Picture this: you open up your retail store for the day. As you walk behind the counter of your fire extinguisher store, the door flies open and a young man runs through the door with his hair on fire. Whoa!
He’s screaming and lurching around the store. He’s running up-and-down the aisles. He’s flailing about trying to keep the flames under control.
You calmly walk up to him and begin your schtick: “Hi there, I’m Bob for Mega Fire Extinguishers. We here at Mega Corporation create some of the world’s finest fire retardants. We’ve spent over 50 years with hundreds of the world’s best chemical engineers coming up with a solution that can douse a fire in less than 5 seconds. If you’ll come with me, I’ll give you a short 15-minute presentation on the features and benefits of our products.”
Wait a second. This guy’s hair is on fire.
He’s not a curious bystander with his hands in his pockets looking for entertainment.
It’s a fairly accurate guess that this young man isn’t interested in your company, your scientists or your presentation. He has one very specific needs: getting the flames on his head put out. Right now.
It is laughable to think a scenario like this would even exist, but it is happening every moment on the web.
Folks stumble into websites and instead of being greeted by a solution to their problems, they are taken on a boredom’s greatest journey that highlights everything big the solution to that ball of fire on their skull.
When someone arrives at your site, ask the question: why is their hair on fire? Let this question set the stage for how you a person experiences your site.
- Did their hard drive just crash and they need it restored before an important meeting tomorrow morning?
- Did their boss just ask them to upload a file to a client who has a deadline at 5pm and it is 4:30pm?
- Did their laser printer go on the fritz right as the team was leaving for a trade show?
Take a look at your webpage from the perspective of the person who just ran into your store and is looking for help.
Bottom line: How do we get them what they need with as little hassle as possible?
Hi! I'm BenJamin Prater. You caught me. I'm obsessed with helping businesses give their customers an extraordinary (and authentic) experience with their website. 
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
“He has one very specific needs: getting the flames on his head put out. Right now.”
Very important lesson about selling just ONE simple solution to just the ONE specific niche.
I was watching a Jim Edwards video this morning about “use value” … You visit an eskimo and want to trade him something for his furs which you can sell at a high price.
If you trade him a gun for those furs, that’s of high use value to him because he can use that gun to hunt, and collect food and clothing for him and his family.
If you offered to trade the Mona Lisa for those furs… that would be of low use value to him. Even though the Mona Lisa is valuable to the rest of us, it’s useless to him.
If that guy’s hair is on fire, not only should you be selling that fire extinguisher as a SOLUTION to his problem, you’d better be selling fire extinguishers and not gold-plated matches.
Great points Robert!
Too often, we get lost in figuring out what kind of business we are in. We thinking we are selling products, but folks aren’t buying products, they are buying solutions to their problems. Even if they don’t know it.
The more clearly we understand the problems our customers face from their vantage point, the more accurately and quickly we can dash them to the appropriate fire extinguisher.
Hi Ben,
A loonngg time customer here.
You make a very good point. Could you give any examples of great sites that do actually stand out from the crowd in providing the extinguisher.
Thanks,
Sam..
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