Marketing, in practice, is an empowering profession. Consider the fundamentals of what you’re marketing for. When you analyse data, when you witness results. You’re influencing people, that you’ve never met, to take a certain action.
Getting people to do something you require can be a complex process – the trust building process. The right message. The right time. The right meaning. All interchangeable elements of your marketing proposition. You have a right to feel empowered. Some will argue you’re just doing your job. Those of us that truly value marketing strategy and impact, we tip our hats in your direction.
How about this…
Getting people to buy a product because you’re offering a 20% discount TODAY ONLY isn’t a skill. It’s a bribe.
Getting people to buy a product, or register for a service, they’ve never contemplated in the past? That’s true marketing craft.
My ‘thing’ is helping marketers to break convention. To move away from convention thinking & processes and shift into a realm of testing and marketing ingenuity. In essence, to make marketing more rewarding, more effective and more fun.
So… with that in mind, I scour for stories of businesses who challenge convention: The unconventionals.
This is why I love Custommade.com
Towards the end of the video CustomMade.com co-founder Seth Rosen reflects that ‘everything used to be custom made’. Before mass production everything we used to buy was unique. As the buyer, we had no choice. CustomMade are bringing uniqueness back into the market.
CustomMade is driven by story. Their homepage tells the stories of the founders, the craftsmen and the customer. Sounds a simple proposition doesn’t it? You simply act as the middleman between master craftsmen and the buying public. Simplicity in practice rarely succeeds without an enveloping innovation. Something that makes the service stand out. Google, as one often cited example, is simplicity personified. The innovation is the method the search results are delivered. With CustomMade the focus is upon the craft. The uniqueness of the product. The story of that product. The ‘frictions in the market’ that make custom feel inaccessible. That’s the focus of CustomMade. That will be the success of CustomMade.
Innovation in practice
Innovation isn’t about doing things differently, or the end product. It’s about making changes in something that is already established. CustomMade are reliant upon our desire for uniqueness. A desire repressed by the mass production movement. However, master craftsmen are still out there. CustomMade simply offer a platform to connect with them. The story isn’t about the end product, it’s about the methods by which we reach that end product. That’s the story we, as the buyer, will retell. That’s a powerful marketing tool.
Storytelling in practice
You read through the latest projects. You witness the craftsman in action. You feel compelled to search for products you believe you may need. A new coffee table. Maybe a faux cigar fountain pen? I can’t remember how I found CustomMade. They’re a US business. But, whatever your circumstance you’ll leave their site thinking differently about your next purchase. You’ll think CustomMade.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is why you hear smart marketers preach the value of storytelling.Storytelling doesn’t have to relate to a service which demands an innovative approach. Storytelling reaches the guts, the core, of your offering, and provides you with a remarkable method to present your own craft in a way that serves those that are looking for what you do… and those that aren’t… not just yet.
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