Four Ways Your Business Can Generate Attention

Patrick McFadden

The behavior of today’s prospect and customer has changed in that they poke and search for informational solutions primarily via search and social media and social networks. Your company needs to have useful and relevant content at the right time—when the consumer is looking to solve her problem—and in the right places—where the consumer will find you. But that’s great because the Internet has liberated attention and no longer is it captive.

With this change in consumer behavior over the past 4-5 years, that means changes in how your business attracts, engages and motivates to action. What are some of the most important changes your business can make to adapt and stay relevant today?

Understand that there are four ways your business can generate attention :

  1. You can BUY attention. This is called advertising and all advertising is voluntary now. You can’t force someone to read your news story, or watch your ad. There’s more media choices and our attention has been segmented.
  2. You can BEG for attention.  This is called Public Relations. There are two kinds of PR: publicity (which is going to fade away) and there’s public relations which is story telling. Storytelling is going to get more and more important.
  3. You can BUG people one at a time to get attention. This is called sales. If you have a sales force, their job is not  take orders because you can outsource that or put that on the internet. Their job is also not to bother people into buying from you either because that is not a scalable strategy but what your sales force must do is communicate emotion. But you can’t communicate trust and emotion to someone if they are not listening. So the forecast should always be warm. Warm introductions are critical because cold doesn’t work as well, and with warm, listening and leads multiply.
  4. You can EARN attention online.  You earn attention by creating and distributing relevant and valuable content that your clearly defined and understood target audience wants such as YouTube videos, white papers, checklist, blogs, Twitter feeds, infographics, photographs, charts, case studies, product pages and ebooks— and it is all free.

These changes in technology and consumer behaviors in how information is discovered, consumed and engaged upon has turned businesses into media companies we all seek new ways to connect with audiences and monetize.

Question: How are YOU generating attention?

Forget “Perfect Workspaces.” Customers Want Perfect Installation Days — Here’s What Happened When One Furniture Installation Company Got That Right

By Patrick McFadden • March 31, 2025
1. The Challenge: VMI was like many service providers — positioning their value around what they thought clients wanted : “Office furniture installation and assembly — let us handle creating your perfect workspace.” But the actual buyers — facility managers, project managers, furniture reps — weren’t looking for “perfect workspaces.” They were trying to avoid installation nightmares . Their real priority? ✅ Great installation days. ✅ No chaos. ✅ No missed deadlines. ✅ No angry phone calls from clients. 2. The Insight: After conducting stakeholder interviews under our marketing strategy consulting engagement , the Indispensable Marketing team uncovered critical feedback: “We need installers who maintain a professional site and follow instructions.” “We lose relationships when installations go badly.” “I need quotes back quickly or I can’t sell the job.” This wasn’t just about services , it was about trust, problem-solving , and professional reliability . So we reframed their differentiators not by what they did, but how they showed up : Same-day project quotes Problem-solving on-site Update protocol with clients Professionalism guarantee Lasting Impression Insurance 3. The Shift: We shifted the positioning from vague benefits to real-world, emotional triggers : Instead of: “Let us create your perfect workspace.” Now: “Get the perfect installation day, every time.” That subtle shift aligns with who’s actually buying (and who feels the pain when things go wrong). The end-user may care about the workspace. But the buyer cares about the install . 4. The Lesson for Others: If you’re selling a service, don’t describe what you do. Describe what the client wants to avoid or achieve — and who the real buyer is. Then, systematize what you’re already doing well and give it a name. Just like our team did with: “Same Day Quotes” “Lasting Impression Insurance” “Reliable Presence Protocol” 5. The Outcome Within weeks of updating their messaging and positioning: The company reported more qualified leads asking the right questions Furniture reps began referring them because they were “easy to work with and made them look good” They were shortlisted for larger, multi-phase projects due to increased confidence in their process But most importantly, they stopped competing on price — because they weren’t selling perfect workspaces anymore. They were selling peace of mind on installation day.

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