Blindingly Obvious (BO): Connect Your Offer to The Customer's Wants

Connect Your Offer to The Customer’s Wants

“Most brand strategies end up being a penetrating insight into the blindingly obvious.” 

This is my new favourite quote from Jane Lingham, the BBC’s Director of Brand. It sums up neatly the dichotomy of brand development…how can something so simple be so hard to get right?

The basic concepts of brand strategy are simple:

·      know what you stand for

·      know why you are different

·      Know what makes you compelling

We should all be in search of the “blindingly obvious”. But just because it’s obvious, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to find:

·      You need to create time and space within your business to reflect on your offering and what makes you different.

·      You also need to be able to take a step outside yourself and look at your business critically from the perspective of your customers.

It’s not who you think you are, but who they think you are that counts.

You can only come up with the “penetrating insight” if you really understand the people you are trying to reach. You need to understand the barriers and motivators to buying your product or using your services. You also need to push beyond the rational decision making process to unearth the emotions and values underneath.

Once you have that understanding, what you need to do and how you need to present yourself becomes “blindingly obvious”. It is a straightforward connection between what you offer and what someone wants

Blindingly Obvious: An adjective describing something that is so plain to see that it is easily overlooked.

Note: Not to be confused with someone who's obviously blind!