Photo by Sarah G

Most people have no idea how much effort it takes you to do your work. Whether you’re a gourmet chef, a house painter, a web designer, or a graphic designer – the work you do is invisible. People judge its worthiness not on your effort, but on the result. Can you (and should you) market your invisible work?

When people are judging your business offering, they are actually reacting to the tangible and the intangible. The tangible is how well it works, how much it costs, how customizable it is, etc. The intangible is how it makes them feel. Marketing the invisible is all about describing the intangible.

If you’re selling a used bicycle on Craigslist, you would likely describe its: size, color, style, features, condition (and maybe include a picture of it). But supposing you also told the story of the bicycle: when you bought it, where you rode it, the fondest memory of riding it, the attention to paid to its regular upkeep, etc. A person buying the bicycle is buying more than just your bicycle – they’re buying your story of your bicycle – and that commands a much higher level of interest. That’s why antiques that have a documented story sell for higher amounts.

If you own a restaurant, don’t just describe the meal based on its appearance and taste. Explain how much time it took to find the ingredients, prepare them lovingly, and slow-cook them to perfection. People are fascinated by details – let them feel a part of the work you do.

When you are marketing your business, make sure that you are appealing to the logical and emotional sides of the prospect’s brain. You want them to feel fortunate to have purchased from you. Give them the opportunity to feel good.

Photo by Peter Solness

If you run your own company, you know how easy it is to get overwhelmed by all the day-to-day tasks to keep your business on target. But what about the employees in your company? How do they know what to focus on?

Author Bill McKibben had a similar problem. He had written a number of books on the environment, but he was having a hard time trying to tell people how the planet was doing. He was looking for a single message to share. After interviewing a number of scientists, he realized that the key message is “350” (as in 350 parts per million of CO2(ppm) – the safe upper limit scientists have identified). With this single number, he was able to spread his message around the world quickly – since it’s easy to say, easy to quantify, and easy to see how we’re doing.

In your organization, do you have a single clear target for everyone to see (and regularly get updated on)? It may be revenue, failures, returns, clients, web visits, click-thrus, or phone calls. But whatever you choose, make sure it’s clear to everyone what you’re measuring, how you’re measuring it, and what the importance of hitting this target is to everyone. You’re trying to create a feedback loop – a way of reacting to how well you’re achieving your goal.

The trick is to focus on the target while keeping your company’s values intact. It’s too easy to create a short-term win to hit the numbers and cause long-term havoc. Stock market investors focus on the share price and return, and often neglect the long-term goals for the company.

So, pick a measurable goal. Tell everyone its importance. Regularly update how you’re doing.