Why is ‘Why’ So Important?

Posted by centralpawebster under Strategy
From http://strellasocialmedia.com 2824 days ago
Made Hot by: problogger78 on August 3, 2016 8:20 am

People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. It's a brilliant concept, yet few companies actually embrace it. Getting to the real ‘why’ of the business was challenging for us, but now that we’ve identified it, everything is changing for the better.

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Comments

Written by lyceum
2822 days ago

Rachel: Yeah! ;)

All the Best,

Martin

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Written by lyceum
2822 days ago

Rachel: Thanks for pointing out the importance of asking and answering the Why-question. It all boils down to fundamental ideas on being a creator, trader and valuer.

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Written by centralpawebster
2822 days ago

Indeed, it does!

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Written by HeatherStone
2824 days ago

Great observations, Rachel, and kind of reminiscent of Seth Godin's argument that marketers really need to be storytellers. Two questions though. First, does this work better in B2B than in B2C, or doesn't it really make a difference? Second,I can see how people might still get confused with the need to answer the why not the what? For example, if I tell you I created a new line of vacuum cleaners out of a desire to help homeowners get to hard to reach spots where dust can hide, is that a why or a what? Kind of seems like both actually.

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Written by centralpawebster
2824 days ago

Thanks for reading, Heather! I'm not sure if B2B or B2C matters because it's about P2P (People to people). Everyone is a person and we can relate them on a basic human level - with what they believe.

The way you're thinking about the why vs. what is a struggle we had for months. It's not as easy as it sounds. Sure, a vacuum has a practical application; it solves a problem or fills a specific need. In this case, perhaps we switched the focus to the frustration the homeowner experiences when they can't get to the corners of the room with their current vacuum. Perhaps you created your product because you hurt your back trying to clean and knew that there had to be a solution. But, this is still on the surface because I don't know what YOU believe.

I am not saying that this is for everyone because maybe what he sells or she sells is crap and they were just doing it to make a buck. Or maybe there is no real why and someone succeeded by having a great product or service 'just because' it was great - or heck, maybe they just got lucky. I only know that this helped me. If anyone is struggling in business, it may provide clarity and sense of direction. I had to take about 10 steps to the left to see my business from a different angle and understand my 'why.' Now that I have, it's changing everything!

I hope this helps, Heather. Thank you for the engaging discussion.

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