Bob and Willie

This summer I had the privilege of seeing Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson in concert together. In thinking about these two giants, it occurred to me that their personal success stories provide two very different allegories for business today.

As everyone knows, young Robert Zimmerman created Bob Dylan. But Bob didn’t just create a name — he created a story. In early interviews he basically wrote a back story (read: made stuff up) for this character, Bob Dylan.

Everything from working on a ranch in New Mexico to variations on his personal heritage were carefully crafted by Bob who, as a reluctant but nonetheless savvy marketer knew this story would catch on much faster and with greater impact than the story of a kid from Minnesota’s Iron Range that comes to the big city and makes it. Not mysterious enough plus it didn’t have the appeal that he knew his core audience (‘60s folkies) would adopt and take to the masses.

Think of Bob Dylan as a new business. First on the scene with a great idea but no real compelling story that could take this guy who makes great music and transform him into an institution. What Bob added to the mix to achieve the latter was the story. Before marketing himself, he took the time to answer the question “Who is this guy,” basically defining the story for his product.

Willie Nelson, on the other hand, had to have a “do over.” In Nashville in the early ‘60s while Bob was making it big, Willie had carved out a modest niche for himself as a songwriter. But penning “Crazy” for Patsy Cline and “Hello Walls” for Faron Young wasn’t enough. So a suit-wearing, clean-shaven Willie worked to become a country singer. At the end of the day though, this Willie wasn’t anything special.

Defeated, he returned to Texas, failed at pig farming, and eventually formed a little band on his terms. Noticing the counter culture scene near Austin and observing it cross-pollinating with country he found a new segment of the audience that no one was speaking to. This innovation yielded the birth of ‘70s outlaw country and Willie’s new character, the Red-Headed Stranger. This character, like Bob’s creation, was fully formed and had a story that was adoptable by the core audience that would take his music to the mainstream.

Think of Willie as the business at the dead end. Several companies find that their corporate messaging needs a “do over” like the one Willie gave his story. Don’t be afraid of reinvention.

A question every marketer at every company should ask is “Who are we?” It’s a complicated question that is easily dodged or vaguely answered but must be defined in great detail. You need to figure out who your company is and thus what your story is.

These two allegories apply to defining who your company is no matter what your product or service is. If you are in the professional services industry, the lesson should be incredibly apparent. It’s not enough to just show up and do the job. That’s what the customer expects. If you answer the question of who you are, you infuse your customer’s experience and make them more likely to adopt your brand of service and, if you’re lucky, they’ll take you to the mainstream like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Whisky River.”