The Container Store or The Control Store?

On a recent episode of How I Built This, one of the best entrepreneurial podcasts out there, the interview was with Kip and Sharon Tindell from The Container Store. During the interview, Sharon brought up a concept twice that is essential for every business leader to understand. I am paraphrasing here, but here’s what she shared…

“We were never a product store. We’ve always been a problem-solving store. Sure, we sold containers. But what we were really selling was a sense of control – the ability to find the things you want and to hold onto them, not being forced to let them go. We’re selling the opportunity to live a life that doesn’t feel cluttered or chaotic.”

Let that sink in for a moment.

The Container Store sells what?

The easy answer is that they sell containers. Home and office organization tools. Boxes and bins. Wares for your kitchen and your closet. They sell things, right?

Or, as Sharon shared so clearly, do they sell something more? A solution to a problem? Going deeper, a sense of control? Calm and peace?

Every brand reading this right now should be stopping to consider what people are actually buying when they engage with your products and services. They’re investing in something when they do business with you, but every single time that investment is in something deeper than what you first expect. Get to the root of it all and you’re almost always selling them a feeling.

Call-to-Action

The question for today is this… What feeling are you offering to your customers and clients? Answer that, and you’ll quickly find new ways to engage with them and create instant connections.