We believe, you believe, you buy

Why is Apple so innovative despite having the same resources as any other computer company? Why did so many people follow Martin Luther King Jr. by just word of mouth? They connected with people in a whole different way. Simon Sinek discovered few years ago the way all successful companies and leaders communicate their ideas. They have used the exact same pattern, and he called it the Golden Circle.

 The average companies express their intentions of selling products or services starting from the outer layer, and then move inside. “What” is the product they are trying to sell, “how” is the process that made them conceived the product, and “why” is the motivation that will drive consumers to buy the product. For a better understanding, Sinek gave an example from Apple’s marketing strategy. A standard marketing strategy would start with what: “We have the best computer!” then how “They are beautifully designed!” and last why “Buy one!” For Apple, the actual marketing strategy starts the other way around: “Because we believe we make the difference!” (Why), “We extremely care about our product’s design"(How), "We have great computers (What).”

According to Sinek, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” The goal for brands, in order to become successful, is to do business with people and hire employees who believe what they believe. For a better understanding of this concept, let’s analyze the behavior of each area of the Golden Circle.The expression “what” refers to the rational language; it is what people formally understand of an idea. The expression “how” corresponds with feelings such as trust, where there is no language involved. The expression “why” is that “gut feeling” that many people talk about all the time. This area of the Golden Circle is the one that drives people’s emotions, and these emotions are responsible for their final decisions. 

One of the keys to achieving success is to find people who believe in what the brand believes. That’s why the diffusion of innovation is so important. In most cases, “Innovators” and “Early Adopters” are the ones who drive brands to success, because they strongly believe in the brand purpose, not necessarily in the product the brand is selling. They make these decisions because they believe in themselves first and what the brand does for them proves what they believed at the beginning. These Innovators and Early Adopters are the ones responsible for attracting the Early and Late Majority to believe and then trust the brand. 

All the companies know what they are selling, some of them know how they are selling, but very few know why they are selling. I strongly believe in this theory. The world is driven by emotions, not by rational thinking. The best strategy to reach consumers is by touching their emotions and letting them know what you believe in so they can believe too. 

Simon Sinek closed his speech with a great quote that I want to share, “Because there are leaders and those who lead. Leaders hold the position of power or authority but those who lead, inspire us.”