Whenever you meet someone for the first time and they just can't wait to talk about themselves, it’s generally a sign of narcissism. But when companies do this in their marketing, they kid themselves into thinking it's somehow different. That their audience is actually interested. They're not.
A couple of years ago I attended a technology conference in Amsterdam to conduct some research for a client. On the second day I watched Peter Hinsson's (The New Normal) keynote. After entertaining us for over 60 minutes, he did a more than acceptable 30 second plug for his book, for which I was grateful. I ordered a copy the next day and I’m sure many others did the same. The point is everyone in the room bought him, even though he didn’t do any selling. He educated, amused and made us believe in his thinking. Sadly, the talk that followed was the complete anthesis, but a brilliant example of what most companies still do today - they bang-on about themselves.
Follow that...
Like many people, I'm a big fan of TED. But Hinsson went beyond the mandatory 18 mins allowed for a TED Talk, and captivated the room single-handed for around an hour. It was a masterful display - weaving in stories, humour, video clips and interesting research. It was undoubtedly a well-rehearsed show, but he made his broader 'New Normal' theme totally relevant to an audience interested in HR technology. At the end of his session he was deservedly greeted with applause. Then, what followed typified where many companies go so wrong.
Hinsson's keynote was scheduled first, so the vast majority of the audience stayed seated in the auditorium for the next session. People were enthusing about the Hinsson presentation. Everyone was fired up waiting for the next act to wow us with another great show. He introduced himself and his company. It was one of the sponsors. The organisers wouldn’t subject us to a thinly veiled sales pitch, would they? After his brief introduction, he simply said that he was going to share a short 'film' about the Olympics.
Roughly 15 seconds into the film, we were watching quick fire, face-to-camera shots (supported by high-energy, Euro techno) of sponsor-employee drones declaring how great it was to work for the company. This was fused with rapid-fire testimonials from other people who were all fortunate enough to be clients. It went a bit like this, 'Ace Co. has given me the career I always dreamed of. Ace Co. provides the best service experience in the industry. When I need the best partner, it's simple, I choose Ace Co. On-time, on-budget every time with Ace Co. Performance excellence, flawless delivery - that's Ace Co. You get the picture.
On and on this went. The video told me nothing about the Olympics but thankfully ended after 3 to 4 minutes. The speaker then started his presentation with a company history accompanied by a picture of Ace Co's head office. Fearing I was about to throw-up, I got up from my seat and made my way out of the auditorium.
Do something about it
On the plane home, I thought about how the sharp contrast between the two presentations sparked such a reaction. It perfectly illustrated our complete rejection of self-promotion. We all hate it. Ask any business executive whether they believe Hinsson’s sales approach to be far more effective and they will nod their heads in violent agreement. But then show them their website. It’s all about them. Their unrivalled products. Their exceptional customer service. Their best-in-class processes. Old habits die hard and in the absence of anything interesting to say most companies revert to type - they just list out all the things they want us to know about their business and try to ram it down our throats.
The days of this kind of corporate narcissism are over. It only serves to build a wall between a company and its customers. Buyers are selfish, strapped for time and short on attention. They only care about solving their problems. If you don’t make it abundantly clear how you do that, they'll find someone else that will.
