So you show up at your friend’s party. There’s a crowd already there. Some of the faces are old and some are new.
Your friend Sara introduces you to her friend Kim. Kim’s cute and seems smart, but after 10 minutes you’re ready to run for the hills.
Why? Kim will not stop talking about herself. You hear about her job, her dating life, her friends, her apartment, her dog, her gym… you hear about every frickin’ detail.
And Kim doesn’t know one single thing about you. Kim is a conversational narcissist.
According to Lonerwolf.com, a conversational narcissist has the following traits:
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They have an exaggerated sense of self-importance.
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They're usually absorbed in fantasies of power, success, beauty and/or brilliance.
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They have unreasonable expectations of other people, i.e., that everyone else should unquestioningly comply with them.
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They overrate the importance of their achievements.
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They crave constant validation, admiration and respect from the world.
So what does this have to do with marketing? Actually, quite a bit…
Many marketers (and brands for that matter) are conversational narcissists; they only talk about their products and product benefits. And although this information is important, it may fall on deaf ears.
Why?
Customers do not care about your company or product. They only care about what your product can do for them. They care that you understand their pain and have a solution for it.
According to Usertesting.com, here are 3 questions brands can use to discover what is important to their customers:
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What keeps your customer awake at night?
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Who else has tried selling a similar product, and how has it failed?
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Do your customers have their own language?
In conclusion, don’t be like Kim!
