Are You Trying to Tell a Story for Everyone?

No matter what, Harley Davidson doesn’t have a story for me that will make me purchase a motorcycle. Don’t get me wrong, I think they create beautiful works of art on wheels that are exciting and get my pulse racing. But I will never drive one, so I will never purchase one. Maybe a tee-shirt, but not their main product. And they can’t overcome my concerns or objections (not without a competent psychologist). I don’t fit their buyer persona. And to their credit, Harley Davidson has never once sent me unsolicited and untargeted marketing.

Too often we try to make people somehow fit our buyer personas. We so want to sell to them that we overlook the fact that they DON’T WANT TO BUY FROM US. Maybe we would be better off thinking like Harley Davidson and developing stories for people who want to drive those wonderful (and frightening) bikes.