Pick your Paint Last

Or, how is what you're doing improving your customer experience?

I have a buddy who has sent me about a dozen names for his new venture recently. Once or twice a week he sends me some new ideas, and we kick them around. It's a fun dalliance, but every time I wonder the same things... How is he designing the new venture to actually add to his customer experience? And do his potential customers even want what he is creating?

Cart, meet Horse.

There's a common theme in car restorations that comes up a lot... owners start the restoration process, and they get all excited with the options they can now add or upgrade on their car. Recaro seats? CHECK! Birds eye walnut custom cut dash? CHECK! Leather interior from the world's most exclusive tannery in all of Italy, run by Gucci? CHECK! So they run out and buy all the "goodies" and upgrades while the body shop is preparing the chassis for work. Lo and behold, there's a frame issue that needs to be dealt with, the driveshaft that came out actually has bad balance and can't be fixed, or the K-member that ONLY fits your particular year is bent and now you have to source a new, nearly impossible to find one. But the budget has been spent on fancy aesthetic upgrades, and there's no money for the things that really matter to make the car soild and driving well. So the owner cheaps out on the truly foundational portion of the restoration, the car doesn't run well, and the owner is mad at the restoration shop because the job went over budget. But hey, the paint is really pretty, and you got the vanity plate you always wanted!

Unfortunately, this is something I see ALL the time with excited business owners. They get all caught up in the fonts, logos, colors, and layouts and rarely take the time to ponder how (insert new feature or product here) is actually helping their client achieve a better outcome than before. With marketing, it's "I need all the social media channels!" and "Get me a website, email marketing campaign, and some YouTube videos STAT!" Yes, having visuals and a marketing plan is a good idea for venture, but before you start picking out paint chips and interior colors for your "car" (aka business offering), you might want to make sure it has a proper engine.

Chicks don't care how nice your paint job is if you can't take them out for a ride. And customers don't care about your logo or tagline if they don't first see how you can help them with the outcome they seek.

Nobody actually cares about your name or logo (yet)

In order for your visuals to matter, they have to represent something, not try to be everything. So how do you make your name and logo matter? Start by creating the customer experience that matters, and work your way to how those things craft the visuals. This happens by asking some important questions:

What new or unresolved problem is my thing fixing?

At what point in my customer's journey does this new thing belong?

Who else has or is doing something similar, and how is what I am doing different?

How much additional work will this be for my business, and what are the expenditures involved? (time, money, people, etc)

How can I test some aspects of my new thing now, so I can prototype and reiterate before I fully commit?

Is there actually a market for my new thing?

Does my new thing make sense under my current brand, or should I run an entirely separate brand?

If it needs a separate brand, how will I not confuse people and water down my initial brand?

Sadly, these questions rarely get answered or even thought about before most businesses strap in and do an expensive 1/4 mile down the Graphic Design strip at 200 mph. So the resources that could have been spent to determine there is a solid need for developing a new offering have now been spent in excess on snappy visuals for a car with no engine.

This all can be avoided by asking one very important question first...

Who are you actually helping, really?

There are two answers, but the order of the answers is key:

A - My customers are struggling with X, or there's no solution when they experience Y, so I want to provide Z so they can get the outcome they need.

B - I need another revenue stream, passive income, or way I can generate leads and money.

If A is your first answer, that's perfect. And the reason it's perfect (and most likely to succeed) is you are focused on the needs of your customer FIRST. Any efforts put toward improving our customer's experiences ALWAYS strengthen your brand, whether new or old. It means you have taken the time to determine how your business engine is running and make educated and intentional improvements. These are typically easy to market, and the visuals almost design themselves because you're improving lives.

If B is your first answer, beware. If you are thinking about your profits before your customers, chances are whatever you are designing is going to wreak of salesy BS. Thoughts like "We'll make all these features because then we can charge $X and fill in our sales gaps!" or "If I can make something people can just buy online, then I can sit back and rake in the dough!" are the equivalent of deciding you need to tint your windows when your car is smoking and has a severe knock... Fix your current brand FIRST; once it is running smoothly, then start looking at modifications and improvements that continue to support it. REMEMBER, there is no "easy" button!

A and B can (and should) exist together. True sustainable revenue is ALWAYS the byproduct of a business development that keeps the customer in mind FIRST.

This applies to your marketing - ALWAYS.

Anytime you are considering adding some kind of marketing foo-fah to your business engine, do this quick short diagnostic test:

How is adding X going to improve our customer's lives?

I know that adding X at __________________________ part of my customer's journey is beneficial because my customers have said/asked for ______________________________________

Currently, I am solving this problem for my customers by _______________________________, and by doing X it will improve my business by ___________________________________ (giving me more time, saving me money, making my process better)

If you can answer all 3 questions, you've got a good base to build on. If not, take some time to truly ponder the reason you want to go down that road – if it's for your bank account, because "everyone else is doing it", or to actually improve your customers lives.

Otherwise, you might spend a lot of time painting a car that nobody wants to ride in.