The previous page presented a look at what Amy experienced when trying to solve a real desperate problem.
On the one side of the coin was a big bureaucratic system driven by profits, greed, and power.
On the other side of the coin were websites and small businesses whose decisions were driven by revenue first, customer needs last (an afterthought at best).
As depressing as this is for millions of people seeking solutions to their problems, this presents unique opportunities for people like us who choose to see the world differently.
Who choose to care.
Who choose a different way of doing business with the people we seek to serve and matter to.
Customer-centric (as opposed to product-centric) gets a lot of lip service…
“We're customer-centric,” they claim on their about pages. But it's not what we say that matters, it's what we
Our behavior.
It's easy to say, “we're customer-centric,” but then make decisions that demonstrate otherwise.
Anyhoo…
This is a look through a lens that leads with Empathy-Driven Marketing.
She still hadn't found a solution to her desperate join pain problem.
The pain was becoming physically and mentally debilitating.
She's wasn't one to give up tho.
Her mother had raised her better than that.
Amy knew a solution was out there, and she was going to fucking find it!
Browsing on Medium, an article had jumped out at her:
The Truth about Joint Pain (What The Pill Industry Won't Tell You)
Oh!?
(Click.)
As Amy read the article, she could feel her heart rate quicken.
And like the gravitational pull of a black hole, she was sucked in.
It talked about stuff she had never read before, never seen presented in this way. Stuff her doctor should have told her but never did.
She felt the anger bubble up.
The excitement, too.
The article ended with a link to a website, so she clicked it.
The website seemed like an extension of the Medium article.
She read on.
(Click.)
OMG!
A tear ran down Amy's face. She reached for a tissue and moped her damp cheek.
She had always believed what her doctor had told her.
She could see that she had been too trusting, too gullible to the politics that drove decisions biased to putting money ahead of everything else.
She could feel her worldview shifting as if the foundations of her understanding was under attack by a magnitude eight earthquake.
She dabbed at her cheek again with the tissue.
Tears were flowing freely now.
But they were not tears of despair or sadness; they were tears of joy and relief.
(Click.)
She read on.
Why don't more people know about this? she thought to herself.
It was becoming obvious now.
All her conclusions and beliefs had been built up from assumptions she had drawn from mass media…
From her doctor…
And from all the websites selling their bullshit solutions for symptoms that could never be cured.
Now she was feeling mad.
The tears had dried up. Now Amy's cheeks had become blotchy from the rush of blood to her face.
(Click.)
She read on.
The website narrative ended. But she wanted more!
There was a form to submit her email address, and she didn't hesitate for a second.
(Click. Submit.)
The page said to check her email.
And it also had a link to download a free PDF document that summarized the points she had just read on the website.
Wow!
It's as if she had died and gone to heaven.
(Click. Download.)
She checked her email.
She couldn't remember the last time she was this excited.
It was as if she was “vibrating” with the anticipation of solving her problem. She could FEEL that she was getting closer.
There was an email in her inbox.
The Inflammation Conspiracy (Part 1)
(Click.)
Amy read on.
Her jaw dropped…
Can it be this simple? she thought.
The email ended.
It said there would be another email the next day.
She was still vibrating with the pure energy of anticipation.
24 hours was a long time to wait when she had been seeking a solution for so fucking long.
She tried her luck and clicked reply.
She hammered out a quick response:
Hey Jennifer,
My name is Amy, and I've been trying to solve joint pain for the past five years. I've tried pills and creams, and my doctor has me on a cocktail of meds. I hate taking them. They numb the pain, but they numb my mind too.
It's terrible. I'm so disheartened and depressed.
Is that true about the inflammation being the cause of my problem, and that the solution is simply a plant-based diet?
Regards, Amy.
=============//
(Click. Send.)
Amy didn't expect a reply back.
It was her experience that no one would reply.
Or a reply would be from a help desk in a third world country from someone on minimum wage who wasn't paid enough to care.
Amy resigned herself for a 24 hour wait.
She was still vibrating with new found energy and hope.
I'll conclude this story of Amy's journey on the next page. Think about what you've read so far in these past two pages.
Internalize it.
Let it sink in.
Now let's move on.
