Patrick McKenzie, the founder of Bingo Card Creator, recently gave a talk at the Business of Software conference about selling software to underserved markets.
Patrick’s message, while focused on software, is universal:
Why do we suck at selling to women? Because we suck at selling to pretty much everyone.
— Patrick McKenzie
The marketing message for your product – software or not – can’t be focused on features alone. By understanding what your real business is – what your customers achieve in their lives by purchasing your product – you can focus your marketing message on the emotional value your customers gain by using your product.
Connect your brand, your company, the experience of using your product to what your customers really value. Customers value making a change in the life they are living. They want to feel loved. They want to feel successful. They want to experience the new life you will offer them as a result of using your software.
— Patrick McKenzie
As a Marketing Manager at Palo Alto Software, I can strategize on the features of our products, but at the end of the day, people who buy Business Plan Pro aren’t focused on the features as much as they’re focused on the change that Business Plan Pro lets them accomplish by helping them write a business plan.
When I implement Patrick’s marketing advice, I’m focused on answering these three questions:
- Who am I selling this software to?
- What is the change the customer wants to achieve?
- What story can I highlight to lead the customer from focusing on the software to thinking about the change they want to achieve?
What do you think of Patrick’s advice on selling to underserved markets? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
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