Every Song Has A Story.
What’s your favorite love song? Almost everyone has one; whether it reminds you of your high school sweetheart or the first dance at your wedding, love songs hold a special place in our hearts.
Billboard Magazine, the “bible” of the music industry, recently named their Top 50 love songs of all time. While most songs on the list are beloved and well known, no doubt some of them were written without real love in mind – that is, from a jaded perspective, looking at how much money a hit could make. However, it’s safe to say that a good many were written from deep, personal experiences.
Here are a few you might recognize and the heartwarming stories behind them:
- Bleeding Love (#11 on the list) was first performed by Leona Lewis but written by Ryan Tedder, One Republic’s frontman, and Jesse McCartney. It was actually inspired by the McCartney’s long-distance relationship at the time.
- To Know Him is to Love Him (#15 on the list) was written by Paul Spector as he was inspired by a photograph of his father’s tombstone which had written on it: “To Know Him Was to Love Him.”
- Love Story (#48 on the list) was written and performed by hitmaker Taylor Swift was about a love interest the singer-songwriter had whom her family and friends didn’t approve of/didn’t care for. Because of this, she took inspiration from Shakespeare’s famed tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, putting a spin on it to make it and creating one of her biggest hits and love songs of the past 100 years.
Where Music & Marketing Meet
“I don’t sing,” you might be thinking (it’s okay, neither do I) — so what does any of this have to do with modern marketing?
Here’s where it all connects: while many of the songs listed were written to a single, specific person, they were appreciated and purchased by millions.
Think about that. The number one word in most songs is… “you.” (I didn’t look it up – but think about it.)
When you launch a product or service, B2B or B2C, you must imagine a specific person who will make the purchase. Knowing the “persona” or “proxy” for your intended buyer helps you figure out exactly what they’re looking for in a product or service -the value proposition that is most attractive to them. In other words – don’t focus on “the market” – instead, focus on the “buyer” – the human being (or the archetype of your buyer) who has to say “yes!”
To figure out who this buyer is, ask yourself (and your team) questions such as:
- Is our buyer a man or a woman?
- Is our buyer young, middle-aged, or older?
- Is our buyer highly educated, somewhat educated, or uneducated?
Then, go a step further and narrow down your questions into a few potential interest areas that may be relevant to your industry:
- Does our buyer like to read or doesn’t like to read?
- Does our buyer go to a lot or a few movies?
- Is our buyer a foodie or not?
There are many more questions you can ask to figure out who your specific buyer is but, for now, do the following: the next time you read the paper or your favorite magazine, cut out or copy-paste a few pictures of who looks like or feels like your buyer. All you need is a few pictures of who you think you’re selling to.
Once you have a few, sing a love song to that picture.
(Just kidding.)
But really look at them–– figure out why you picked them, even if it just based on an initial glance at their appearance. And then think of a simple dialogue or story you would tell that person about you and your company; imagine what they would say in return. Imagine the dialogue you would have with them.
So, What About a Specific Buyer?
By doing this simple exercise, you will gain clarity and power in your marketing, messaging, and sales efforts. You’ll start to build a fuller, clearer picture for both yourself and your team as to whom you’re selling to.
Just like writing a love song, you’ve got to think who you are “writing” for. Who is your audience? What do they like (or don’t like)? Most importantly: what do they need?
Remember: some of the best love songs came about because songwriters knew who they were writing to. In a similar vein, you need to know who you’re selling your product or service to; only then can you really have a “hit.”
Questions to Consider:
- Are you selling to the masses or to a specific person?
- Do you know who your buyer is? How did you find out?
- What are their needs? How are you meeting those needs?
