of their coffee. The example here is from The Little Coffeebag Company based here in Shropshire. Take a look – you’ll see what we mean.
Consumers buy experiences and make purchases based on emotions or feelings. They want to be the ones having a blissful moment with their coffee every morning, just like the coffee drinkers in the commercial.
Challenge:
Think, who are your customers? How can they ‘self-identify’ as customers?
There’s a trick to selling the lifestyle your brand provides… it’s called social proof!
Getting your customers to help sell this lifestyle for you with customer-generated content is one of the best ways to succeed at this sales technique. You can also leverage testimonials, reviews, case studies, etc.
Encourage your customers to post pictures and videos of them using your product or service on social media platforms.
Give them a prompt to inspire them to write about their experience and why they love your product or service.
Be as creative as you can with this. This is essentially free advertising!
User Generated Content
These two sets of pictures below show great examples of companies who have been successful in getting their customers to provide high quality images that feature their product.
The camping stove is called a Kelly Kettle, The pictures featured are part of an ongoing photo competition where their customers share amazing views where they have cooked outdoors. For this company to curate a set of pictures like this would cost tens of thousands of pounds. And would actually be less authentic and carry less authority.
The second is a little closer to home and shows dogs enjoying snacks produced by the Life of Riley Pet Bakery. The great thing here is that the dogs faces do the talking. Most dog owners want their dog to be that happy and healthy…
Offer Incentives For Greater Engagement, Authority And Authenticity
You can also provide them with incentives for sharing their content, such as entering them in giveaways, photo contests, and shout outs.
Customer-generated content allows your audience to become a bit creative. They feel digitally connected to the brand, and have a chance to receive more amazing products or services at no cost to them. This ultimately continues the mutually beneficial loop of free advertising.
What If Your Product Or Service Isn’t Beautiful?
Although there’s a great chance some of your customers will be able to create high-quality, attention-grabbing content, this content doesn’t need to be remarkable.
For example, customers who complete our Masterclass courses share pictures of their certificates of completion on social media. All of the certificates look somewhat the same, but the meaning and the emotion behind completing the course speaks volumes to their friends, family, and colleagues.
Thus, people who see their prideful posts might consider enrolling in our Masterclass course because they want to feel that sense of pride and achievement, just like their friend did.
The same goes for sharing any publicity you and your brand get. Great publicity will dive into the good that you’re doing for your clients and how their lives have benefitted from your products or services.
Challenge:
What can you do to shout louder without shouting about yourself? In other words, how can you make the lifestyle of your brand desirable to more people, without selling the product/service? What kind of customer-generated content, and on which platforms, suit your product/service/brand the best?
Conclusion
The more positive reviews, testimonials, case studies, and customer-generated content you have that highlight and sell the lifestyle that your product/service provides, the more credible and attractive you will become to customers.
Now that you’ve taken time to analyse your customers and brainstorm ways to sell the lifestyle, take action and make that lifestyle their reality!
What Next:
Has this article got you thinking about your business and how you want to grab the reins and drive it forward but you struggle to find the time or feel that you lack the skills or knowledge to do so?
Are you looking at your screen wondering how or if Good2Great could possibly help you to build a better future for you and your company?
If so, why not check out free ways to learn more either in the fun but growth focussed ‘Friday Hub Zoom Room‘ or let’s meet and chat about your business – it’s our passion after all! Just click this link, it will show you availability in my calendar – just grab a slot that suits you and it will automatically set up and schedule a Zoom meeting and send all the necessary invitations to calendars and email… https://bit.ly/meetingwithjohnny
OR – perhaps you’re still at the start of your business journey – check out Business Start Up Masterclasses
