Your,Product,Experience,Imagin marketing Your Product is an Experience!

Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie

Imagine this:A man scoops up a big slice of pizza with his hand, and ashe pulls it closer towards his mouth fat strings ofmozzarella cheese drip around the slice and cling stickilyto the rest of the pie on his plate. The man takes a bite,and more hot cheese oozes out, while thick red sauce andgolden brown pepperoni and round juicy mushrooms bunch upagainst his mouth. Now how about this:A woman in a trench coat walks through a foggy drizzle, thenpauses underneath a street lamp. She looks down at acreased card with the words "meet me" in her hand. When shelooks up again the fog seems to lift, and she sees him --standing cold and unsure in front of the French café. Hesees her and smiles, then at the same moment they runtowards each other and embrace on the cobbled street. Asthey dissolve into a kiss the drizzle disappears, and shybeams of sunlight begin falling on the poignant Eiffeltower, watching over them and the café and all the loversin the world.Now, these may seem like the kind of images you usually seeon tv commercials. As a matter of fact, they ARE.But as marketers let's give them each a closer look, andfind out what makes them affect not just our minds, butalso places in our stomachs and our hearts.The first image is asking you to order their pizza. Thesecond is asking you to make flight reservations to Paris.Both are offering you tangible products & services.But what they're really selling you on -- and what theirimages vividly show -- are the EXPERIENCES they promiseyou'll get when you purchase what they offer.Because although emotions are at the heart of all humandecisions, it's EXPERIENCE that catalyzes all emotion. Andknowing that can help you win most any round of thismarketing game.YOUR Product Is An Experience-----------------------------Our lives are made up of strings of experiences, and they'rewhat define our memories, awaken our feelings, and influenceour decisions both personal & professional.As business owners, we need to understand that when clientsstart asking about our products, they're really not thatinterested in speed, gigabytes, or all the flashy buttons(although they might seem to at first).At the heart of all their questions they really need justone answer: How is your product going to affect theirlives?And this question can only be answered by describing theexperience.Fairy Tales and Coffee Mugs---------------------------Disney initially defined itself as a maker of cartoons, theneventually went into other business ventures as well.But now whether you think about movies, or toys, or a tripto Disneyland, you are clearly aware that Disneyconsistently promises you the same kind of experience:The chance to have fun, to play, to make believe and be achild again.And for many adults this is an experience worth saving for,or travelling hundreds of miles for -- making Disney aleader in its field, and a phenomenon in the marketingindustry.But suppose you're not as big as Disney, and are offeringsomething that many other entrepreneurs also have theability to offer?This was the situation for most coffee shop owners beforeStarbucks entered the scene.Although they offered the same thing (coffee & pastries) inessentially the same way (in cups and plates), Starbucksmade its mark by opening shop in the busiest cities andpromising urbanites a distinct experience:The chance to break away from the chaos of city life, sinkinto a quiet couch with a steaming cup of coffee, and relaxthe hours away without anyone bothering them or asking themto leave.Your Turn---------Based on these examples, you can see how it's entirelypossible to turn any feature into a benefit, and thenpackage all your benefits into an emotional experience.The question now is, how do you work in this image /message / promise into your marketing materials?Here are 3 ways:1) Show.Experience your product through the eyes/ears/nose/skin ofyour client, then translate those sensations into an imagethey can understand.This "image" may be an actual photo, a video, or acompelling paragraph of words. Use them on your website,in your ezine, on your pop under ads -- and make sure youtruly deliver on your promise, so first-time clients becomelong term patrons, who in turn tell others of theirexperiences with you.2) Testify.When you use client testimonials, you actually givepotential customers the most convincing evidence for buyingyour products: actual accounts of other people's positiveexperiences with you.Because a testimonial comes from someone outside of yourcompany, it quickly eliminates most prospects' doubts,because they're more inclined to accept it's true.3) Demonstrate.With the interactive capabilities of the Internet, it's noweasier more than ever to actually let potential clients geta first-hand taste of what you're offering before askingthem to commit to a purchase decision.This act of giving them full control of the process is apositive experience (for them) in itself, usually leadingto a satisfying ending -- both for the client, and for you.So no matter what you're offering -- whether it's widgetsor ebooks or software or potato chips -- people will alwaysremember if buying & using it was enjoyable, or easy, orfrustrating, or fun.And THAT first experience is what could make them want to doit all over again and help you convince others who haven'ttried it to say YES. © Tatiana Velitchkov