We do not get to decide what works

Hi there 👋,

“We do not get to decide what works.” - Dane Maxwell

I was re-reading ‘Start From Zero’ when I reached this quote, and for some reason, it hit me a little differently this time.

I stayed on that page and really thought about what the author was saying. 

Dane said this quote in the context of being an entrepreneur and having an ‘ah-ha moment’ on why positioning goes wrong. 

We have a vision of how we want to position our product, why we love it, and all the people who could benefit from it.

But we don’t get to choose what works.

I’ve had to accept this myself, when the most unexpected LinkedIn posts go ‘viral’ and my favourite ones absolutely flop. 

But when I look at it from my reader’s perspective, it makes sense why those posts resonated.

We need to remove the emotion and forget our original vision so that we can explore further.

How can we do this?

1. Interview your customers. Talk to the people who know your product better than you do and don’t have the same bias.

Ideally, you’ll also survey and analyse your reviews and competitors.

2. Map out your brand, customer needs and competitors. I love to do this on a huge piece of paper, but online works as well.

3. Find the gaps in this. What are you missing? Where are you lacking? Where are your competitors filling a gap that you are not?

4. Systematically test your messaging throughout these channels. It can always be better, so keep experimenting, keep optimising.

Back to the drawing board

I walked through all of this in my Message-Market Fit course, but it feels like I forgot to emphasise one key aspect:

To kill this fundamental bias, we have to stop trying to confirm what we think is right.

Don’t carry out this positioning by yourself or as a team, instead each map it out separately and then analyse the differences. 

Find out who leans where, and why they feel this way. Your answers lie in those differences.

Don’t let this fall into a game of persuasion, but a rather chance to do some active listening. 

Founders, I’m begging you not to score the results, but instead just to listen to the many perspectives and try a new angle.

It’s daunting to move away from your original vision of your company, and it can feel like giving up.

It isn’t, it’s recognising areas for growth and adapting to the environment. 

I don’t know what will work

There are exceptions, but often the most unexpected angles work. I see this happen time and time again.

For Heights, a braincare supplement, we thought that talking about focus, brain fog or brain health was the priority.

But what resonated with our customers was when we discussed anxiety and stress.

For Whole Supp, a meal replacement shake, we had been focusing on the convenience of a drink on the go, and the value of nutrition.

But we found that sales improved when we positioned the product as great for active lifestyles helping you with energy and recovery.

In both of these situations, I never could have predicted what would’ve worked.

Recommendation

In every edition of Growth Waves, I also share a related book, individual or newsletter to check out related to the week's topic.

I don’t think I have much choice when it comes to this week’s newsletter. So I’ll give in and recommend the excellent book that inspired this newsletter. 

‘Start From Zero: Build Your Own Business’ by Dane Maxwell covers what it’s like to start from nothing, from someone who had over 10 business failures and finally found successful patterns. 

It’s perfect for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs, filled with many more great ideas and perspectives.

It’s hard to let go of what you thought something would be. It can feel like you have ownership over the idea and possibility of your brand. 

But by letting go, you get to discover what it actually means to people, and everything it could be. 

Don’t stick to possibility, and instead find out why people love your brand and what you can do for them.

Daphne