"Oh no," I groaned under my breath.

Due to a sorry miscalculation of yogurt containers in our house, our breakfast schedule had gotten all mixed up, and I realized we'd be having yogurt two mornings in a row for breakfast.

The problem?

My 3-year-old has suddenly decided he *hates* yogurt, after devouring multiple bowls of it for years.

And I was not in the mood for Day Two of a toddler showdown before even the sun had woken up.

Suddenly, I had an idea.

We'd been reading Fancy Nancy the night before. In it, the mom suggests they make parfaits, which delights Nancy because it's a fancy word.

Ideas jumbled in my brain at rapid speed, and with all of the solemnity and excitement I could muster at 7:28 am, I announced that we were not having yogurt that morning —

We were having ✨ parfaits. ✨

Cue instant excitement.

As I pulled out every fruit, jelly, and topping I could find in our house to put on top of the yogurt (for a total of 15 topping options), I realized:

That's exactly what we need to do more of in marketing.

Sometimes, we just need to market something that people aren't going to get excited about.

Something we're nerdily excited about, but the average person doesn't think about.

Or perhaps something that a bunch of other people are offering but we want ours to stand out.

Or maybe something that we know is good for them, but they don't know why yet.

All they see in our marketing is plain, unexciting yogurt.

So, we need to jazz it up. Add some toppings. Bring it to their level.

In other words, we need to say it in a way that actually resonates with them, that speaks their language and gets them excited.

We need to market in a way that gets them thinking about and picturing the transformation they'll receive.

How do we do that?

By getting to know our audiences really well.

By marketing to the "why" behind what we do instead of just the "what."

By learning what their "yogurt" versus "parfait" is and how they phrase it, specifically.

And then using that in our marketing to generate excitement.

And we can only learn that by walking with people in a really deep and accompanying way...you know, kind of like Jesus did, in the greatest form of "market research" ever when He became human.

Jesus got to know us and our needs and spoke to people in a way that stood out to them.

You think people hadn't told Zacchaeus before that he needed to change His ways?

But when Jesus shows up and speaks directly to him, everything changes.

For him and so many countless other people with whom Jesus has encountered, including us.

So this week, my challenge for you is to take something "yogurt-y" in your marketing, something maybe a bit dull or you haven't looked at in a while, and give it some toppings.

And chuckle inwardly to yourself thinking "It's literally the same thing!" when this simple reframe makes all the difference.

For His greater glory,

Emily

Saintly Marketing Tips I talk a lot about how Jesus used marketing, but so did the saints! I got excited from this Catholic Women in Business article about marketing lessons from the saints. Read article