Three years ago I bought myself a MacBook. Here’s what I learned from the experience. 

EMOTION BEATS FACTS AND FIGURES IN MARKETING

 Now, anyone who knows me will tell you that I tend to often psycho-analyse things. So when it came to making a decision of which laptop I wanted, it was torture. To me, and those around me. I looked at the specs. The price. The reviews. And in a world where there are some serious Mac fans and Windows Fans, no review is satisfying. 

 That’s when my mother gave me some solid advice:

 “Get what you think is right for the moment,” and “If it’s gonna help you with what you want now, you’ll feel better”. Mothers and their awesome wisdom!

Earlier that day, a friend asked a colleague to sell the MacBook to me within 2 minutes, and when I re-visited that conversation in my head – there were some things that stood out for me. It wasn’t the processing speed or port holes – I didn’t get any of that anyway. It was what I envisioned the Mac would allow me to do. 

 I knew I wanted to write more and better. I wanted to be efficient. And I wanted it to be an extension of myself. Technology mattered only after that. The Mac made me feel functional, stylish, and full of opportunity. Oh, and I could also fit in in my handbag! 

 And so I got myself a MacBook. 

Now you may or may not relate to that. It really depends on the kind of technology you use and the sales and marketing methods those brands use. More often than not, technology is sold as a plain box that does things. Think technology and you envision a tool. A boring, complex tool. And that’s because technology doesn’t evoke attention.

So, THE SECRET TO SELLING TECHNOLOGY?  DON’T TALK ABOUT TECHNOLOGY. 

 Really. Don’t talk about technology and features. Instead, let them just be the supporting aspect of your story. Remember, the hero is the customer, the technology is that best friend that helps them get the job, win the girl (or boy? Or even a toy!) and maybe even save the day. 

 And if you think this is just me, think again. It’s a marketing tactic even Professor Levitt endorses:

“People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole. “ – Theodore Levitt

What this Harvard Business School Professor left out though was that people didn’t really want the hole for fun. They want it to hang that Canvas their child painted or a picture of them from Christmas. 

Of course, you’re not gonna see an advert that says ‘drill your way to happy memories’. That’s a little silly. The trick is to understand what people want to do with your product so you can identify the story that will sell it. And this is especially important when marketing technology. 

BENEFITS SELL. FEATURES DON’T. 

Think about it. Why do you buy that expensive home espresso machine?  To make coffee yourself? It’s not for the 54mm stainless steel portafilter, the Thermo coil heating system or the frothing pitcher! You buy it ‘cause what feels better than some warm foamy coffee in your PJs. 

Even Google does it. And that Ad was named the Top Ad of 2011 by the Time Magazine. 

They don’t mention speeds, feeds or the number of bytes. They don’t even say ‘embed YouTube videos directly into your email’. Instead, they showed a dad documenting his daughter’s life for both himself and his daughter in a way that wasn’t easy to do before. And feeling like one helluva cool dad for it. Yes, it was the technology that enabled it. But they don’t talk about it. 

Remember: Benefits sell, features don’t. Benefits build stories, customers can relate to. Why? ‘Cause people like stories. It’s how we’re wired. 

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