implied benefit versus overtly stated benefit: Windustry example

So.

I have always believed it was more powerful to create messaging with an implied benefit. It seems to me that permitting the person to articulate the benefit in their own minds and in their own words is the most powerful way of empowering people to ‘own’ the benefit … or at least the reasoning behind it.

That said.

Traveling to New Mexico reminded me of an industry badly in need of overt communication.

There are these beautiful 21^st century windmills on acres of windswept rolling hills waving in circles as you drive through New Mexico. Beautiful in a modern sort of way and a reminder of the power that something as simple as the wind can create.

Here is one aspect of the overt portion. I tend to believe that anyone who has the privilege of seeing these “windmills” in action are exponentially more likely to actually consider signing up to utilize energy created by the wind (interestingly they call the industry “Windustry”).

Regardless of what I think.

Once in the area I started seeing Wind Energy advertisements in the newspapers. Full page color ads. All talking about what wind energy will be doing…providing energy to over 20% of homes in southwest…over 2.2 million homes serviced by wind power <don’t hold the numbers against me…just recreating them in my mind> but the point I am trying to make is that nowhere in any of all this advertising is anyone stating the functional benefit to someone who wants to sign up.

Oh yeah.

Sure.

Better for the earth and environment. The ‘greater good.’ Okay. People get that.

But.

The Windustry at this stage has to do more then just manage perceptions … they are educating. To me at some point people want to know what they…personally…are gonna get. A cleaner world for the next generation is fine and dandy but … hey ladies & gentleman of the Windustry … what about me, the decision maker, today?

Will I save money? Is it complicated? Heck. I may be willing to even pay the same amount I am now but I sure have a sense that I am going to be paying a higher price to have a better world (oh … note to Windustry folk … and most of us cannot even afford the basics … so I may want to put off the ‘next generation value’ for a little while if you don’t mind and focus on the me, me, me now generation value>.

In the end … I think this industry could invest some time telling people the basics. The greater good is really kinda understood. So it seems easy for the Windustry step up and make it easy and functional to the people who really can get this Windustry ball rolling.

Just tell me it ain’t going to break my bank.

That’s my 2 cents. Okay. Maybe a cent and a half.