
10 Aug ‘People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it’
I recently watched this TED talk by Simon Sinek again.
His talk focuses on how leaders and brands inspire people through the construct of building out three circles that from center to outer go – Why, How, What.
The construct, however, that many brands follow is one where they tell their story from the outside in. They begin with what you are selling, how that something works and then why you should buy it.
But the truth is, the inspiring brands start with the Why and work out to the What.
This forces you to think of your purpose, cause or belief prior to moving on to the marketing and promotion of a product or service. This is the hook, as Simon explains, to get innovators and early adopters engaged.
The TED talk was shot in 2009, and it’s crazy how dialed in this construct still is.
But the even crazier part is that I see this construct being played out even more in 2016 via the crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Each one of those campaigns uses a 2-3 minute video to start with the Why. They use the power of ‘Why’ to create the hook about why they are working on a certain project to get the supporters to learn How they are going to help support What they are selling.
When you are building your brand, focus on talking about what you believe in and why you are doing what you do. It really comes down to that simple theme.