I want to discuss something that came about from an experience I had two weeks ago with a hosting company here in the UK. Something that I believe could have been losing them money because they were not pandering to ego and focused more on the technical aspect of their business.
I wasn’t going to name the company as I intended not to dis them just use them as an example of what I believe a business should and shouldn’t do but after re visiting today I see that there have been some changes and I know understand more of what they do and what a customer will get.
The company is screenflowhosting.com and whether it was my email that helped or not I really don’t know but what I do know is that they have made some excellent positive changes. So the article is to also big them up and give them so extra exposure.
Today’s post came about from listening to the legendary Slipmatt radio show the World Of Rave. I am a lover of all things Electronica music. I am especially a big fan of the music that was around in the late 1980s and early 1990s. That was when I was in my teens & early twenties and clubbing and there is a big ‘old skool’ movement happening now with radio shows and rave nights dedicated to the music from that era.
As part of the DJ Slipmatt’s show he does the usual call out to his sponsors and help including the guy who deals with the technical side of the radio and the hosting company responsible for the running of the radio show.
I have a website that is loosely dedicated to the music and have thought about having my own online radio show for it. I have in fact been in talks with one online radio station DanceRadioUK that also hosts Slipmatt’s show to do a late night show for them about all forms of Electronica called ‘Everything Starts With An E’ (Will keep you posted if it comes off!)
Online radio is great because many different radio stations can connect and broadcast the same show so for example ‘The World Of Rave’ which is Slipmatt’s show is broadcast on a Friday night between 5 and 7 on several online radio stations as well as direct from his own website. Below is a recording of one of his recent shows.
Slipmatt – World Of Rave #25 by Slipmatt on Mixcloud
When I heard Slipmatt call out the name of the hosting company I went over and took a look. After looking around the site for several minutes I rightly or wrongly decided to send them an email sharing my thoughts. Not to criticise or bash but to say from a customer’s point of view how I was left dazed and confused at their site and services.
Offering the best service and equipment is one thing good businesses should do but the best businesses generally think from a customer’s point of view and if a customer is not tech savvy it doesn’t matter if you supply the new ‘Mega 4000 Max Power Kyrptonite Processor, NRA Based Server’ or ‘40 Tonne Kilowatt Bandwidth’
What I as a customer needs to know is will it do what I want, I need to know the results I will get from system and as it was music related many DJs will be ego driven and want to know ‘How many listeners can I have and will it cost a lot’
As part of the system requirements and package specifications was a button, ‘Learn More’ which when clicked took me to the ‘order form’. I didn’t learn anything new and was not sure what I was paying for and whether I wanted to pay for it.
As a DJ (potential DJ lol) I saw that I could have 100 listeners as part of a £10 a month package, this didn’t sound a lot to me, I wasn’t sure how this worked whether it was a bandwidth thing or something at my end or what. All I know is that I would want to be set up and have the potential to broadcast to thousands if possible and at what price. Now having a Radio 1 size audience is probably well out of my price range but I really do not know.
Getting only 100 visitors doesn’t sound a lot and worth bothering for £10 a month: that is me simply thinking like a customer. I could be completely wrong here with other radios all being able to tap into radio streams it could be possible to be like Ibiza Global Radio and broadcast around the world connecting to different services and set ups.
As I said StreamfloHosting.com have changed their site and added some new information that has helped increased my knowledge and understanding within a few minutes of reading. My email might have helped or it might have been nothing more than a simple coding error and the information was there all the time just I was unable to connect with it. Whatever it was, I know understand far more than I did before which is great.
Whatever your business is, you must stop and think from your customer’s perspective and think ‘What is it I would want to know, look for and buy if I was the customer?’ Think about the ‘X Factor’ for a minute (I know it is an awful show but please just try J)
Imagine Simon Cowell said to a group of teenage wannabes…
‘I will get you into a large studio with Reason, Cubase software, Akai and Roland equipment, big microphones and record a song’
…the teenagers would be stood with a semi excited fixed grin thinking…
‘I have no idea what you just said really’
but if instead Simon had said…
‘I will make you stars, with millions of adoring fans, millions in the bank and a life of mixing with celebrities’
I can guarantee the teenagers would be jumping around in joy screaming and whooping.
The desired results they want are stardom, adoration, money and a celebrity lifestyle. They are not interested in or understand the technical aspects of a recording studio or equipment. I am not saying they won’t develop an interest along their journey to stardom but that isn’t why they go on the ‘X Factor’
Unless you are a real geek, when getting website hosting you are more likely to be interested in what it can do for your business, brand or popularity and not what the actual software or hardware is and it is the same for any business.
Drug dealers know this well, that is why they never sell the drug, they sell the experience, the high, the happiness and the effects the drug can have. Obviously there is a place for system information and technology specifications and I am not saying you should become a ‘Willy Wonka’ style character only selling dreams all the time. That can fall into the dubious realms of copywriting which can be as unethical in the way it sells dreams as selling drugs.
What I am trying to say here is that when you are offering a service or selling products, do not get too wrapped up in the specifications of the technology or service. People buy things for a reason and often that reason is driven by an expectation of a result so you should be selling results more than a service or product.
Besides, the average Joe Public know what they want as a result but they probably do not have a clue about the technology and hardware. You could soon leave them dazed and confused with information overload and quite possibly scare them off from making a decision losing you the sale. And I know you do not want that, do you?
If you are interested in running an online radio and they are very popular and powerful please check out Streamflowhosting.com and if you simply want to hear some cool sounds both old skool and new please check out my recommended list of online Radio stations.
KoolLondon | KaneFm | DanceRadioUK | SlipMatt | IbizaGlobalRadio | UKObsession | Renegade
Also if you want to be a superstar DJ like Slipmatt he is soon to be doing a special online training course covering all styles old and new. I am ok with the old but need serious help with the new technology so I shall be signing up!
9 thoughts on “Sell Results Not Specifications”
Hi Andi,
It’s amazing how a company can spend so much money developing their product/service and then fail to market it well enough for people to understand. Have seen it done a few times (usually with tech based products) that just leave you scratching your head.
Much better, like you say, to make it clear to people.
Great post!
P.S. – Let me know if the radio show goes ahead. Would be great to tune into that 🙂
I certainly was left scratching my head after visiting the site… and I am not stupid, I have some understanding of hostings and website technology but I came away thinking eh? If the radio thing does come off then it will be mid November, I will let you know more but I will warn you know, I do intend to cover all spectrum’s of electronic music so there will many tunes that might make your ears bleed =D
Cool post – I would like to think they did take what you said on board. Looking forward to the show if it come off mate!
Thanks, nothing will happen until mid November if that, need to get moved and buy a new mixer first so it is in the pipeline. I will let you know if it comes off.
Firstly, the reference to IGR meets with my approval …. You’ve made an excellent point in writing this post – everything needs to be “idiot” proof (for want of a better word) and if people don’t understand it then they won’t get it/buy it or use it – even if they might well benefit from it!
Keep me posted on the radio set up – something you know I find quite fascinating and would love to be able to listen in too!
C
Hi Clair, thanks for your comments, yeah IGR is good to tune into, especially when we do a tapas night, get a real Spanish / Balearic feel going on.
As for the post, yeah I walked away not buying and not wanting to return and learned nothing useful. I am sure online radio hosting isn’t in great demand and so in my mind there is a greater need for them to show the benefits and do everything they can to turn any potential client into a raving fan who is just dying to get started and become a customer.
Will keep you posted on the status of any potential radio show.
Cheers
Hi Andi,
Perfect buddy. Focus on benefits, not features. I can tell you that my gifting club provides you with over 50 training videos in the backoffice. Great. Nobody REALLY cares about that, but when you check my squeeze page and I explain how you can travel the world with me and live the internet lifestyle…..
…..then I post pictures of me from Bali and Phuket and other exotic hotspots…you are more likely to sign up for my list, because you want dreams, and you want to live dreams, not read about features.
Remember what drew you to some opportunity, or what influenced you to buy a product. Make your dreams come true, that is the goal, and if you can sell the dream you will never lack in any business.
Thanks Andi, wonderful reminder here.
Ryan
Hi Ryan, thank you for your thoughts and taking the time to share them. Yes the proper use of copywriting is selling the dream and the benefits, sometimes it can go too far but the truth is you must answer the question ‘what do people want?’ that usually is a better life, more free time and more money… As you rightly say, the amount of videos means nothing to people if they do not see a benefit to watching them, people are lazy and the to be honest, they might be put off by the amount and do not fancy watching loads of videos unless they know there is a big benefit to them at the end.
Not sure how I did not see this before. So thankful for you sharing.