A hierarchy of value when everything functions and what that means for your #startup

This Blog from Seth Godin again hits the nail on the head. 

With such certainty and precision that I have to pop it down here. 

His point is a great one - that a business decides by action or by non action where it is on the ladder. 

It's like a customer version of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. 

See below for a lovely modern take on this...

But Seth's point is more serious... and really apt considering it was Apple's annual launch day. 

A company that through it's marketing and design has changed the conversation and ecosystem around telecomms more than any other. See his point on smartphones later on. 

The reason I include it here is his point about freelancers 

"Most freelancers have been so beaten down in the quest to make a go of it, they stop at function and take what they can get."

Which in some way is a trap I am falling into. My training company Great Marketing Works didn't do that - we had connection and style. 

Perhaps my freelancing as a consultant does as well? We have some great gigs coming up. 

BUT.... with FFFlip - The fast, fun, photo montage maker for the event professional.  

I want to have the audacity to redefine 'function' (see his end conclusion...) 

I hope for your startup you decide to do the same - or at least do something with style.... 

Here's to doing that and here's to Seth Godin's A hierarchy of value when everything functions

When two things offer simply the same appropriate level of function, we'll choose the cheap one.

But if one offers more connection than the other, it is worth more. 

This hotel over that one. Where is the tribe, do people like me do things like this, who's there, will they miss me, do I trust them, have I been here before...

If two items offer connection, but one offers the approval and sexiness that style brings, some of us will pay extra for that. After all, style promises ever more connection.

And at the top of the hierarchy is our quest for scarcity, desire and the hotness of now. 

In a market like smartphones, it's pretty clear that it's really difficult to offer more function than the other guy. And the quality of connection, the very attribute that fuels the smartphone, was surrendered to the app makers a long time ago. Which leaves the sexiness of a drop-dead case and the urgency of the latest model.

What do you and your team offer? Where are you in the hierarchy?

Most freelancers have been so beaten down in the quest to make a go of it, they stop at function and take what they can get. Some businesses (small and large) find the patience and guts to offer connection or even style. And every once in awhile, an idea and an organization come along that promise to share the elusive hot that sits atop the pyramid.

So, buy a Harley, not because it can move you from here to there cheaper, but because it comes with a tribe. And buy that Nars lipstick because of the way it makes you feel. And get on line for that new gadget, because, hey, there's a line.

And then, someone finds the audacity to redefine 'function' and the whole thing begins again.