In sales and marketing, it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of assumptions and preconceptions. We think we know what our customers want, but do we truly understand the depths of their desires?
Enter Reese’s Peanut Butter Puff Cereal:
This clever ad serves as a hilarious reminder that the surface-level problems we think we’re solving are often just a smokescreen for the real, underlying issues our customers are facing.
The Ad’s Premise:
The ad features a young man who is looking to get a driver’s license at the DMV. Here is the back-and-forth between the young man and the woman behind the counter:
Young Man (YM): Hi I want to apply for a driver’s license…
(Woman Behind The Counter (WBTC): What do you really want?
(YM): To be able to legally drive a car…
(WBTC): What do you really really want?
(YM): I want my independence!
(WBTC): What do you really, really really want?
(YM): To show my parents that I can solve my own problems, I don’t want their help help..
Truth is they need me more than I need them!!!
(WBTC): What do you really really really really want?
(YM): I want Reese’s puffs okay?
The Twist:
It’s simple, right? The DMV issues driver’s licenses, so the problem they solve is issuing driver’s licenses to new drivers, right?
Well, partially so. We have all been there. Is the driver’s license what we really want? It is what we want. We need the license to be legal, but that is just a formality to the real problem a teenager getting a driver’s license solves.
The Lesson:
The ad emphasizes the importance of digging deep to uncover our customers’ underlying motivations. Customers may think they want to solve a specific problem, but that problem is often just a symptom of a larger emotional need. All of your sales and marketing must be focused on deeper emotional problems. Sometimes, even your customers are unaware of the deeper problems driving their decision-making. Your content needs to reflect this. This is why thought leadership content in all its forms (written, video, podcast), does the heavy lifting of digging deeper, without the harassment of asking, “what do you really, really, really, really want?”.
Conclusion:
So, remember the lesson from Reese’s Peanut Butter Puff Cereal the next time you’re tempted to assume what your customers want. Ask them, genuinely ask them what they really, really want. And be prepared to dive into the emotional chaos to find the real answer. There are companies who make their customers feel as though their problems are being taken care of and then there are special companies who make their customers feel as though they don’t really have any problems. Be the latter. DIG VERY DEEP.
About Nicholas Lamparelli
Nick Lamparelli is a 20+ year veteran of the insurance wars. He has a unique vantage point on the insurance industry. From selling home & auto insurance, helping companies with commercial insurance, to being an underwriter with an excess & surplus lines wholesaler to catastrophe modeling Nick has wide experience in the industry. Over past 10 years, Nick has been focused on the insurance analytics of natural catastrophes and big data. Nick serves as our Chief Evangelist.
Nick Lamparelli is a 20+ year veteran of the insurance wars. He has a unique vantage point on the insurance industry. From selling home & auto insurance, helping companies with commercial insurance, to being an underwriter with an excess & surplus lines wholesaler to catastrophe modeling Nick has wide experience in the industry. Over past 10 years, Nick has been focused on the insurance analytics of natural catastrophes and big data. Nick serves as our Chief Evangelist.
