Data doesn't sell. Here's what does...
A couple of years ago, I decided to buy a WHOOP.
For those who aren't familiar, WHOOP is a wearable device that provides data about different aspects of your health like sleep, stress, and other health-promoting habits.
I'll tell you... I love this thing. I talk about it often and it's not because of the data it provides... it's because of something else.
Just last week, I was in a conversation with the team from an AI-based technology startup I'm advising, Propense.ai.
We were talking about data.
In this case, Propense.ai provides professional services firms with data that identifies additional client-service and revenue opportunities based on historical trends.
We were discussing the importance of making an emotional connection to the data. Sure, the product is built on providing information, but why should prospective customers care?
Are they really buying the data, or are they buying something else?
Reflecting on my experience with my WHOOP, that answer became very clear...
(this isn't sponsored by WHOOP, I'm just a big fan of the product)
People don't buy data. They buy outcomes.
When organizations position something like data as the primary value of their product/service, it puts the emphasis on the WHAT.
(You can substitute data with things like hours, service features, internal structure, etc).
Ok, but when we put ourselves in our client's shoes, do they really care about data or hours or features? No...
They care about outcomes.
They care about being able to reach their goals as an organization.
They care about things like revenue, efficiency, and growth.
WHOOP does an excellent job of positioning the value of the data they provide.
Right off the bat, they tie data to performance.
They could have used a phrase like "24/7 health data available on your wrist".
That's more analogous to the way I see many technology companies and professional services firms positioning their products or services.
That's the WHAT.
In WHOOP's case, the WHY behind that data is linked directly to performance.
Further down on their site, they talk about all the things their data will help you do in your life:
"Manage your stress" and "optimize your sleep" are very actionable and tangible things.
When I decided to get a WHOOP, I already had an interest in health. Exercise has always been a critical part of my life and I'm turning 60 soon... my body doesn't bounce back and respond like it used to.
I wanted something that would give me a deeper insight into my health so I had real information I could act on.
Since wearing my WHOOP, I've improved my sleep, become more consistent with my workouts, ate healthier, and developed routines for consistent health-promoting behaviors.
Data didn't do that for me.
It gave me the information so I could make more informed decisions.
Don't sell your thing—sell what it does.
In the startup world, it's easy to obsess over the thing you've built.
The product. The tool. The technology. The data.
Especially when it's new, proprietary, or AI-enabled.
In order to turn your thing into something that other customers see value in and are willing to pay for, you have to communicate what's in it for them.
The same thing applies to professional services firms.
The more you sell the features of your service or the internal structure of your organization, the less likely you are to resonate with your prospective customer.
This may feel like one of those, "Yeah, yeah, we know, Whitman..." moments, but I can tell you that organizations of all sizes continue to struggle with this.
This week, take a look at how you're messaging your products or services and try to put yourself in the eyes of your customers.
Are you making a clear, emotional appeal to how your product/service will improve their business outcomes?
What's one messaging shift you could make to focus less on the WHAT and more on what your thing allows the customer/client to do?
This shift is a foundational element to earning the right to sell in the marketplace.
With intention,
Alan D Whitman
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