When you have a business, it’s important that people understand what you do. The people who work with you, the people who buy from you and the people who support you. You want them to understand your passion – that what you do is important and worthy of their time and attention. And in the case of customers, worthy of their money. When you have a business that doesn’t fit a standard category, making sure people understand the value of your work takes something extra.
You need to sing your own unique song.
You know the full story of your business – you’ve lived it, breathed it and dreamed it from the beginning. In your head it’s like you have a full orchestra and/or rock band of your choice playing your song in surround sound complete with a multimedia show. It’s not easy to convey that full experience when all you’re using is your voice. How well are you singing your song? Are people hearing what you think they’re hearing, or something more like bad karaoke?
Here’s the thing – people will try to understand what you do in terms of what they already know.
Most people are listening for familiar songs. If your business doesn’t readily fit into a standard category, your words aren’t matching familiar patterns in their minds. If they can’t make a match, they’ll stop listening, just as if you’ve massacred an old classic.
You need to make it clear that what you have is something unique and valuable – that your business is not just a second rate rendition of an old standard.
You need to make an impact and get attention.
In simple terms, you need to do two things: craft your song and develop your voice. You want to be memorable and catchy, preferably in under 3 minutes, just like a classic pop song. You want to use words that are easily remembered and repeated. You want to be passionate and entertaining. You want to share that amazing experience that’s in your head.
It’ll take some time and effort to get this right, but it’s vitally important to do so. There are plenty of resources available to help you hone your performance – to develop a song that has people listening, enjoying and singing along. Thanks to the amazing powers of the internet, you can learn from great business performers.
Take a look at this video of Scott Kilmartin of haul, Pop Culture Recyclers. Scott’s opening line, “My business is called haul and it’s complete rubbish” has his audience instantly engaged and entertained. A unique story presented in a way that’s distinctive and memorable.
Getting feedback from your audience will help you craft your performance – remember that it’s about them and what they are hearing.
When you get it right, they’ll be singing along with you.
What’s your song? How did you develop it? Who or what has helped you?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Kim, the thing I think that we often forget is that we end up living our businesses day and night and take many of the things that make our business unique for granted. This is a great reminder to take a step back and think about the story that we want to tell to the world.
I think this is true outside the business sector too – for example, being a mom. When I speak with my unmarried, single girlfriends I have to be very creative with the way I talk about mothering so that they GET it. Otherwise, we’d be speaking completely different languages.
Thank you Kim, this is such a wonderful reminder to keep checking in with the song I’m creating for my business. I love the idea of relating my message to a song with a language that people will relate to and find catchy enough to sing along to!
I always think about the Starbucks example. Starbucks is not just a coffee shop. It’s an experience, a mood. A good example of an unconventional business based on something as common as drinking coffee.
When I see people standing in line to pay $3-$5 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks I always think, “where did these people use their laptops and drink expensive coffee before they had Starbucks?” Starbucks created a new ‘want’ and found a way to satisfy it.