Sell the Experience

While skiing this winter, I stood at the top of a snowy ridge and took in the panorama. In the distance stretched the deep blue Lake Tahoe. The peaks, ridges and forests of the Sierra Nevada Mountains surrounded it as far as the eye could see. The day was bright and sunny, warm enough that I did not need a hat or thick coat, like spring in February.

My ski partner dropped over the edge and cut back and forth down a steep slope. He maneuvered between two rock outcroppings and into an open area below. I looked down over my skis and felt a shot of adrenaline and fear in my gut. It was my turn.

That is the beauty and the thrill of alpine skiing. When I purchased a lift ticket that day for $57, I was not thinking of chair lifts, cables, electric motors and ski patrollers on the mountain. All of those are necessary to run a ski resort; they are the "product" so to speak. But I was thinking of the beauty and the thrill - the essential ski experience. That is what I paid $57 for, and it was worth it!

When marketing a product or service, remember to emphasize the finer points of the experience it delivers, which may be different from the technical features of the product itself. For instance, when selling a computer system, focus on the ease of management and how it enables workers to be more productive, as opposed to the number of megahertz and gigabytes it has. When selling a tree at a nursery, emphasize the cool shade it will provide during summer and the elegance it will add to a property, as opposed to whether the tree is 3 or 4 feet tall.

There is a time and place for selling features, but people ultimately are buying the experience.

Drive Your Message Home

As depicted in this graphic, you can use the four vehicles of influence to drive your message home. By "home", I mean to your target audience. If you have a business, this might be a market segment or set of potential customers. It could be a community or organization if you are an advocate for a cause. It could be the whole country if you are running for president. Or it could be your spouse or a friend if you just want to change their mind about something. In other words, this is about influencing the world.

The previous two posts (here and here) described the four vehicles of influence: (1) experiences, (2) relationships, (3) stories and art and (4) facts and reason. All of them affect people's perceptions and behavior. When used effectively together, they are a powerful force indeed:

1. Fire on all cylinders - Engage all four vehicles in communicating your message. For instance, if you have the exclusive authorized Volkswagen auto repair shop for a city, you might include pictures of happy Jettas and Beetles in your ads (3), say how your services are trustworthy because of your authorized status (4), provide great services (1) and spend a few minutes getting to know your clients and talking "shop" when they visit (2). Now that is firing on all four cylinders!
   
   
2. Align message with vehicles - All four vehicles of influence should communicate the same message consistently. For instance, if a bakery advertises that it sells only moist, chewy bread baked fresh daily, but some loaves on the shelf are obviously old and stale, then the facts claimed (4) do not match the customer's experience (1). It would be better not to make the "baked-fresh" claim or not to sell day-old bread.
   
   
3. Take a balanced approach - If you are strong with some vehicles but less so with others, try to build up the weaker link. In looking at my own business, I think there are good marketing and educational materials (3 & 4), but I need to spend more time networking and getting to know people in the community (2). So I am focusing there.
   
   
4. Repeat - Communication is not a one-time event but a continuous process. It takes a steady flow of communication for people to "get" your message, accept it and remember it. So continue to engage all four vehicles. This is like an engine that fires on all four cylinders - again and again and again - propelling a car forward.
   

With these tactics in hand, you are ready to influence people and drive your message home!