Why being the best is sometimes not the best thing

Why should I buy your product or experience your service?

It’s the first thing we ask new clients and often the answer begins “Because we are / have the best ….”

It’s an impressive position to be in. To be the best. But in truth it’s often a nuanced position as well. The best technologies often serve just part of the offer or fail to match a target segments price point. The best service only matters if the product, the online banking, the coffee or cheap flight also possesses other values that your customers want. 

And being the cheapest is a really tough position to take for long, as well as being a great target for the competition to aim at.

So why should I buy your product or experience your service again?

Often the answer to this fundamental question comes in understanding what makes what our clients do meaningful to their customers.

And as is often the case with brand stories, it’s the international brands with the huge profile and client base (and budgets) who provide some of the best examples of how to bring a sense of meaning into what they do.

Take Nike for instance. Nike hasn’t grown to dominate the sports footwear market by harping on about trainers, in fact, Nike ads rarely, if ever mention their products at all. The ‘Just Do It’ campaign was superb for its obvious simplicity, but it also worked on a more profound level. Many of us worry about the things we can’t do, or think we can’t do, or are afraid to do. Nike sums up the answer to this problem in just three words. Don’t think: do. By convincing us that we can all do what we want to do if we only believe in ourselves, Nike have tapped in to a universal truth about human beings, that we are drawn to the confident and to the things that boost our own self-confidence. And that’s how they have made what they want to say meaningful to us.

Through their use of technology and product curation, what is meaningful to an Amazon customer is familiarity and efficiency –  helping us shop so damn easily since it opened its store to third-party sellers in 2000.

We could shop elsewhere but the problem for anyone designing for online transactions these days is the Amazon effect – your now not judged against your competitors experience but against the Amazon experience. 

And lastly, Ikea, with its great approach to product design but an even better understanding of the human spirit, of what we want, the affordable, sustainable, creative, and therefore, the meaningful.   

In conclusion

All iconic brands have one thing in common, they have all built and sustained strong emotional bonds with their customers. 

Of course, no brand can connect with everyone, and no company can be meaningful to all. But by focusing directly on what matters most to your customers and to their particular needs or concerns, it is possible to become the best choice for them in a much more relevant, useful and meaningful way.