Seeing and Observing
One of the most important things that Sherlock Holmes taught us is that seeing and observing are two different things.
Our goal however far more challenging: not only do we need to make all our customers as observant as Sherlock Holmes, we also need to make them understand the entire “case” quickly, in 1-3 minutes if possible.
How can we do that? A good start is taking an approach that is 180 degrees opposite of the one taken by Mr. Holmes’ foes: we have to make things clear, so the customers do not need to have special powers in order to figure out what is the story behind the product. The case should be opened, and closed quickly.
The beauty of this approach is that we actually do not need to tell the entire case right then and there, we just need to give visitors enough confidence so they know that additional details are available for the asking, right then and there.
When we present our product and its story clearly, our potential customer will feel like Sherlock, without spending time trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, i.e. without being a Sherlock. It is, in fact, our job to be a Sherlock and weave the entire product picture into a coherent and logical story.
The way things look, just seeing a product soon will not be enough. To stay competitive, we will need to give our customers enough clear info in a concise format, allowing them to come, glance and observe what we are trying to tell them.
Why am I talking about this?
Why do I dwell on this once again? Because of my fascination with conveying key information through visualization. Pictures allow a reader to zero-in on a specific area of a product or service quicker, because we can reduce complex and multi-dimensional message to a visual representation of the essentials that can be absorbed at a glance. Now, I realize that this is not entirely true - observer of a picture is more likely to notice only the part of the picture that make sense - but that is precisely the point: the more simple messages we can pack into a smallest amount of real estate that can be observed quickly, the more likely we are to give our reader information that is relevant to his or her needs.
The good news is that as soon the relevant information is noticed - we have established a rapport with a potential customer. And as soon as we established this connection, we are communicating, which is different from pitching.
The key is to have the depth behind the original “hook” (if we don’t - it’s bait-and-switch, and a customer is gone), but the depth can be facilitated and given to a customer when the it is asked for, which is the very foundation of permission marketing.
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, that we discussed in the 
.