“Sell the light, not the lightbulb.”
It’s one of my favourite sayings and is super-relevant when it comes to marketing one’s brand in today’s hyper-connected and information-overloaded environment.
The reality is, no-one is interested in your product (lightbulb) – best-selling author David Meerman Scott has been telling us this for years.
But shed some light on other more interesting matters relevant to your business and the industry/category in which you operate and you might just get our attention.
Does your company or organisation stand for more than just the products or services it sells?
Do you add value to our lives through the provision of timely and relevant content?
Do your leaders drive thought-provoking debate and conversation around critical issues and topics associated with the ‘space’ in which you operate?
Do you undertake imaginative collaborations with like-minded brands, nonprofit organisations or influential content creators?
Do you proactively ‘shine the spotlight’ on your customers or constituents by telling their stories?
Or is it all about you and your brand and the products and services you offer?
As the authors of the Cluetrain Manifesto so eloquently put it:
If you want us to talk to you, tell us something. Make it something interesting for a change.
As a rule, the ‘lightbulb’ isn’t interesting (unless you’re Apple). But the ‘light’ is!
What about you? Are you still obsessed with selling the lightbulb, or have you seen the light?
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