No Place for Belles-Lettres in Marketing??

Rhetoric is the tool to touch people’s hearts

A. People are Driven by Purpose

Viktor Frankl, an iconic psychiatrist of the 20th century, spent his life promoting the idea of meaning. According to Frankl, meaning provides vitality. A person without a reason to live would languish, succumb to momentary gratification, and in effect ruin himself. The opposite is equally true. When one has good reasons to live, he will overcome impossible challenges. In the face of the greatest predicaments, he will emerge heroic.

Viktor Frankl wrote several books, made countless public appearances, and brought up numerous cases to prove that point. Including, as you may presumably know, extreme examples he witnessed as a prisoner in Auschwitz.

B. Businesses Require Purpose No Less

All well as far as a human being is concerned. But Frankl never mentioned (to my knowledge, that is) that the same is true of businesses. Companies remain vital as long as they retain a purpose beyond sucking in their customers’ money.

How do companies find their meaning and purpose? This is what a brand is for. A brand broadcasts the message that this company services people in a special way; that the company has a rightful place on the map of contributors to society. The brand would explain how they benefit people specifically. This is in fact what Frankl prescribed for a life of vitality.

Business thinkers have reached the same conclusion on their own. Simon Sainek, a British marketer and author of several books, explains how a purpose-driven business can build a solid customer base. In his book Start With Why, Sainek argues that there are two ways to sell your goods or services.

The first begins with the question of WHAT I sell; moves to the considerations of WHY a prospect would want it. For example: here are quality dairy products, if you consume them, they will keep you healthy — would you like to taste them?

The second way is to turn this pitching upside down. Starting with who we are and how we benefit the community; then transitioning to what we do and eventually what we sell.

In the second case, the proposal would sound like this: we are enthusiasts of peaceful and clean food. We care about people’s physical and spiritual health. For that reason, we produce live food, preserving its vital value. Would you like to try it?

In the second case, the person does not merely buy the product. He endorses the mission and joins the cause. This is how the base of highly dedicated customers is built. They become fans. The company enriches their lives in ways far more potent than the consumption of the product.

C. Purpose Invites Poetry

This takes us to the third and final point of the article. In the age when we have no patience for books, especially for belles-lettres, we lose sight of the opportunity how we could reach people’s hearts and minds much faster. A message of purpose, a call to one’s heart invites poetry. If we added a touch of poetry to our brand message, it would reach much further. This is how we could reduce the length of the customer journey — by getting it, with the help of literary style, to penetrate people’s hearts.

We at Language Service Magistrai decided to focus on this idea. What if we could enthuse our clients’ brand messages with potent rhetoric? The first effect we immediately noticed is that it not only enhances the brand in the eyes of the public but also strengthens the ties within. Managers and workers alike receive a boost of meaning and purpose. It makes them more dedicated and brings up the best in people. Therefore we concluded that rhetoric provides a powerful boost for branding and it can help businesses in more ways than we would expect.

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Language Service Magistrai is an international team of translators and interpreters providing services in several languages. If you would like to inquire how we could help you in your brand-building journey, please visit our website at https://magistrai.lt/en/frontpageen/.