Ever wondered what it is that actually drives you to spend your money in one place and not another? I’m not talking about the usual explanations like convenience and price. I’m talking about what attracts you to do business where and with whom you do. Or even why you are drawn to one political candidate and not another.
I’ve been working on a simple way of explaining why some people and some businesses get to profitability and success faster than others and I want to test it out on you. This is not about working harder or even about marketing strategy. It’s not about branding, at least in the way we usually talk about it. And it’s definitely not about using that zillion dollar CRM software your IT people are so proud of. Nope – I’m convinced it is much, much more simple.
It’s all about deciding if you and/or your enterprise are primarily style or substance. You personally fall into one of four categories as does your company. 1) High Style/Low Substance. 2) High Substance/Low Style. 3) High Style/High Substance. 4) Low Style/Low Substance. The ideal is #3, but don’t peg yourself yet.
Style is the fashion of your life. It is the degree to which you present yourself as different, exciting, colorful, fun, exotic, attention grabbing, memorable. It’s that ability to make people (your customers particularly) sit up, take notice and say “Wow!”
Substance is the foundation from which you operate. It’s knowing what you’re doing. You’ve got the goods. Reliability. Rock solid. Trustworthy. You can be counted on to deliver on your promises.
An example will help clarify the difference. Harley-Davidson, now the #1 example of anything corporate and amazing, own the style title in their industry. So do Jaguar automobiles. Yes indeed, they rule the world of style…but for years their machines wouldn’t run worth a darn. With no substance the sexiest style is useless. Both companies recognized the problem and are back with a vengeance because they are now supporting their style with substance.
On the flip side we have Volvo, who in the
past has been all substance with little style. In this day of expecting to
be entertained and
wowed at every turn, substance without style just doesn’t fly. Some of
their cars are now bordering on stylish. Are you getting the idea?
Compare Dr. Wayne Dyer’s immensely successful book The Power of Intention to
Larry Winget’s new book Shut up, Stop Whining and Get a Life! Both
are about the same length and both intend to empower people to realize their
full potential. Both are substantive in content. But the Power of Intention cover
pictures the conservative Dr. Wayne standing in what seems to be a cold marbled
hallway reminiscent of an ivy-league university. Clearly he is all about substance.
Winget’s book has him crouched, dressed in black like a bald biker from a bad B movie, menacing, sunglasses amplifying his glare. An accusing finger, adorned with a ring the size of a squash, points at you wherever you go. That is style. It makes you go “Wow!” And I guarantee the style is supported by substance. (You'll get this point in technicolor if you follow the links about Larry's book at the end of this article!)
Or take Seth Godin’s new book Free Prize Inside: the next big marketing idea. It has very solid, well researched content…and it comes in a cereal box. There you go again – style and substance.
Let’s play politics. We want to carve Ronald Reagan (style) into Mt. Rushmore while we negate Jimmy Carter (substance). Rev. Al Sharpton – style. Senator John McCain – substance. Lots of people think Bill Clinton has high style and high substance, which in politics is a rare quality. The last one in Canadian politics with high style and high substance was Pierre Trudeau back in the 70s and 80s.
How about John Kerry and George Bush? To keep
me out of trouble, you do it. John Kerry - ________. George Bush - ________.
If you can’t
decide on what to put for each of them, you now know why the current presidential
race is a dead heat.
Nothing about this has to do with right or wrong. I’m encouraging you
and your company to know who you are and to consistently and aggressively present
yourselves to your customers from the appropriate perspective. If your lead
proposition is naturally style then for goodness sakes, have style. It it’s
substance then be rock solid and unassailable in that substance.
The key is to know who you are and where your strengths lie. Some organizations struggle to present style when everything about them wreaks substance – like a math geek trying to look cool at the prom. Some clearly style-oriented organizations try to shore up their fading fashion with contrived substance like a school jock trying to impress his girlfriend by using long words he found in the dictionary.
Even sadder are companies and individuals with neither style nor substance and there are far too many of them in America. Most businesses are BORING! On top of that they give lousy service! We’ve all met salespeople who: a) have no personality and b) don’t know anything about their own product or service. What good are these people? They’re not interesting, they’re not interested and they shouldn’t get your money.
In similar fashion there are huge old established retailers who are trying desperately to figure out who they are, how to get the customers back and the revenue flowing again. In reality they have neither style nor substance and no one can live long with both arteries blocked. If your company is gasping for air it’s because you have neither style nor substance and you’d better do something fast.
In truth the line between style and substance is blurring as our consumer expectations change. We want the goods all right, but we want a positive exciting experience as well.
So – is it style or substance? If your are known for substance, you just might want to think about finding a little style to go along with it so you make your customers go “Wow!”
If it's style, make sure you have what you need to back up that style. You don't want to be all fluff and no stuff!
Where you want to end up is either presenting style supported by substance, or presenting substance with style. You can achieve success one way or the other. Customers want to give their money to someone. My thesis is that they will give it to those who have strongly positioned themselves with crystal clear clarity in the hearts and minds of the consumer. May that be you!
I mentioned Larry Winget's new book Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life! I've read it a couple of times and I'll say this - it is one unusual and remarkable self-help book! Quite unlike anything you've read! This book is going to be huge and I'd like you to get in on it early.
The formal launch of the book is September 7. If you order it on that day through the link below, you not only get 35% off, but you get a whole slew of terrific bonus material as well - about $50 worth. On top of that Winget says he'll buy the book back from you if you don't like it. When you go to the link, make sure you have your computer speakers on.
Here's the link: http://www.larrywinget.com/book I'll send you a reminder on Sept. 7th.