Once upon a time, a little girl named Goldilocks, while walking in the forest, came upon a house where three bears lived – Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer, as they had gone out. Being hungry and tired, she entered the house, and discovered they had left out their bowls of porridge.
So, she decided to help herself. First, she tried Papa Bear’s porridge. Her response: “This porridge is too hot!” Then she sampled Mama Bear’s. “This porridge is too cold!” So, she tried Baby Bear’s porridge. “This porridge is neither too hot nor too cold. It’s just right!” And, she gobbled it up.
What can we learn from Goldilocks?
Not everybody likes the same bowl of porridge
Just as Goldilocks found the bowls of porridge she sampled to be “too hot”, “too cold” and then “just right”, so, too, our customers respond differently to marketing messages.
Some people prefer more information before making a decision and taking action. Others are overwhelmed by detail and only want the highlights. It’s all in their action style.
Our action styles are pre-programmed
According to Kathy Kolbe, creator of the Kolbe™ Index, we are born with our own specific way of taking action. And if you have kids, you know she’s right! Everyone is different, despite family upbringing, our environment or where we went to school. Understanding your own style is powerful.
Knowing your unique MO or “Modus Operandi” and the MO of the people you work with most closely, including your clients, can help you adjust what information to communicate, and how, where and when to communicate it. Depending on the topic, some people need only the bottom line, others every detail, while others are in between.
What is YOUR Modus Operandi?
As a strategic marketer, Impagination Inc. uses The Goldilocks Principle to help our clients determine the best approach to efficiently communicate their key messaging, in a way that will engage with their target audience and motivate action.
To find out more, we invite you to book a complimentary Kolbe™ Discovery session with us.
Let’s find the right bowl of porridge for your clients!
So true, especially the part about kids being different! 🙂 Great article, Laural.
Thanks for commenting Heather! My introduction to Kolbe™ was after my daughter was born. It was helpful to watch her innate strengths emerge from such an early age. She completed her Kolbe™ Y youth Index at 10 years old and her Kolbe™ A at 18 years old, which helped her to decide on her post-secondary education path. Such a useful tool at every stage of life. I especially love how it can help business owners to own their unique way of offering value to their clients and how to leverage the natural strengths of their team for business development. That’s marketing gold!
woah this is so true i never thought of it like this