Full Written Transcript of The Episode

Matt Tompkins: Have you ever noticed how us human beings, we make a lot of decisions that aren’t in our best interests from the fast food that we eat to the politicians that we elect? We often ignore the facts that don’t fall in line with how we feel about something.

Understanding why people buy is crucial to marketing your product or service and growing your business. And in this episode, we’re going to showcase this fact versus feeling showdown where only one will be standing at the end.

Welcome back to Midwest Mindset, the podcast that gives you the small business owner, the big agency Secrets to Marketing. I’m Matt Tompkins of two Brothers Creative, where we believe every business deserves affordable and effective marketing that produces real results.

Now, if you are looking for a case study as to what works with marketing a product or service, there is no better case study than Steve Jobs versus Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs is a name that’s obviously revered among entrepreneurs. I mean, this guy is the ultimate entrepreneur. You know, he’s a bootstrapper.

He started in his garage with Wozniak, and they built what is today now the most valuable company on planet Earth. But in the early 80 seconds, things took a turn. Things went south for Steve Jobs, and it came down to their company’s marketing. In the early 80 seconds, they had a product, a new computer called the Lisa. Now, the Lisa was at the time, the most advanced home computing system ever created.

Matt Tompkins: It was Steve Jobs, their masterpiece. And so they did what many businesses do. When I honestly what I still see many marketing agencies, the supposed experts still do. Today they went out and argued the facts. They argued the facts to a degree.

I don’t know if we’ve seen a a more full throated effort at arguing the facts than in this situation because they took out a 16 page ad, 16 pages in The New York Times and in all 16 pages, all they did was argue the facts. They listed the specs, all of them. This is, hands down, the most thorough argument as to why this product is the best quality product in its category. And unless you are a NASA engineer, it meant nothing to you. It didn’t resonate, it didn’t connect with anybody. And thus the Lisa was sadly a flop. It was a flop to the point where Steve Jobs lost his job.

Yeah, he was fired from the company that he started. That’s how bad of a flop this was. Now, let’s fast forward to 1990 Steve Jobs. He’s brought back into Apple. And they are innovating what would become the iMac in 1998 when they released the iMac? It was built off of, I mean, technologically very linear progression from one product, the Lisa to the iMac. They built off of its operating system and a lot of the functionality and everything, they improved on it drastically, but it was very much a linear progression from one product to the next.

Matt Tompkins: So technologically. Similar products, but vastly different marketing campaigns. This time around, they didn’t take out a 16 page ad in the New York Times. This time they took out a single one page ad in The New York Times with just two words Think different. Think different, only two words in the ad, they didn’t list the single spec.

They didn’t list the single fact. And the iMac would go on to revolutionize home computing. It brought Apple back. It. Was the starting point of Apple transitioning to where they are today. As I said, one of the most valuable companies on planet Earth. And it all started with just a fundamental shift in marketing their products.

They stopped arguing the facts and they start started to tap into how their products made people feel. That’s what that single page ad did think different. It piqued people’s curiosity, their excitement. It had an element of mystery to this. What it made people want to know. It tapped into basic human emotions. And I know as a business owner, it’s hard for us to not argue the facts because we want to believe and oftentimes we say out loud, I make decisions based off the facts. That makes sense, right? It seems rational, but we just don’t.

Matt Tompkins: You and I, we do not make decisions based off of the facts. We make decisions based on how this makes us feel, and then we pick the facts to justify that decision that we’ve made, which was actually made based on how it makes us feel.

Fast food is another perfect example here. It really isn’t that it relatively. It isn’t that hard for us to eat healthy. Okay. It takes a little more planning, maybe establishing a new routine. It actually costs us a lot less money. It’s more affordable. I know when I went through my my healthy phase and I say it’s a phase because I’m trying to get back there. But lately I’ve been off the wagon. Yes.

As they say when it comes to maybe not eating the best food, but when I was eating healthy, I felt better. I looked better. I saved a lot more money. If I were to look at every fact and if we stacked up the facts versus fast food and healthy food, healthy food wins hands down if you’re making a decision based on the facts. But we don’t make a decision based on the facts. We just don’t. Not with anything, really.

And so we choose fast food based off of deep rooted emotions and emotional connections we have with advertising and with, you know, my dad taking me to McDonald’s on Saturday mornings and Hastings, Nebraska, to eat their their pancakes and their kids meal and getting the toy and all these different emotions.

Matt Tompkins: They’re tapping into feelings. That’s why we’re making that decision. Another example would be politics. How many times have we seen people vote and make decisions to put people in office that go against their own self-interest? They do it because of feelings. It’s amazing to me that more people in politics and all the different cable news networks can’t seem to figure out all this is, is marketing.

It’s just understanding that it’s all about feelings. I mean, we’ve all had this experience, I think, right, where somebody says something on Facebook, it turns into this big long thread, this big argument back and forth. And it doesn’t matter how many facts you present, it seems so obvious to you. How can this person not see the facts? But you don’t ever change their mind? I don’t think anybody’s mind has ever been changed on Facebook, period.

But you don’t ever change their mind with the facts. Why is that? That’s because they’re not making this decision. They’re not taking this position based on the facts. They’re taking this position. They’re making this purchasing decision based on how this makes them feel. So it’s almost like we’re playing a different sport. They’re playing baseball. We’re playing soccer, and we’re expecting somehow for this thing to end well. And it does it. Now, the important thing all of this illustrates for you as a small business owner is understanding that very fundamental truth about marketing and then applying it to your marketing.

Matt Tompkins: Because we see this mistake made time and time again where businesses argue the facts. And I have been there myself. We want to use the word high quality over and over and over because we think that’s what moves the needle. We want to argue the specs. You see the ads on TV?

Four out of five doctors agree this toothpaste is the best. Is that why people buy that toothpaste? No, it’s not. They don’t care. Five out of five people watching that commercial don’t care what four out of five doctors think about that toothpaste. What they care about is how that makes them feel. And so if you can come to this understanding, this basic truth, when it comes to marketing your business, you are going to see unparalleled success compared to your competitors, because sadly, most people are still hung up on this delusion that people make decisions based on facts.

When we don’t, we clearly don’t. The examples I’ve given today are just a few. We know this intrinsically. We know this about ourselves. We know why we’re making these decisions. And it is not because of the facts. So we can keep arguing the specs, keep arguing the facts, and have similar results to the Lisa of the early 80 seconds with Steve Jobs and not see the success we want to see with our business or the alternative.

Matt Tompkins: We can focus on the three problems that your business can solve. Now there are three problems. Doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, what product, what service, who your customer is, it doesn’t matter. There are three problems that you can solve for your customer.

For a person, you have external problems, internal problems and philosophical problems. Okay. What does that mean? External problems are the facts. External problems are. To use an example here, off the top of my head, we’ll say a car. All right. So an external problem is I need a mode of transportation. All right. Now, here is the big misstep that we make. We think that that is what people want to hear in our marketing. So we argue, you need a car.

You need a car with four tires, not just any tires, the best tires, this engine and this these specs, the facts. We argue the merits of the car. Even though we’re making that decision because of that basic need, the real reason we make our purchasing decision is because of internal problem. So an external problem is just the basic need. I need a mode of transportation.

We don’t make our purchasing decision based on that. Instead, what we make our decision is based off of the internal problem. How does this make us feel? What do we want? What do we want? Not what do we need now? I need a mode of transportation.

Matt Tompkins: I could go out and find a $200 car. It’s a piece of junk. It’s going to do all the things I need it to do. It’s going to get me from point A to point B, from home to work, from work to home. Maybe stop at Casey’s to get that, you know, shame filled slice of pizza that I know I’m going to get tomorrow afternoon. Okay, I got to stop eating the Casey’s pizza. Anyhow, I digress. It’s going to get the job done, but I’m not buying that car. You know, I could get a Subaru, I could get a minivan, but I’m not. I drive a jeep Wrangler Unlimited. Why do I why did I buy that car? It’s a lot more expensive than other cars.

The reason is because of the internal problem. I bought that car because in high school, my best friend Brett, he got a brand new Jeep Sahara, I think it was Jeep Wrangler. And ever since then, I always wanted a Jeep. I wanted a Jeep wrangler. And then when I could finally afford one, it was my dream vehicle. I was able to get one. And now I love it. I love it. Do I go up mountains? No. Have I do I take the top off? Rarely.

Matt Tompkins: Honestly, I’m too lazy. It’s too much work. And so I don’t I don’t use the Jeep for most all of the things that Jeep is known for. The facts, the specs. No, the reason that I have a jeep is because of how it makes me feel. It’s tied to emotions. And the same thing can be said for how many pickup trucks and SUVs do we see driving around Omaha now in the winter time? Maybe we get a snow once, twice. We don’t really need that truck. Most people don’t need that truck.

Most people aren’t farmers. Most people aren’t hauling around hay and other things, tools, you know, most people who are driving these SUVs and these trucks, they they have purchased them because of an emotional connection, because it’s a Cadillac Escalade, because it’s a Suburban, It’s because of whatever emotional reason, whatever, however that product makes them feel. That’s why they got it. So you have three problems.

You have the external, which is I need a mode of transportation. Nobody makes their decisions on what they buy. Based on that, though, you have internal, How does this make me feel? Or what do I want? That is what people make their purchasing decisions on.

And yet we make the mistake of flipping those two around. And so we go out arguing the facts, thinking they want a solution to this external problem. They need a mode of transportation when in reality what they need is a solution to an internal problem and it plays into the ego, it plays into emotions.

Matt Tompkins: To carry that car analogy, if I said, you know, external, I need a mode of transportation internal, I need a mode of transportation that shows up my neighbor Todd because Todd has a Prius, he has a hybrid. He’s always bragging about it.

And I make more money, I’m more successful. And I feel like, you know, my my Subaru. No offense, Subaru. I don’t know. I’ve never driven a Subaru, so I can’t knock a Subaru. But it’s just this random example off the top of my head. So I’m driving my Subaru.

He’s driving his driving his hybrid. And you know what? I want to show off my status. I want to feel successful. I want to feel good. So I buy a Tesla and sure, I have to wait two years for that thing to show up, but then I have it. Now I feel good. So I’m making that decision based off of internal.

And then that leads me into the final problem you can solve, which is philosophical by buying that, by buying that Tesla. I am a part of something bigger than myself. Bigger than myself. I am a part of something bigger than myself in the sense that I feel like I am contributing to helping the environment.

Matt Tompkins: I am lowering carbon emissions. I am using less fuel. This is better for the environment. It’s better for my kids, for the next generation. Right? If you notice there, there are three problems that can be solved external, internal and philosophical.

Two of those three problems are all feelings. All feelings, internal and philosophical are all feelings. And those two internal especially are how you should be marketing your product or service to your your ideal customer. Unfortunately, the mistake we make is we we focus in on the external. We focus in on the facts, which is not why anybody makes a decision, a purchasing decision.

There’s a very simple formula here for for any business and what you do. You have a problem, you have a solution, and you have an end result. And it is very important to focus on painting that picture or illustrating to your ideal customer to that prospect, that new client, what that end result looks like and what it will feel like. What is that going to feel like? Sometimes we get hung up.

Don’t say sometimes. Most of the time businesses get hung up on that external problem. We argue the facts. We point out all these different facts and specs and intricacies of the solution, and we don’t ever paint or even talk about the end result of that solution. The end result is actually what matters most because that is how it’s going to make you feel.

Matt Tompkins: I had a friend of mine send this to me today. I won’t mention who it is, but a company they make, you know, they do kitchen remodels, bathroom remodels, remodels, and they have countertops as their feature. That’s their main That’s their bread and butter. Right.

They have a beautiful website. It looks like they probably spent thousands of dollars. It was done professionally. Looks great, looks amazing. It’s not really getting them results at all. And that’s why they reached out. The first thing that I took a look at was their messaging. What is the message? How are you connecting with your ideal customers with your target market? First paragraph on the home page. It reads Like many business websites that I’ve seen. You’ve probably seen too. T

hey all sound something like this. Our product is made with only the highest quality materials. They will support up to £400 of weight. They have been tested for 4000 hours under the highest pressure. Blah, blah, blah. That is not what is going to sell countertops. We think it is because we think that’s what’s important. That external problem, we don’t focus on the end result. The end result is how we highlight the internal problem and the philosophical problem.

A more effective message on this website for countertops could be something like this. Simply say it’s time to come home to a kitchen your family loves.

Matt Tompkins: Come home to a kitchen your family loves. Immediately in my mind when I say that it is I’m having. This vision of my family, who for the most part I love and enjoy spending time with. We’re all in the kitchen. We have these beautiful new countertops and they are the reason. This is what has brought us all together. I’m proud of my kitchen. It looks great, makes me feel good. And my family is there.

And it’s Christmas, it’s Thanksgiving, it’s the holidays. It’s watching, you know, husker football games, whatever the celebration or just a random reason to get together and maybe play cards some night as a family. These countertops are the solution.

But what that message does is it focuses on the end result, focuses on the internal problem, and it focuses on the philosophical problem, too, because we’re bringing family into this. This is a generational thing. It is more than just my my kitchen is more than just my new countertops. It’s my wife’s, it’s my parents, it’s my brother and my siblings, my cousins, whoever might come over.

Tap into those feelings because that is what people base their decisions on. Marketing is all about trust. It is all about building trust and building trust as fast as you can. You have about five seconds on a website. They call it the grunt test. To convey what problem you solve, what your solution is, and what the end result is going to be.

Matt Tompkins: And if you don’t do that in five seconds, people aren’t even going to scroll down. They’re just going to move on. And that’s just a analytical, data driven fact, no pun intended. Facts don’t build trust. You know, you’ve heard that saying, and I’m going to I’m not going to try and quote it exactly because I’ll screw it up. But, you know, a statistic is saying, hey, this foundation helps a million people. People don’t care about a statistic.

They care about a person. We’ve helped a million people or your money gave Bob this liver transplant, and he’s alive today because of you. It makes it personal. Why? Why does that work? Because. Feelings. That is what we base decisions off of. And to build trust, you have to empathize. You have to connect. You have to relate to your customer. And that is all about understanding their emotions, their feelings and your own. And how that drives their decision making process.

Facts versus feelings. It is not even a fair fight. You should remove facts from your argument altogether. Focus on feelings. Focus on connecting and relating. Resonating deeply as we’ve talked about. Because feelings win every time. When you use feelings and you build trust, people will fill in the gaps. You’ve probably had this happen. I know I have. Where you make the argument of all the specs and all the facts and all the things you do and all the reasons why and people’s eyes gloss over.

Matt Tompkins: You know, when you simply say this is the end result, this is your problem, this is the end result, we’re going to help you. We’re going to help you get here to this place where you feel this. People say, Yes, I trust you. They’ll fill in the gaps, stop making a fact based argument and start focusing on the feelings. Thanks again for joining us here today on Midwest Mindset.

Now in the show notes, if you are looking for a secret weapon to help your business thrive when it comes to search engine optimization, there are so many things that you can do yourself. Trust me, if I can do it, you can do it, too. And we are trying to help you out here with a free checklist in the show notes. Free checklist to write the perfect SEO focused blog article.

Blog articles are the secret weapon for your SEO, for your search engine optimization. If you want to show up higher in search results, if you want to drive more traffic to your business’s website, this is something you can do for free. All it takes is time and knowing how to do it. And if you want to know how to do it, the checklist is there for you. It is absolutely free. You can download it, click on the link in the show notes.

And we’ll see you next time.