Oh hey, how’s it going?
You know, my Whoop keeps asking me what I’m training for.
It wants me to set a goal so it can help me get there.
But, the problem is, that’s not how I’m wired.
Over the years, I’ve learned that I’m less motivated by having a goal like that than I am by the process of simply getting better. If you give me a race to train for somehow all the fun and joy starts to disappear. But let me ride simply because I love riding and I usually put in a lot more work.
It took me a long time to figure that out.
But this whole Whoop thing got me thinking:
We tend to assume everyone is motivated in the same way. And I’ve made that mistake in starting businesses, in running businesses, in growing businesses, and a lot in parenting.
In reality, setting a goal and working towards it works incredibly well for some people. Others are motivated by mastery. Some by competition. Some by recognition. Some by belonging. And some by autonomy.
The more I learned about how I’m motivated, the more I realized I was really looking at identity.
And I think brands make this same mistake all the time.
When we ask why people buy a product, we usually hear functional answers:
- They want something more sustainable.
- Something that performs better.
- Something healthier.
- Something that lasts longer.
And while those things matter, they’re rarely the whole story.
People don’t only buy products because of what they do for them. They also buy them because of what those products say about who they are, or who they’re trying to become.
- Maybe they want to be recognized for caring.
- Maybe they want to be seen as an insider.
- Maybe they want to feel like they’re ahead of the trend.
- Or that they belong.
- Maybe they want to feel smart for making a better choice.
- Or maybe they just want to express who they are without ever having to say a thing.
Your water bottle, your hat, your tire choice, your skis, your electrolyte mix, your salsa, your peanut butter—they all solve a practical problem.
But they also say something about the person who chose them.
As brand marketers, we spend a lot of time trying to figure out what people will buy, but we spend far less time understanding what they’re trying to say about themselves when they buy it.
Maybe that’s why there’s an epidemic of boring brands out there.
They’re busy talking about themselves while their customers are actually busy thinking about themselves.
So here’s the thought that I’m going to leave you with…What if the most important thing that your customers are buying from you isn’t actually a product at all?
Alright, well, my Whoop is telling me to take a rest day, so I’m going to go for a ride instead. Because that’s how I work.
We’ll see you out there.
Robb