Monday, April 02, 2007
The Sticky Strategy
Currently I’m reading a terrific book: Made to Stick, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. http://tinyurl.com/36z79p Their premise: What sticks in our memories? Clear, simple stories. Vivid images. Their own book grabbed my attention because I saw an image of the ultimate stickiness -- duct tape -- on the front cover. I thought of this book when an acquaintance introduced herself, “My company helps people with get their finances in order.” “A financial planner?” “No, I’m not a planner.” “Investments? Debt consolidation?” “Not exactly.” “Story?” “One family was paying over forty thousand dollars a year in taxes. We cut their bill to fifteen thousand, legally and ethically. They took their first vacation in twenty years.” Oh, okay. I’ve made up the numbers (and she probably did too). But now I know exactly what she does. And it’s sticky. Some of us can remember when services were simple. We had lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, psychologists and chefs. We relied on friends for recommendations. But now we meet people with amazingly creative businesses. And often we find them on the Internet. An organizer: “I went into the home of a woman who was living out of her laundry basket. Putting together an outfit was a major project. After we revised her closet, she can go anywhere in ten minutes, whether it’s a party or a picnic.” A real estate agent: “I work with clients who live in the city and want to find condos that let them keep their dogs, cats, fish and guinea pigs.” Hmm…maybe I should talk to him myself. In today’s competitive market, I don’t think we have a choice. We have to answer the “why you” question memorably, with images that stick. I run into this challenge myself all the time. If I say I write copy, inevitably someone says, “Can you just tweak a few pages? It’s very close being brilliant. It will take you an hour. Maybe less.” Nope. I don’t tweak. Nothing takes an hour. I’m a content strategist. What’s that? Well, let me tell you a story… Internet Marketing |
Labels: competition, copywriting, ideas, strategy
# posted by Cathy Goodwin @ 12:32 AM 
