You get what you pay for.

You got more than you bargained for.

Ever notice that phrases like these mean something negative when on the face of it, they shouldn’t? You pay for something, and you get it. Naturally. You bargain for something, and get a little extra. Who wouldn’t be happy about that?

Yet these phrases don’t mean good things. These phrases mean there’s an unanticipated shortfall in the deal, and you’ve been shortchanged in one way or another.

Money-back guarantee. In other words, if you don’t get what you’re supposed to, you can return it for a refund. This is your bare-minimum: both sides of the ledger balance out, one way or the other. Dollar-for-dollar, equivalent value.

Guy Kawasaki gives an overview of The Nine Best Story Lines for Marketing from Lois Kelly’s book, Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing. There’s nothing that makes for better marketing than a well-told story.