If you’ve been along for the journey here at StrategyCentral, you’ve heard the phrase “life-change” many times.  It’s the thing we exist to deliver…and that’s true whether your organization is a church or a non-profit.  Our organizations are in business to do more than make products or create experiences or operate programs.  We exist to do something that will ultimately change lives!

Yesterday I saw a Tweet from my friend Will Mancini (@willmancini) and it got my attention.  His Tweet read: “Ikea out-articulates the church. Isn’t “Life Changes Available” a better golden tomorrow than the nebulous “life change” we talk?”

I have to say, the addition of the word “available” presented such an intriguing twist on the well-worn phrase “life-change” that I had to check into what IKEA is doing.  Life Changes Available is a great tag line, but it’s more than a tag line.  It is a great story.

At the same time, it is a great illustration of the kind of thinking that can create an appealing and memorable invitation designed to catch the attention of our customers.

Back to Will’s Tweet.  He was making the point that our frequent reference to life-change is colorless.  It’s vague.  Who really knows what it means.  I guess we know what it means.  But when we use that phrase in a marketing piece or in a message, doesn’t it slip right by our intended audience?

Example: “Small groups are important here at ___________ Community Church because we believe that life change happens best around a coffee table.”

What?

The Takeaway:  The addition of the word “available” takes the phrase “life-change” from camouflaged fuzziness to an appealingly clear offer.  It shifts the phrase from the body of the marketing piece to the headline.

For me, it now fits in the same category as another tag line I’ve used for years: “Feel like a face in the crowd?”  That line perfectly fits the sensation that many people have when they’re walking into a large crowd week after week and no one knows them.  No one knows their struggle.  No one knows their loneliness.

Can you see how “Life Changes Available” will catch people’s attention?  It sure caught mine.

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Think about the programs and products you are currently offering.  Think about the experiences you are currently offering to your customers. 

Reading Design Thinking: Integrating Innovation, Customer Experience, and Brand Value I tripped across this line:

“The services that product brands provide to their current customers were designed and developed to satisfy the lifestyle and values of their past customers (p. 122, Design Thinking).”

Go back and think again about all that your organization is offering.  Got it clearly in your mind’s eye?  Now ask yourself…how much of what you’re offering is designed to appeal to the people who aren’t your customers yet?

Craig Groeschel’s insightful comment that “If you want to reach people that no one else is reaching, you’re going to have to do things that no one else is doing” is born out of this understanding.

Perpetuating the programs and products…the experiences…that were designed to appeal to today’s customers, will eventually result in a disconnect.  To the extent that you’re offering programs, products and experiences that were designed to appeal to yesterday’s customers…the disconnect has already happened.

You can pick up your copy of Design Thinking right here.

Here are StrategyCentral we spend a lot of time talking about customers, strategy, innovation, mission, marketing, and vision.  A frequent question?  "Who are you trying to reach?"  Loved this riff on who Jesus target customer was (is) from Rick Warren this week:

This morning I read a great question over on Seth's blog.  In talking with an author about his next project, Seth Godin asked, "are you writing this for strangers or friends?"

Now that is a GREAT question!  Why?  Easy.  Think about the way you're going about what you're doing.  Whether you're creating a brochure, building a building, or launching a new program…you need to answer this question first.  Whether you are writing a speech (message, sermon, talk), crafting a direct mail piece, or introducing a new resource…you need to know and constantly return to the answer to this question.

I love the reasoning behind his question too.

A fascinating side note is that the way Seth intended the distinction between stranger and friend is  different than I would have guessed at the outset.  I saw that question and immediately caught the significance for all of us.  Then devoured his article, read between the lines, digested what was there, and could see that he was advocating designing your next project for friends…but defined friends in a social network sense.

Next thought?  If you think about it that way, "everyone has ten times as many friends as they used to."  If that's true for your customer…will that make a difference in whether you're creating – building – launching…for strangers or friends?

Love this billboard at Santa Monica BMW.  Check out the Audi billboard on the left and the BMW response on the right.  Very cool.  Thanks to Jason over at 37signals for posting it!

Trying for innovative and not seeing results? Maybe you’re not really producing the real thing. After all,
more of something bland…or a new presentation that’s bland…is still bland.

If you haven’t checked out Kem Meyer’s take on this (or seen it over on Adverblog), I highly recommend checking these 9 Trends for 2009 out.  Very interesting for all of us.

Model #1: Advertise.  Promote.  Charge for everything.

Model #2: Give away value.  Build relationships.  Develop a tribe of 1,000 devoted fans.

Which model do you have working?  Love the way that Steve Fee is thinking:

One of the real finds in the blogosphere is Newspring's Tony Morgan.  His list of observations about when church marketing works is right on target.  Really could be and ought to be the basis for a series of great discussions that are begging to be had at churches and organizations far and wide.  Think with me about just a couple of his observations about when marketing works:

• "Someone says “I’m in” and timely follow-up happens."  Timely follow-up?  I checked with Jake Beaty (who leads Newspring's Care and Outreach effort), asking how quickly they'll follow up on decisions made at one of their Christmas services.  Answer?  Same day.  That definitely qualifies as timely…don't you think?
• "We know who we are trying to reach."  Hmmmm.  Wonder how many churches really have worked that one all the way through?
• "We’ve acknowledged we can’t reach everyone."  Can you imagine this discussion?  Can you play it out ahead of time in your mind?  What a valuable opportunity.  Dare you take it?

Honestly, the whole post was such a great string of discussable and actionable bullets…you really need to read it and act on it yourself.  And you can do that right here.

Seen the new Microsoft commercial with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld?  If you haven’t, be sure and check it out below.  I was forwarded this analysis today and found it pretty interesting.  I will say, when I saw the commercial I was drawn in very quickly and even rewound it to see it again…but didn’t get the point. 

Unlike Apple’s Mac vs. PC commercials, this one didn’t get it’s point across.  What did occur to me was that it may be another example of a very stiff organization trying to appear cool…and falling short.  Ever seen that happen before?  Maybe like a church that cobbles together an interesting website but it’s not quite right?  Or a mailing with a tagline or image that misses the point?

Thoughts?