{"id":1382,"date":"2013-09-23T08:56:02","date_gmt":"2013-09-23T13:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.visualconstructionmarketing.com\/?p=1382"},"modified":"2015-10-26T15:29:50","modified_gmt":"2015-10-26T15:29:50","slug":"my-secret-weapon-the-wife-test-visual-building-product-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visualconstructionmarketing.com\/2014\/my-secret-weapon-the-wife-test-visual-building-product-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"My Secret Weapon – The Wife Test for Visual Building Product Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learning from a Beautiful Mind<\/strong><\/h2>\n

My wife, Lizzy, is a fabulous, exciting and dynamic human being. \u00a0 I tell you this, not because I like to talk about her, which I most certainly do, but because she is my secret weapon. \u00a0 Along with the myriad advice she has given me in business, sales and how to live a life of abundance, joy and integrity, she has become a very valuable tool in my work providing visual demonstrations of building products.<\/p>\n

The Silent Marketing Killer<\/b><\/h2>\n

Due to the highly technical and specialized nature of most building products, it can be a great challenge to demonstrate exactly what the product in question is, how it works and why someone should specify or purchase it. \u00a0 Like myself, if you are involved in manufacturing, selling or using building products, you have probably spent most of your life looking at things like cad details, assembly drawings and other highly technical marketing materials. \u00a0 When you get too close to something like this, there is a very real danger which can develop. \u00a0This silent marketing killer is a communication breakdown between you and the casual observer of your marketing materials. \u00a0 The decision makers you are trying to influence are busy people and they have not spent the thousands of hours looking at your products.<\/p>\n

Your Brain Loves Your Products<\/b><\/h2>\n

It is very difficult to step outside of yourself and view your product marketing information as an outsider. \u00a0 To resonate fully with your target audience, you must get in their shoes, see what they see and think the way that they think. \u00a0 \u00a0 This cannot be done . . . not really. \u00a0 \u00a0 Unless you have found some new technology that allows you to jack into the brain of another person, you need to find the next best solution. \u00a0 \u00a0Your brain has been looking at your products for so long that it has developed the ability to interpret the visual representations of your products. \u00a0 Your brain loves your products, because over the years, like a muscle, it has adapted to see more than what is actually on that catalog page, spec data sheet, or web site product page. \u00a0 \u00a0Your brain sees that product on the page and it sees all the thousands of decision that were made creating it. \u00a0 \u00a0 So what is the next best thing to wiping your brain clean of all these biases? \u00a0Lizzy is . .. \u00a0 let me explain.<\/p>\n

[convertkit]<\/p>\n

\"You're<\/a>

You’re not looking for this reaction<\/p><\/div>\n

Assume your audience has no knowledge of your product<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/b> Most of the time, I am trying to present and demonstrate a product in a manner that looks visually appealing, but that is far from enough. \u00a0 At the same time, the goal is to demonstrate how the product works and why someone should want it. \u00a0 I know that the architect, engineer, contractor or consumer who is viewing my work is most likely a busy, impatient person who does not need to be bored with overly technical jargon, empty rhetoric or unnecessary marketing fluff. \u00a0 \u00a0I know that I only have seconds to make a favorable first impression, and less than 2 minutes to take them from zero understanding of the product, to fully grasping the what, the how and the why of that product. \u00a0 \u00a0So what does this have to do with Lizzy? \u00a0 Let me show you the Lizzy test.<\/p>\n

The Lizzy Test<\/b><\/h2>\n

Lizzy is a perfect example of a type A personality. \u00a0 She has no patience for boring technical information. \u00a0 She once asked me how they get mail from place to place and I went into this huge lecture about the post net \u00a0barcode, adc distribution centers, zip + 4 routing and automation, etc. \u00a0 \u00a0 Her beautiful eyes glazed over and I lost her immediately. \u00a0 She didn’t want to hear about the details, she wants to see the big picture and she certainly doesn’t want her time wasted. \u00a0 I realized very quickly that I had a gold mine on my hands here. \u00a0 \u00a0I took an animation I was working on which showed how a metal fire-stopping product worked. \u00a0 It was a 2 minute video which first shows the product, some bullet items highlighting it’s main features and benefits and then a step by step installation animation which shows how it is installed in a wall. \u00a0 Her attention was caught by the visual quality and photorealism of the product rendering and she followed along quietly. \u00a0 After the 2 minute video was finished, I asked her if she understood what the product was and how it worked? \u00a0 She matter-of-factly responded “Of course, it keeps fire from going from one side of the wall to the other even if the structure above moves up or down, I’m not stupid”
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