3 Software Marketing Lessons from QVC
And robot-powered human-centered marketing
Hello Gobbledeers,
How’s it going? Are you in Cannes for the Cannes Lion event? If so, don’t swing by my pavilion because I’m at home and I don’t have a pavilion.
What I DO have - and it’s even better! - is some gobbledy. Let’s go…
What’s More Human than AI?
You may remember our discussion a few weeks ago about the sudden appearance of the word “human” in a bunch of marketing. (Or maybe you don’t remember it - whether you remember it or not doesn’t matter.) A bunch of companies are seemingly all-of-a-sudden mentioning how they’re “built for humans” or whatever.
But I was oddly kinda disturbed by how marketing technology company Movable Ink used “human” in their copy at their recent customer event:
It’s robot-powered human-centered marketing? It’s for humans, but made by robots? Also Da Vinci. It’s really a perfect mixed salad of words companies are saying - “human-centered” + “powered by” + “AI.” It works equally well (?) if you just mix the words around. “AI-powered humans, centered on marketing.” “Human-centered AI, powered by marketing.” “AI-centered Marketing, powered by humans.” Da Marketing, powered by Vinci.
Oh, I apologize. I forgot to tell you what Movable Ink does. Let me find the relevant part of the website… Ah yes, here we go:
Yeah, I have no idea either. Maybe the robot Da Vinci can translate it for us humans.
I Never, Never, Never, Never, Never Get Tired of These
I’d try to make some sort of comment here, but I actually have no idea what’s going on in that. Except that Expanding Understanding and Investigating overlaps with the Foundational Core (mostly) and then very partly with Establishing Value and ever-so-slightly with Innovation and Exploration, but also fully with Innovation and Exploration for Data Scientists. Or something.
3 Software Marketing Lessons from QVC
On most Wednesday nights during the worst of the pandemic, I would sit in front of the TV (it works best to sit in front of the TV and not behind it, I guess) and watch QVC’s kitchen stuff show, In the Kitchen with David.
David is David Venable, and David can sell the living crap out of just about anything. You think YOU can talk about frozen mini cheesecakes for 15 minutes? No. No you cannot. Can you sell the benefits of a plastic storage container for 10 minutes while listing example after example of food items that can be stored in there to extend their shelf life (cereal! pasta! rice! crackers! cookies! chips! pretzels!). No. No you cannot.
I couldn’t turn it off. And if I’m in front of the TV on Wednesday nights now, I still have to flip (metaphorically “flip” as we don’t flip channels anymore) over to QVC to hear about why this nut mix will be perfect for when my family comes over, or for bible study, or when that unexpected guest drops by the house, or for your co-workers, or to feed the guy you keep locked up in your basement, or when you want to impress the boss. Anything, really.
You are free to mock QVC all you’d like, but the network is a 24-hour-a-day masterclass in how to tell the story of your products by clearly describing your customer’s problem, the features of the product that solve the problem, and the benefits you’ll get by solving your problem with the product.
(Hm - that sounds suspiciously like, uh, marketing.)
Rishi Rawat, who goes by the Shopify Product Page Guy, shared a QVC clip (it’s on LinkedIn and I can’t embed it here, sorry about that) where there is a presentation of tumbler that will keep your hot drinks hot and your cold drinks cold. (Yes, it’s a cup.)
They show you that the coffee in the tumbler stays hot by sticking a digital thermometer in it 2 hours after the coffee was poured, and we collectively watch the temperature go from 70 degrees to 140 degrees (Lesson 1: Offer visual proof).
Then we watch the thermometer get plunged into the iced coffee (which has been sitting in the tumbler for 20 hours) and we watch the temperature drop drop drop to 31 degrees (I don’t understand the physics of how it’s 31 degrees and not frozen, but I guess QVC defies the laws of physics). The presenter then tells you your fridge is 32 to 37 degrees, and this is colder than that (Lesson 2: Show how the product is even better than what you’re using now, preferably with data).
While we’re watching this, David is saying how sometimes he’ll just go and read “1 funny meme on Facebook” and when he comes back his coffee has gone cold (Lesson 3: Demonstrate to your audience that you understand them by using specific references).
David knows his audience.
At the end of this he shakes the cold tumbler and you hear the ice moving around after 20 hours (more proof).
(and….scene!)
I know - but Mr. Gobbledy, this is a $20 mug. This isn’t software. You don’t get it. Software is complicated!
Sure! But also, no.
Here’s what’s brilliant about their presentation of the product:
Watching the thermometer adds a weird sense of anticipation, like you are really curious where it’s going to end up.
Having the 140 degrees and 31 degrees (plus mentioning the 32 degree refrigerator) gives you some context in numeric form about how impressive the product is - the suggestion is that it’s colder than a refrigerator. It’s not just “keeps your iced coffee cold.” It keeps it colder than if it were in the fridge. Context. Specificity.
The little joke David makes about looking at a meme on Facebook (?) is so specifically for the audience that watches QVC. It’s such a specific thing that it nearly immediately builds trust with the buyer by saying, “I understand you.”
It doesn’t oversell the product. David doesn’t say, “y’know how your coffee gets cold when you’re reading a meme on Facebook and it just ruins your day?” No, it’s just an acknowledgement that this is one of the little annoyances we have that gets in the way of things we enjoy (reading memes on Facebook (?)), and that for $20, we can do away with that.
The shaking sound of the ice is a great proof point about the coldness of the drink. Look what they did - they had a timer for how long it was out; they had a thermometer to show you the temperature; they had something to compare it to (the fridge) so you know it’s cold; and then the sound of the ice. It’s making me tear up a little just thinking about how brilliant that all is.
I have a suggestion for you - have everyone in your company do a 2-minute QVC-style pitch for your product. Oh man, they are going to HATE this. And you. People are reallllly not going to be happy with you for suggesting it. I’m so glad it’s not me suggesting that.
Regardless of the team they’re on, the exercise will force each person to think about who the audience is that they’re speaking to; how you convince the audience this product is even necessary; what proof points are there to show that it does what you’re saying; and what’s a way you can use anecdotes and numbers to connect with the audience on an individual level, so they know that you actually understand them.
(BTW - it’s incredibly difficult. Incredibly. I have no idea how David does this In the Kitchen for 3 straight hours. Where every presentation shows an understanding of the audience, discussion of clear benefits, and proof points.)
Even so - please try this in a marketing meeting. See what people say. (They will say they hate you.) Yeah sure, everyone will be embarrassed. But I promise it’s a really useful exercise to get everyone focused on the basics and force them to get away from the usual gobbledy.
Editor’s Note: You should definitely - definitely! - follow Rishi on LinkedIn. He posts really amazing content about optimizing product detail pages, but those lessons are really about how to understand what your audience is looking for when they come to your website, and how best to give it to them. I can’t recommend him enough (well, I guess I CAN recommend him enough. This is enough.)
Thank you for subscribing and spending a few minutes with this each week. It means a lot.
If you want to talk about your website messaging, QVC, or whatever, I’d love to chat for 30 minutes. Here’s my Calendly link. Also, I help companies with their messaging. I’m happy to chat about how I do that.
And here’s my “Share Gobbledy” link:
This was my favorite one yet. My only disappointment...you didn't link to the magical cup. Thank you!