Showing passion - the supreme discipline for making a competent impression on new customers

Competence consists of a combination of expertise, process knowledge, experience, passion and capacity. Successful companies often do so well, especially over long periods of time, because they are passionate about what they do. These also need to be shown. To do this, there are a number of methods for creating content, some of which I discuss in this post.

I remember well the factory tour at a new customer of ours who manufactures equipment to check laser-controlled production machines. This is enormously important for printing machines, for example. Even the smallest imbalance would lead to impure results and in extreme cases the whole machine would break down. For this reason, inspections must always be carried out to ensure that the individual machine parts are exactly as they should be. For this purpose, our customer has developed the appropriate testing devices. We were engaged for the revision of the website. Before we get started, we always do a kick-off workshop at the customer's site. An important part of getting to know the company properly is a factory tour for manufacturing companies.

So we walked through all the halls and had the individual production steps explained to us. At the very end, and only because there was still some time left, we were told: "There is another room in the basement that we should perhaps take a look at. In this cellar room, an 11-meter-long and 11-ton granite measuring table had been set up. We were told that it was necessary to tear open the ceiling of the room to get the granite block in there. The table was supported on electric oil springs, which cushioned the smallest vibrations when the subway was running 3 kilometers away. The entire room was soundproofed and set to an always constant temperature of 21 degrees. The table was not to be touched because the temperature of the finger would affect the precise arrangement on the table. Two testing devices were installed on the table, with a laser beam shining between them. When I asked what customer projects things were being tested for here, the surprising answer was, none. The whole huge effort was made just to make the measurement as perfect as possible. We are talking about many places past 99.99% perfection. The whole setup and huge effort was just to get the most accurate measurement result possible. That is passion. And this passion must be conveyed in the same way on the website texts.

We then decided to place photos from this room with a short explanation directly on top of the company's homepage. Anyone who sees this as a customer and understands the passion with which the employees work here will automatically transfer this to the products. This creates an enormous leap of faith that works into the future, because such passion can be stopped by almost nothing.

I have had similar experiences in numerous projects, especially in owner-managed companies. The example described above can also be applied to many self-employed people who work alone or in small teams. Whether it's the baker who still gets up at 3 a.m. every morning and tinkers with the perfect recipe for the perfect bread. Or the doctor who does everything in his special field to keep up with the latest findings worldwide and use them for his patients. Or the painter who creates exciting effects on walls with unusual materials. Striving for improvement is a consequence of passionate work.

But it is not only about innovations and further developments. Even in normal business, passion can mean the difference between success and failure. If my passion is to advise my clients to have optimal organisational processes in HR management, I will constantly be on the ball to see what new tools come onto the market. I will read with great interest new methods for handling applications, the interview process, internal coordination with applicants and the induction of new employees and consider whether it makes sense to include them in my repertoire. For each individual project, I will analyse the client and their specific organisation in great detail in order to offer the best possible solution for them. And isn't it wonderful to experience passionate good service for once? (unfortunately still completely underestimated here in Germany). When I go into my little cheese shop in Nymphenburg, am greeted by the two owners with "Hello Martin" and the first thing I do is try the latest cheese discovery. This is followed by stories about each cheese, its origin, taste, matching wine combinations and so on. In short: passion is needed everywhere to be successful in the long term.

And passion also needs to be communicated so that potential new customers find out about it. After a new client has found out that I offer the right thing for them, have the necessary expertise and experience, passion is one area I can use to convince them to get in touch. This can be a crucial point that differentiates my communication from the competition. I also don't have to communicate quite as quickly at this point. Since I have already reached the shortlist of my potential customer via the other necessary content, I can now also reach out further. At this stage, the potential new customers are ready to learn more about the provider and to engage more deeply with it.

In my experience, this is best done with stories. Stories are contributions on the website (can also be wonderfully processed in printed form) in which you and your employees tell how you work on your products and services. What everyday life looks like and where you are passionate about your work.

Questions such as:

• Where do we have the attention to detail?
• What details do we look at that clients may never suspect?
• How do we educate ourselves to incorporate new developments?
• Where do we like to go the extra mile, put in a night shift to get even better?
• In which area do we strive for perfection?
• Where do we care about the origin of the things we buy?
• Who in the company is an absolute specialist in their field?

All the answers to these questions can be found in the communication to new customers. Each of these points can be wrapped up in a story. Here you can draw from the full range. Of course, good texts are needed. Quotes are a very good addition. Good photos are almost always an important building block. Videos are even better. Especially engineers or other product developers, who by nature don't tend to be communicative, blossom when you let them talk about their products. Of course, you have to be careful that it remains understandable for the customer.

The beauty of these stories is that they rarely become outdated and have little updating pressure. Unlike a blog, for example, which promises new content every week, a story section with 6-10 stories from the company can stand still for a long time. If you then add a new post or refresh an old one with new content once or twice a year, that's enough. And if you'd rather have those website texts written, we'll be happy to do it for you.

This is the best way to communicate your passion for your product or service and convince new customers that you are the right long-term partner for them.