Introduction

It’s a sunny Saturday morning and I’m stuck here at my computer looking for something to help take one of the things off my “honey-do” list. And it just happened again!

Why does it keep happening over-and-over? Like I’m trapped in some lame version of that Bill Murray movie, “Groundhog Day.”

Here I am, looking at another home repair product’s website, and I have to work hard to figure out what the product actually does and why I should pick it over all the other options out there.

In some cases, they’ll have a beautiful, high-resolution image with a clever phrase or tagline. (Or maybe just their logo…) But I can’t figure out what the heck they’re trying to sell me. In others, there’s just a bunch of technical information pounding me over the head with facts and features about their product. But they never get around to telling me why their product is better.

I’m like most guys, and if it takes me too long to figure out the next step, I’ll just find an easier thing on my list and move on. But not this time. No sir!

I saw this as an opportunity to dig in and pull out a marketing lesson or two. The idea actually grew from a TedTalk my wife recently shared with me…

Start With Why

In 2009, Simon Sinek gave what’s become one of the most popular TedTalks of all time called, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action.” It had almost 30 million views, last I checked.

In his 18-minute presentation, Sinek used the ideas and principles taken from his book, “Start with Why.”

The big thing that stuck with me from the talk is what Sinek called the “golden circle.” He used this simple visual to explain the fundamental differences between the “Apple” companies of the world and everyone else.

Basically, he simplified how we think, act and communicate to three words, or layers: Why, How, and What.

• WHY – This is your business’ core belief. Why you do what you do.

• HOW – This is how your company fulfills that core belief.

• WHAT – This is what you do to fulfill the core belief.

We all know what we do and can talk about it all day. It’s the tangible things. The basic features and benefits we can all recite from memory and list on our technical data sheets.

Some companies know how they do what they do. They often use these to explain how they’re different or better than the other guys.

But most companies or individuals find it hard to clearly articulate why they do what they do.

Sinek’s point was that most companies start with the much easier what and how they do business. But rarely, if ever, do they think or talk about their why.

That’s what sets the “Apples” of the world apart. They start with why and then move to the how and what they do.

To help boost your connection with your target audience let’s take a look at some of the key takeaways, and use the “Start With Why” framework to look at a few building product websites through that lens. We’ll focus on window manufacturers to compare a few similar products

3 Key Takeaways for Building Product Marketing

1. Use “Why” to put a framework around your product

As Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.” Think back to why you got into this business in the first place – about why your company does what it does. This helps make sure your entire team is aligned with your core belief(s).

And when I say “team,” in our industry that can be very broad term. It can mean the sales and production staff for you company, but can also extend to your sales reps, suppliers and even the architects or designers who might become your “product evangelists.”

If your whole team understands your “why” it’s a whole lot easier for them to pass on “how” and “what” you and your product do.

Let’s take a look at our first example website to see how they do on this one…

Andersen Windows

(www.andersenwindows.com)

Here’s the screenshot of Andersen’s Home page (desktop and mobile) on the day I wrote this:

I thought we were onto something here when I saw the simple quote, “The brand trusted by more builders than any others.” Followed by a button to click saying, “SEE WHY.”

When you click on the button, the next page is a nicely designed listing of their features and benefits. Energy-efficiency. Experience & Innovation. Beauty. Performance. Service. Sustainability. Giving Back.

All great things, but you’ll end up finding very similar lists of “how” and “what” on the other sites you visit. But, here on the surface, I couldn’t find the “why” behind their company or their product lines.

So, I decided to dig a little deeper…

By going off their product site to the Andersen Corporation website, I looked a bit at their company history. There you can see they originated the “two bundle” method of construction to help streamline the window construction process on the job site.

Later, they developed the first completely assembled window unit. You can keep clicking through to see their many other innovation and a little bit of the “why” behind each of those advancements.

To truly embrace the “Start With Why” principles, they could certainly look at folding more of these things back into their up-front marketing efforts. Andersen has a lot of why’s out there, but it’s not something we shouldn’t have to dig for.

2. Pull the “Why” into your marketing

As we saw in the Andersen example, there are always opportunities to find the “why.” The challenge is to find ways to effectively pull that forward and incorporate that into the visuals and copy you use in your marketing.

Our next example website is…

JELD-WEN Windows and Doors

(www.jeld-wen.com/en-us/)

Screenshot of JELD-WEN’s Home page on the day I wrote this:

At first blush, the JELD-WEN site is just showing me a catalog of their products with lists of features for each of the products. Nothing too compelling or exciting to connect with me or make me pick them over any other window out there.

Again, I have to do some digging to find a hint at their “why.”

On the “About Us” page of their site, you can find their value and mission statements, and a bit about their history. But even those aren’t getting to that elusive “why” that I want to see to help me connect with them and make them my go-to resource for windows.

Not much more I can say about JELD-WEN, other than they could do more self-exploration to help find their why and bring it up to the surface.

3. Redefine your target market

Depending on how long your company has been around, your target market can change over time. It’s sometimes based on the trends in the market, or changes in your own products and services.

By going back to the “Start With Why” principles, you may find you’ve lost your way a bit. That’s OK. We all need to re-examine things from time to time. As the quote, attributed to Socrates, says, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

If you do choose to go through the process of finding and starting with your “why,” it can help you clarify WHO it is you want to serve. This can go a long way in helping you clarify your marketing messages.

For our final example website, we’ll look at:

Marvin Windows

(www.marvin.com)

On their Home page, Marvin has a great video background that loops through a variety of images. I can tell they cater to the residential market and it looks like they have products that fit with traditional and more modern designs.

On the sections below the video loop, they go into several of the standard
“why work with us” statements we’ve seen on other manufacturer sites. But they are starting to bake in more of their “why” into these statements.

For example, when they talk about their unmatched service, they say, “Building and keeping relationships is as important to us as the unwavering quality of our product…” That’s a pretty good why that I can identify with. Relationships are important to me, too.

For their commitment to quality, they say, “We set high standards for ourselves so we can be sure that every single product we make for you is built to last…” When you use the phrase “so we can” that’s giving me your reason why.

Could their reasons be made stronger and clearer? Absolutely. There’s always room for improvement. The point of examining these examples is to get you started down the road to examining your own messages and those of your competition.

Final words…

If you don’t define your why, nobody cares what your product is or how it works.

They might select your products based on price, but you won’t develop that loyal following we’d all like to depend on for our business. If you want to quiet the competition and get your customers and teams on board with you, you need to inspire them and connect with them.

To do that, you need to start with your why.

One of the prime visual mediums for enticing customers is through the use of an explainer video. Explainer videos are like elevator pitches for your product. Think of how you can capture your potential client with one of these videos and then you have their attention for much longer and more in-depth presentations. There is a lot of research about the effectiveness and popularity of video for sales and marketing out there. But why and how are videos useful in marketing?

A video in itself possesses certain qualities to be useful. Make this video longer and more informative and these qualities become even more critical. Marketing videos should really be cost-effective, concise, clean, compelling, and creative. Because when you have these elements, your customers crave your product more. Videos give you an opportunity to express the values of the brand: pushing the limit, precision, expertise of your product.

1. Cost-effective

This is important because you don’t want to break the bank. But you also want professional and quality work to bring your design or product to the forefront.

Consider these eye-opening video marketing stats, according to Brainshark:

• Pop a video into an email = boost opening rates by 20%
• Over half of marketing pros consider video the best Return on Investment (ROI)
• Pop the word video into the email subject line =  click rates jump 65%
• 65% of video viewers dedicate themselves to watching at least 3/4 of a video

2. Concise

Being concise is more of choosing your words and images carefully, rather than just using less words and being quick. Choose quality over quantity. Answer your viewer’s questions and teach them something too! Videos are effective because they build relationships: “When your target audience finds the content you’re producing genuinely helpful, you’ve begun earning their trust. And once you’ve started that process, you’ve created a strong link to your business or brand.”

3. Clean

Creating a clean video is important to marketing. A clean video means it is more likely to get reviewed and reviewed again, and passed on to others. Clean videos increase purchase rates too. 64% more viewers opt to make a purchase when a video is seen online. Videos in e-mail also increase click-through rate too. YouTube, e-mail, landing pages, and more compel viewers to take steps toward acquiring the product. And this is all because they were able to see it in detail and in action in a video.

4. Compelling

This is where your content will really stand out. Incorporating 3D graphics, showing a product from the inside out, having photorealistic animation, and just showing rather than telling (i.e. explicitly demonstrating the how, why and what of your product) make the difference. If you produce content that offer customers value, they will return. If you build it (and make it look really cool), they will come…and come back again.

5. Creative 

This has to be the most important reason that videos do well in the marketing arena. Be different in the way that you present your product and it will stand out. A modern clean approach lets potential customers see the product they want to buy before they buy and not merely in a boring flat image. Movement, design and depth will allow you to offer customers more dramatic visual results.

6. Increase Your Brand’s Awareness

Using videos to sell your product updates your image and brand. Research shows that consumers remember the videos they see (after all 74% of all internet traffic in 2017 will be video); and a majority use them in their decision to purchase. Videos are effective. They increase sales and build an awareness for a company. Not all videos entice consumers though. Consider creating videos that are professional-looking, concise and call to action the viewer to take advantage of this opportunity.

About the Author :

Jason Yana has 2 decades of experience in architectural technology, 3d graphics and construction marketing. This unique combination provides highly-effective visual representations of building products that fuel marketing and support efforts.

His award-winning body of work informs, inspires and educates building product customers.