As
Harmony gets closer to launch, I’ve been putting my marketing hat on more often. Recently I read an article titled “
Web Developers Can’t Sell. Sorry.”. I really liked the first point of the post.
“Lead with benefits, not with features. Whether you are developing software or selling it on your website, your focus should be “What problem does my product solve?” Most people don’t come to you looking for specific features. They come to you with a problem. If you lead with features, you are forcing your audience to think in your framework, i.e. software, vs. their framework, i.e. um, fix my stupid problem. It’s like telling someone a car has Fortera TripleTred tires instead of saying “These tires are safer in the rain.” Most people aren’t familiar with that tire so it means nothing to them and you are probable making them feel stupid if you assume they should.”
I took away three things from that point.
- Benefits, not features.
- Customers come to you with a problem.
- What problem does the product solve?
Just thought I would share as I think those are great points. Sometimes we get caught up in features, but the only reason anyone is going to use what they build is because they are your mom or you are solving a problem for them.
I loved the Glee pilot and I’m not talking love the way the word is thrown around today. I’m talking it was freakin awesome. I got chills in a few spots. I ran to iTunes and purchased the Glee version of Don’t Stop Believin and it is one of the few songs that I can listen to on repeat.
Since then, around 3 more episodes have aired. Each one has had moments of the pilot and that is why I keep watching it, but none of them have had the magic of the first. So what is missing?
Made To Stick
I’ve been reading
Made To Stick, a great book on why certain things stick with people and why others just scoot on by. The book outlines the acronym “success” like this:
- Simple — find the core of any idea
- Unexpected — grab people’s attention by surprising them
- Concrete — make sure an idea can be grasped and remembered later
- Credibility — give an idea believability
- Emotion — help people see the importance of an idea
- Stories — empower people to use an idea through narrative
Of the list above, the Glee pilot screamed simple, unexpected, concrete, emotional and was full of stories. The only thing it missed was credibility, but I don’t know that credibility applies to tv shows.
Simple. Rachel wants to be famous. Fin loves singing, but doesn’t want to hurt his rep. Will is unhappy in his marriage and misses Glee in high school. Those were all in the pilot. A few episodes later, Fin’s girlfriend Quinn is pregnant with his best friend Puck’s baby, but he doesn’t know and Will’s wife is in a fake pregnancy, conniving with Quinn to make it real. Not simple.
Unexpected. The popular kid joins Glee not only because he doesn’t have a choice, but also because deep down he loves it. A few episodes later, Puck is a pool boy seducing older women and a cheerleader is pregnant. Expected.
I could go on and on, but I’ll stop for now. The Glee pilot was brilliant, but since then, it has only had flashes of brilliance that are barely enough to keep me watching it. Maybe that is their goal.
