Start your Marketing with a User Story

One of the interesting things about Agile Project Management is that you start with creating a user story. In the marketing process, how many times do you start with a customer/prospect telling the marketing department how they use or will use the product or service? I know we interview people or perform won/loss analysis, but I wanted to go an additional step. What if we would paint the picture of how a user will interpret this marketing campaign or for that matter this blog, advertisement, whitepaper, etc? If we would take the time to determine that reaction, would we not create a better product?

The master of telling the story is of course Disney and who better to help than the mouse himself.

Mickey’s 10 Commandments:

Know your audience: Before creating a setting, obtain a firm understanding of who will be using it.
Where your guest shoes: That is, never forget the human factor. Evaluate your setting from the customer’s perspective by experiencing it as a customer.
Organize the flow of people and ideas: Think of a setting as a story and tell that story is sequenced, organized way. Build the same order and logic into the design of customer involvement.
Create a weenie: Borrowed from the slang of the silent film business, a weenie was what Walt Disney called a visual magnet. It means a visual landmark is used to orientate and attract customers.
Communicate with visual learners to: Language is not always composed of words. Use the common languages of color, shape, and form to communicate through setting.
Avoid-overload – create turn-ons: Do not bombard customers with data. Let them choose the information they want when they want it.
Tell one story at a time: Mixing multiple stories in a single setting is confusing. Create one setting for each big idea.
Avoid contradictions; maintain identity: Every detail of every setting should support and further your organizational identity and mission.
For every ounce of treatment provided a ton of treat: Give your customers the highest value by building an interactive setting that gives them the opportunity to exercise all their senses.
Keep it up: Never get complacent and always maintain your setting.