So What?

Never stop asking yourself, “So what?” If your marketing material says something like the following…

* Dual Fast Ethernet Router with 2 WAN Interface Card (WIC) Slots and 1 NM Slot
* Memory upgrade for both Flash and DRAM: (32-MB Flash and 128-MB DRAM)
* WIC-1ADSL

…you should ask yourself, “So what?” I don’t know what any of the above means, but I am sure it is important. However, it doesn’t tell a story. Does all of this mean that the router is the fastest? Is this router the most reliable? It is a mistake to assume your audience can make the leap, no matter how obvious it is to you.

The iPhone is a great product and has all of the bells and whistles, but the story being told is one of lifestyle, not features. It promises that if you have an iPhone, you are in some way cool. They have answered the “so what?”

When you work with a channel you have to help them with the story…with the “so what?” If you don’t, your product will get jumbled in with all of the other routers, cell phones, and USB headsets. Why is yours better and why should anyone care?