When a company decides to amp up its marketing, the natural tendency is to tell everyone how great it is. We assume that if we make the marketing good enough and explain better than our competitors how great we are, our prospects will come running to buy our services and confirm our greatness.

I meet many talented professionals who work for trusted, experienced and longstanding companies. Immediately when I ask them about what they want to tell their customers, they come up with a list of comparisons. “Well, we do this and they don’t do that. We’re the best at this or that, we do this faster, they don’t have this software,” etc. Some just come out and say they are the lowest priced and that’s their selling point. I’ve seen quite a few companies even insist on putting these bullet points on the back of their business cards, lest we forget. (Please don’t do that.)

How do we get more business? The default is to tell the customer base what it is missing. This is especially the case if said company has been doing this for a long time. Company personnel state, “Well we’ve been in business for X number of years. We’re a family-owned business. We don’t gouge our customers. We strive for customer satisfaction. We have the best people.” While all this may be true, it is not where you start with your marketing plan; this becomes white noise in the world of marketing.

The harsh reality is that customers don’t really care about your business beyond how it can help them. How do your business offerings solve a problem and make life better for your clients? These are the questions we should be asking in strategic marketing planning sessions. How can we make the customer the hero, someone who is admired for great acts or fine qualities? What qualities about our customers do we want to highlight? What do we do that could make our customers’ acts great?

It’s a shift in messaging. But, when companies do it right, it’s powerful messaging that cuts through the rest of the “look at me” marketing. Our brand will grow when we define a desire for our customers. People want to hear about themselves, not about inanimate objects such as services, software or years in business. They want a story, and they want to be at the center of it. Great marketing tells a story and places the customer squarely in the middle of that story.

Have you ever been told, “Wow, that person is a great conversationalist”? Have you ever left a meet-and-greet thinking, “Wow, I really liked that person. I enjoyed that conversation.” That’s usually because that person asked a lot of questions about YOU. You probably did most of the talking (no offense). You felt needed and heard. You got to talk about yourself, and you were listened to. Shocking, right?

The same interpersonal skills can be applied to a company’s marketing strategy. We want our customers to feel needed and heard. We want them to want to come back –not because they are convinced that we are the best due to our fantastic marketing efforts (“We are the best! We are the best!”), but because of how we framed our branding message to help them understand the needs they have and the solutions we can provide.

One of my client’s main marketing objectives was to increase online sales and get customers set up with unique online profiles. This required a couple of steps and a learning process. Rather than telling customers how great the system was (“You must join, even if you aren’t a techie! You have to figure it out and join. Look what you are missing!), we created a digital assistant who both entertains and guides. We named her, gave her a personality and brand and set up contests. But most importantly, we found a way to find a need the customer had and kindly guided him/her through a process to fill that need. In essence, we showed people how some needs they had could be filled and solved by following these simple steps. Once a customer set himself/herself up with a unique online profile, he/she realized how convenient and quick the system was for ordering, checking inventory and more. We made the customer’s acts great by saving him/her time and hassle. Thus, the customer became the hero. He/she conquered his/her digital fears, completed his/her tasks, and had extra time for other parts of his/her job.

In any good story there is a hero, a villain and a guide. In business, the villain is the problem our customers face. Rather than our being the hero who swoops in and delivers a great product or service, let’s let our customers be the heroes who use us as the guide to a solution. We still have a great product and service. Rather than singing praises to the product’s or service’s greatness and longevity, let’s frame these great products and services in a way that helps the market understand a need and a solution. As a guide we can shed light on a new way of doing things that could make the lives of our customers easier and more enjoyable. Rather than trying to be admired through our marketing efforts, let’s try to shine the light on those who keep us in business.