“My shoes are special shoes for discerning feet.” – Manolo Blahnik, Born Nov. 27, 1942.
You want your customers to have a special relationship to your products, your offers, and you personally.
That's called branding – that relationship that exists beyond and outside the immediate benefits of the product.
And the secret of doing this is not really about who your product is for. It's more about who your product is NOT for.
Who are you excluding? Why don't you want them as customers? Are they fat? Ugly? Stupid? Poor? Why don't they deserve your product? Why aren't they good enough for it?
When you know this, the people who your product IS for will emerge. Because they are discerning people of particular, refined tastes.
They COULD get something else, but they buy from you because what you sell is SPECIAL for them, and ONLY for them. Not just for anyone who wants it.
It's unavailable to everyone who would like it. It's available only to the people who deserve it. Who are worthy of it. Who merit it.
You are not a universally loved taste. You are a choice. A commitment. A demand that no one else is meeting.
How can you describe yourself and what you offer in these terms?
Easy. It's about connecting it to what YOU LOVE. It's about separating it from what YOU HATE. it's about what YOU give the buyer that no one else is delivering.
Anyone can cover your feet. Manolos say something ABOUT the wearer, and it says it TO their fellows, and their haters, and their admirers, and to themselves.
What does it say? What does your product say about the person who owns it?
Discover that, and find lifelong, loyal fans who buy and buy and buy. The same way no woman is buying a single pair of Manolos to wear every day until they wear out, like an old pair of Keds.
And here is the key – consider Blahnik’s fellow female footwear designer, Christian Louboutain – if the soles of his AND ONLY HIS shoes weren’t bright crimson red, would anyone be able to tell by looking? That one detail does the telling. That splash of red is worth everything to those who need to show it off.
What do you offer to the discerning that can't be had anywhere else at all?
And how do you make sure everyone looking at your customer from outside can tell?
Find it. Claim it. Profit.
Edit made thanks to my friend LaTisha who pointed out that Louboutain has the red soles. Apologies for basing my article only on knowledge misremembered from old “Sex and the City” episodes, lol.
Hey Colin,
1) wanted to say that since you have started these daily devotionals I have been been hooked. I have not seen your stuff in a very long time but they showed up in my email and I've read most and saved others for later.
You are providing tremendous value. Much appreciated.
Not new to most of these concepts but sometimes you really make them click. Thank You.
2) I am chewing on todays. Its got me thinking. There is a possibilty that pulling that off can make a big difference. I'll mull it over.
Thanks again
Awesome to hear from you, Phil. Reach out on FB messenger if you want to rap about it or brainstorm or whatever. Happy to help. And I am glad you’re liking the content as well!