5 Words That Will Change Everything About Your Business
These FIVE (5) WORDS will not only level-up your business, but quite possibly…. change your life.
WARNING: This will NOT blow your mind like some kind of epiphany.
I remember the first time I heard these 5 words. It was NOT earth-shaking at all.
In fact, I couldn’t understand WHY anyone would place so much importance on just these FIVE (5) WORDS.
But, once I put them into PRACTICE….WOW!
It changed EVERYTHING!
- The way I planned.
- The way I sold.
- Heck, even the way I talked to people.
So what are these miraculous five (5) “life-changing” words?
Here they are:
“You are NOT your customer.”
That’s it.
Nothing really earth-shattering… right?
Seems like common sense!
I felt the exact same way…
What the Words Really Mean…
I mean, I kind of already know that I’m not my customer. I’m me!
But, that’s just it. I’m me and I process information through my own set of filters.
Not your filters. Not their filters. Just MY FILTERS.
Here’s a simplistic a real world example using me.
I’m 65 years old and absolutely hate small group HITT workouts. I require more time than most to warm-up. Some of the ballistic moves are hard on my ligaments and tendons. My zig-zagging heart rate feels horrible and the next day I don’t feel fully recovered.
So, according to MY SET OF FILTERS… HIIT programming is “bad.”
But, of course, if I owned a boutique studio with 20- to 40-year old clients, you can bet your bottom dollar I’d have small group HIIT programming going on all the time..!
Why?
Because I am NOT my customer.
It Gets More Subtle… and Personal
How often do you REALLY listen to what your friends, family and co-workers are saying?
Are you listening to them through your own set of filters?
Or… do you put yourself in their shoes and attempt to understand where they are “coming from” and take various actions based how THEY see things?
This really came into play with the controversial Peleton commercial. You felt one way or the other about it based “how” you saw it.
If the wife had been hinting that she really wanted a Peleton, but, for some reason couldn’t justify it and denied herself the bike, then, it was truly a very thoughtful gift.
He was listening to her — tapping into her “wants and needs” and taking action upon what he was gleaning from her.
On the other hand, if the guy just bought it out-of-the-blue because he wanted to make sure she stays fit as a “trophy-wife”, then, that was all about him.
Now, the gift is about his own wants and needs, not to mention the “objectifying” of his wife.
Of course, the commercial doesn’t give us any clues as to the motivation behind the gift — so we’re left to make our own assumptions.
It Just Happened to ME..!
“YOU ARE NOT YOUR CUSTOMER” recently came into play with our Healthy Family Recipe Books.
Everyone, including my wife, daughters and even some very well-known marketing gurus offered me this warning:
“Don’t do it. Everyone uses their mobile devices or iPads to pull down recipes. NO ONE wants physical cookbooks anymore!”
And, frankly, I agreed with them.
But… (you guessed it) I AM NOT MY CUSTOMER!
So, I published it anyway!
And, to everyone’s surprise… the Healthy Family Recipe Book is selling like crazy… for all kinds of reasons.
First off, my customers are YOU…. health and fitness professionals who want and need to build your brands in a hyper-competitive marketplace.
Nothing does this better than a branded PHYSICAL PRODUCT that ADDS VALUE to your services and to your BRAND. And, if used as a Welcome Gift, adds way more perceived value than a water bottle or T-shirt.
If you are a 100% Online Trainer, Health Coach or Consultant, then, this is even more critical. The most successful online marketers understand the absolute necessity of providing tangible branded products to make them more “real” in the digital world.
And, then, there are the clients, members and customers, themselves.
Not ALL of them particularly want to bring their electronic devices into the kitchen. They actually prefer to have a PHYSICAL recipe book lying on the counter top as they navigate a new meal.
Again, the smart, marketing-savvy health and fitness professionals know that THEY are NOT their CUSTOMERS. So, they LISTEN!
You Don’t Need a Survey… Just Listen!
Here’s the point. Despite what all the marketing gurus tell you, unless you are a huge corporation with thousands of customers… you don’t really need to conduct surveys. Your best bet is to simply LISTEN to your CUSTOMERS.
Just strike up conversations with your clients, members, customers and really listen to what they have to say.
Disregard your own set of filters and listen from their prospective.
Go deep. Put yourself in THEIR SHOES and try to imagine living their life… their job, their family, what they eat, what they do for fun, what music, what movies, what kind of car… and the list goes.
Honestly, doing this exercise (which I call “discovery”) and then tying it back to how it relates to your business is a total “eye-opener.”
And, before you ask, I’m not saying you’ll please everybody.
However, through this process you’ll simply make much better decisions on the direction of your business based on your clients and not what you “think” might be true through your own set of filters...
Just five (5) words, sums it up: YOU ARE NOT YOUR CUSTOMER!
Try it. It could change your life!
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