Care more.
Do what you say you’re going to do.
Stand in other people’s shoes.
Solve problems.
Fix what’s broken.
Change how people feel.
Create what you want to see in the world.
Don’t wait for an invitation.
Think beyond what’s possible.
Get over your fear.
Act.
Rinse and repeat.
Image by EIO.
I have no idea how this happened, but twenty five years ago when my husband and I were choosing my engagement ring on student budgets, I found myself inside a tiny strategically lit room with a £20,000 ring on my finger. £20,000 was enough to buy a house in Dublin in those days.
Fast forward to last Saturday when I had a flashback of the moment we were seduced into a plush room by a hopeful jeweller. This time though I was in a coffee store.
Nespresso have made choosing and buying coffee as seductive as shopping for diamonds. Their stores are expensively lit, architecturally designed boutiques, where coffee machines are uplit in recessed walls, tiny glass cups arranged like works of art and muted coffee pods are displayed in glass cases. Their goal —‘a retail experience that satisfies your every desire.’
And it works. I watched as people queued behind velvet ropes to speak to a ‘specialist’ about their coffee choices, while others jostled for position at the Carpe Diem tasting lounge. There are limited edition flavours that sell out in a week and are resold on eBay at a premium.
The last line of a review of the Sydney store on Yelp says it all.
“I purposely buy only 2 weeks worth of capsules, so I can keep going back.”
‘Experience’ has change how we perceive commodities. People buy what they buy, not just because they believe in what you do, but because of what they want to believe about themselves.
Your customers want to be seduced. What will they keep coming back for?
Image by Martin Stabenfeldt.
That moment when the airline tells you that lost luggage is just a fact of life, or the sales assistant can’t exchange a faulty shirt on the spot because of company policy is a crack in the foundation of the brand. In that moment you begin to disconnect and feel like you don’t belong.
Every brand is built on the feelings and experiences it delivers to customers in the blink of an eye.
Returns should be made as easy as purchases. Cancelling subscriptions should be as easy as signing up. They rarely are.
The trick is to see the moment when the bubble bursts as an opportunity to deepen the relationship. The opportunity to make a 404 a well designed moment is open to everyone.
Image by Duncan Rawlinson.
The window on analysis is shrinking. People are moving so fast now that they don’t have time to think. They’re scanning, swiping, clicking, liking, tweeting and moving on at full velocity. They’re making decisions based on feelings not facts. Often choosing not because of what they think, but because of how something makes them feel.
What does this mean for your business?
If you want people to act you must make them feel.
If they say I’ll think about it, you’ve lost them… they’re gone and on to the next thing.
Image by Arun Joseph.
Putting your ideas out there is scary. Hitting publish is test of your nerve. Showing up most days involves commitment. Making room. Letting go of something else.
You don’t, as (Seth would say), expect applause… but it’s lovely when you get it, and even better when it sounds like this.
“Here’s a blog that succeeds brilliantly in balancing the expertise of the blogger with valuable, original, engaging content. Arresting headlines, considered imagery and a clearly nurtured and active readership make The Story of Telling a blog that’s easy to get into and hard to escape.
One of the commenters on the blog likens Bernadette Jiwa to ‘a female Seth Godin’ and I have to agree. A terrific example of a business blog that must do so much for the author’s business.”
—Robert Gerrish
Best Australian Blogs Judge
This week my blog won The Best Australian Blog Business Category.
I’m blown away, thrilled and humbled of course. There were so many great blogs on those lists. But here’s what I want to tell you.
If there was no you with your big ideas on the other side of this monitor, then there would be a fair few words, but no real story to tell. You and your stories are what make my writing better. So thank YOU for showing up here too. For making my ideas matter and my headline hunting head, hurt. Thanks for caring and for making me care even more every day.
Image by Photosynthesized.
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Working on my #TED talk for the 2013 auditions with help from @bernadettejiwa - nearly there! :)
@bernadettejiwa Congratulations! Well deserved for an inspired and informative blog #bestblogs2012
