The Power of Why - C. Richard Weylman

Reading this book, makes me reevaluate the way our marketing works. Is it already right??

Hello again, after few weeks off from blog, I thing it's the time to put another post about the book that I borrow from AADL library, "The Power of Why".

This book is a guidance of selling product based on Unique Value Promise rather than Unique Selling Proposition. In short, we should not advertise our product superiority, but touch the need of consumer and how our product will help the to solve it. I will start with the way I used to be selling the product. I think I always tell the consumer about the superiority of the product. How many DHA compare to other milk formula. What is our FOS GOS, and the fact that this is the only formula proven to help improve the immune, etc. So we focus on selling what is the product and force the consumer to think that they need it. While this book trying to find different approach to sell. 

In this book you need to focus on the customer wants, what they are doing, and what they want to accomplish. That will be our UVP, it is give by our customer. Why we need to do that? Because competition in the market is really though. If we do not distinct our company, what is the reason they choose you? Everyday there will be new company, new product, cheaper one, better one. And it makes the customer move to other brand easily. Loyalty to one brand is rare, so we need to be excellent to be the consumer choice.

According to that, the book suggest us to interview our customer and ask, "why they choose our company?" and dig deeper, because the obvious answer is not the answer. It is not about what the company do or best at, but why consumer need to choose our company. It need to be done in a private and one on one session. Not by email, or phone.

The book explain the detail and step by step of doing it. From prepare for the interview, crafting the UVP, get the UVP is spread through the organisation, marketing it, and how to exceed expectation in customer service. I think it is really thorough because the writer is a consulting. He is already help several company to run their business with UVP in mind.

Something that stroke into my mind is, having the concept of UVP is not easy. It need trial and error to understand the consumer. You cannot measure the satisfaction of your consumer just by reading the review in the site. Because usually it just said "Great" "Good" like a lip service you give to your boss when he asked about your life. Finding the route cost of why people buy our product and service and recreate it to get into the emotional state of consumer is the key for loyal consumer.

Another thing that I found is important is the way UVP is give to the all player in organisation. Although maybe UVP is created by sales and marketing department, the understanding and implementation cannot restricted into director only, but it need to be understand by all player in the organisation. Especially the first layer that contact with the consumer, for example is the waiter, cashier, or bellboy in the hotel. They need to deliver the UVP because it is what the company promise to give to consumer. No matter how good your UVP is, it will be worthless if you cannot execute it well. It can be a backfire if you fail to deliver it. You consumer can leave you.

Overall, I found this book is interesting to read. Give you a thought to think whether your way of marketing product is what consumer wants or not. And how can you improve it. Because if you doing it right, sales and profit will follow.