WARNING: This blog post and video contains profanity.
Businesses sell but humans buy. HUMANS BUY! All things being equal, humans would prefer to buy from other humans and not from human-type thinggies, people who are going through the motions in a robotic way, or who are just “following the rules,” or who are too rushed or too busy to be bothered with YOUR problem.
Heaven forbid you ask the human-type thinggies for help. After all, they have their own problems to deal with, and at the moment, their problems are more important than yours are.
But fundamentally, all humans want to connect with the soul from another, they want to feel understood, they want to believe that they are not alone, and more importantly, want to accept that there is another person out there who CARES ENOUGH to help them. It’s called having emotions, and that my friend, is what makes the world go ‘round.
The last thing they want is to acknowledge or remember is the fear they carry around with them every day, which is that they will be taken advantage of. As sad as it may sound, most humans don’t trust strangers, and they certainly don’t trust businesses that are strange and unfamiliar to them.
So then, how do you get your business to sell more like a human and less like a soulless, self-absorbed, untrustworthy company? MBAs in large corporate marketing departments call it developing consumer insights. Humans call it having empathy.
How do you acquire empathy? First, you have to give a fuck. The bigger the fuck you give, the deeper you’ll acquire understanding. And in order to give a fuck, you need to stop being a self-centered, selfish, know-it-all who is worried about your own fears, and spend some time in the shoes of your customer. One tool MBAs in large corporate marketing departments use is called an ethnography. Humans call it spending time with your customers and prospects.
If you spend time with your customers and prospects during the moments they are most likely to use your products, or when they are likely to need your help, – not just when they are ready to buy something but in the moments that get them to realize they would buy something to solve a problem – you will learn what inspires them, what frustrates them, what excites them, and what scares them. You will gain understanding around their challenges and you will learn how you can help them overcome those challenges.
When you can help them overcome their challenges, they will pay you money, and that my friend, is called a business.
If you can’t stop being selfish in order to become more empathetic, or if you’re just too damned busy to do it, for god’s sake, go hire somebody who can do it for you. Your marketing will improve, your sales will increase, your customers will start referring you to their friends and family, and your business will prosper.
Just make sure you don’t hire a robot.