Is your marketing rooted in intent?
Probably not.
This article originally appeared on Social Cues.
When it comes to marketing, you are either selling or inspiring. And only one of those has a future.
Why, How, and What
Simon Sinek brought to a light an underlying concept behind inspiration.
As it turns out, there’s a pattern. All the great and inspiring leaders and organizations in the world — whether it’s Apple or Martin Luther King or the Wright brothers — they all think, act and communicate the exact same way. And it’s the complete opposite to everyone else.
Sinek states that all concepts are defined on three levels: why, how, and what.
These levels are mapped into a circle — referred to by Sinek as The Golden Circle.
Most companies and people work from the outside-in — they know concretely what it is they wish to do, and they figure out how to do it. But they don’t know why.
Brands and people that inspire work from the inside-out — they set out with abstract intent, they figure out how to manifest that intent, and they create inspired products that encapsulate their intent.
Sinek compares Apple against Dell to illustrate this concept.
Inside-Out: Apple Inc.
- Why — Intent: Empower those who reject dogma.
- How — Manufacturing and Distribution: Proprietary processes, retail channels, etc.
- What — Product: Computers, MP3 players, phones
Outside-In: Dell Computers
- What — Product: Quality computers.
- How — Manufacturing and Distribution: Proprietary processes, retail channels, etc.
- Why — ?
The intrinsic, abstract ideal of why touches every extrinsic effort. This means Apple’s MP3 players, phones, and tablets are derived from the same intent the original Macintosh was manifest from. Their expansion into other markets feels natural, almost obvious — which is why changing their name from Apple Computer to Apple Inc. was comfortable.
However, when Dell tried to expand into MP3 players, their attempts felt forced and awkward. As Sinek put it, ‘Why would we buy an MP3 player from a computer company? [in reference to Dell] But we do it every day. [in reference to Apple]’
All content is either meandering and unintentional (surfaced in what ) or derived from intent (rooted in why) — wether it be a film, a book, a company, a leader, blog posts, social media posts etc.
Intent sets you free.
With an intrinsic, foundational abstract intent used as a basis for all your extrinsic efforts, you are limitless. You are no longer pigeon-holed into a single concrete what — but able to manifest infinitely from why.
The question shifts from, ‘Is my marketing rooted in intent?’ to ‘Am I rooted in intent?’
People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.
— Simon Sinek
Marketing from intent
When you commit to this polar shift, an interesting thing happens. You return to the underlying, latent form of human interaction we are all founded from.
You align with the paradigm shift occurring in marketing — abandoning hard sells in exchange for producing valuable content.
You are no longer selling, but inspiring.
More on what this looks like later.
Matt Akins writes at Social Cues — where he explores how intent can perpetuate ideas. For useful ideas on finding and marketing your intent, join his free newsletter.
