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Articles filed in: Strategy
Fact Or Fiction?
filed in Marketing, Storytelling, Strategy
The bookstore in Albert Park had just opened when Thomas, dressed as Batman, and his mum walked in. They headed straight to the children’s section at the back. They were shopping for a present for Ben, who was having a superhero birthday party that afternoon.
‘Let’s get Ben this book about Brazil. Then he can learn all about the people in Brazil,’ Mum said.
‘No! I want to get him a book about Batman,’ Thomas shot back, bottom lip out and cape askew.
In the end, they bought both books, but you can guess which one Ben loved.
It’s obvious that Thomas will be the best judge of what Ben likes. But his mum still has an opinion, based on her assumption about what’s better for Ben in the long run.
We sometimes make assumptions based on our opinions about a customer’s wants and needs. It’s hard to be objective about our ideas when we are invested in the outcome. But that shouldn’t stop us trying to stand in our customer’s shoes for long enough to understand how he feels. Our opinion is immaterial if it doesn’t align with the story the customer believes.
Image by Jonnie Anderson
When Did One Day Become Never?
The first time I met Simon he was juggling four dirty plates while greeting customers and directing his team. Over time, I came to know Simon as a friend and also as one of the most gifted people I knew. Simon’s bosses loved how he ran their cafe as if it were his own. They loved how he made their customers feel so welcome that they kept coming back. And they loved how their business was growing under his caring leadership. They just didn’t show it.
Simon loved his customers, but he hated the feeling of not being valued by his employers, and besides, he had a dream. At the weekend Simon had a side gig. He became a personal chef and dinner party host for hire. His clients went out for the day leaving him in to cook the meal and style their home before their guests arrived in the evening. Nothing gave Simon more satisfaction than seeing the look on someone’s face when they came home looking relaxed to an exquisite meal in the beautiful setting he’d created.
Simon wanted to do this work full-time. He dreamt of starting his own business one day. He could see how his service would work for dinner parties, small celebrations and family gatherings. He had everything he needed to begin and clients who were ready to recommend him at the drop of a hat.
Simon spent hours that next year talking about his business ideas. He worked on everything from the name to the launch strategy and service descriptions. That was fifteen years ago. I’d love to tell you that Simon got his business up and running and that it’s succeeded beyond even his wildest dreams but I can’t. You see, he never did find the courage to leave his old job. He never started. He’s still working in the cafe where we met. The only thing that’s changed is that he’s stopped talking about how everything is going to be different one day when he gets around to doing the thing he really wants to do.
Too many people not only never make the leap—they never even take the first step. Often what’s holding them back is the clarity, confidence and support they need to change direction. ‘One day’ becomes never when we fail to take the first step.
I’ve been helping people and companies to find and tell the story that sets them apart for more than a decade. And now, along with my friend and colleague, Mark Dyck, I’m helping more of those people who have a story to tell to find the people like them who can support them on their journey, in the Right Company. We’re opening our business community to a handful of new members this week. You can apply to join here. Simon might believe it’s too late for him. It’s not too late for you.
Image by Garry Knight
Tell Me About Your Company
filed in Storytelling, Strategy
If you were asked to describe a friend in three words you’d have no problem. Maybe you’d say he was fun or kind, perhaps you see him as loyal or generous. But if I asked you to tell me about your company’s attributes or brand’s characteristics you’d probably struggle. We invest a lot of time and resources in becoming known without clarifying what we want to be known for.
If we want to have a say in how our brand is perceived, then we need to be intentional about creating that perception. As the saying goes, if you don’t tell your story someone else will.
Questions For You
Can you describe your company in three words?
Are those the three words you aspire to be known for?
Are those three words how your customers already describe you?
If so, how can you continue to tell that story?
If not, what needs to change for you to become the company you want to be?
The goal isn’t to manipulate the message—it’s to amplify the truth.
Image by Garry Knight
How Much Runway Do You Need?
An aircraft must reach sufficient speed to take off. The pilot needs enough runway to achieve that optimum speed. The same is true of our projects and ideas. Velocity alone is not enough to make an idea fly. Ideas also need time.
We often focus our energy on gathering speed and creating momentum, while forgetting the importance of allowing ourselves enough runway. How much runway does your idea need?
Image by Björn
Pitch Perfect
filed in Marketing, Story Skills, Strategy
The two falafel makers at the weekend market sell an almost identical product but achieve very different levels of success. The marketing tactics they use are similar. Make eye contact with potential customers, offer them a small sample to try and use the time they’re chewing to launch into your sales pitch.
The first maker tells passers-by his falafel are the best in the world. ‘I should know, I make them,’ he proclaims.
The second tells potential customers that her falafel are vegan, dairy and gluten free. ‘They are delicious hot or cold. Wrap them in pitta bread with some salad and hummus, and you’ve got an easy, tasty and healthy lunch,’ she says, as customers line up to hand her their ten dollar notes.
We spend days, months and sometimes years perfecting our product recipe. We should honour that devotion to creating something that matters by perfecting our sales script too. If you want to make something matter, you must be able to tell the people you want to serve why it should matter to them.
Image by Stijn Nieuwendijk
The Brand Awareness Conundrum
filed in Marketing, Storytelling, Strategy
Every few months another new restaurant on Bourke Street closes its doors for the last time. Sometimes it’s like watching a car crash happening in slow motion right in front of your eyes. The events leading up to the closure follow a familiar pattern.
There’s the launch day fanfare, accompanied by balloons, the menu reveal and opening offers. The staff member stationed out front hands out leaflets to the hundreds of passers-by trying to entice them in. Many put their head around the restaurant door. Most don’t go inside. A few promise to come back but never do. The sandwich board on the pavement advertising discounted ‘specials’ get bigger and brighter as the days turn into weeks, then months, where too few lunches have been served. Those adverts are a sure sign that the lease won’t be renewed.
Bourke Street is one of the busiest streets in the heart of Melbourne—a place thousands of potential customers walk up and down each day. But setting up shop there does not guarantee that the right customers will come and keep coming. We have come to believe that being known is the key to being successful. That’s not always the case. The people and companies that succeed are not just visible to everyone—they’re resonant with the particular group of people that they have optimised their business to serve.
Back to Bourke Street. There’s a new restaurant that’s quickly become a favourite with busy office workers and weekend shoppers, looking for a quick pit stop and a healthy bite to eat. The first thing the owners did was to design the entrance with empathy. They didn’t want people to feel intimidated to step over the threshold. They wanted to avoid people feeling that they had to commit to sitting down if they walked in—which they believed would stop them coming in at all. They removed the door and left the restaurant completely open to the street. They’re giving people the opportunity to see straight away if this is their kind of place.
Being known by everyone isn’t going to get us to where we want to go. Being right for the right people is where we start. And understanding how to show and tell those customers that we’re right for them is the way we build a sustainable, successful business. We don’t need to find more ways to make everyone see us. We need to find more ways to make the right people sure of us.
Image by Garry Knight
Do You Have A Customer Awareness Strategy?
filed in Marketing, Storytelling, Strategy
The Friday evening tram was jam-packed with commuters, our bodies so closely pressed together you could feel the heat from the passenger standing next to you. As the tram made its way up Collins Street, the people travelling alone avoided eye contact. Two women next to me were chatting about the black jacket the younger one was wearing.
She mentioned the brand name and the store where she’d bought it, then went on to describe why it was ‘worth the investment’. ‘I’m a junior lawyer. I work long hours. I always feel put together when I’m wearing this jacket, even when I’m leaving the office after a twelve-hour-day.’ Sold.
If only the brand’s designer and marketing team had been there to overhear the conversation.
Of course, it’s not always possible to be in the room or on the tram, when our customers have something valuable to share. But it is possible to create a mechanism for hearing and acting on what they tell us. The stories our customers tell—the words they use and the feelings they express are part of our story. We should know and use them. What’s your customer awareness strategy?
Image by Matthew Henry
Why Do Customers Choose You?
filed in Marketing, News, Story Skills, Storytelling, Strategy
What are the top three reasons customers choose you? What story are you giving those customers to tell—not just to recommend you, but to trust and value, prefer and remain loyal to you or your company?
You can make assumptions and best guesses about what’s motivating the people you serve, or you can ask for reasons they will happily share. The stories your customers tell themselves are part of the story you need to tell.
Image by Garry Knight
The Immeasurable Benefits Of The Immeasurable
filed in Storytelling, Strategy, Success
Joanne has no idea what the return on investment of sweeping her bakery floor is. And yet she does it first thing each morning before the first customer arrives.
Harry has no way of knowing if the three hours he spends cleaning his taxi inside and out at the weekend makes a difference to passengers. But he makes the effort all the same.
Sean will never meet the diners who sit admiring the view from the restaurant windows he cleans. That doesn’t stop him polishing out every single smudge and smear.
We underestimate the value of the things we cannot quantify or track—not only to our customers, colleagues or companies but for the joy and fulfilment they bring us in the doing of them. The way we do the work, not just the work itself, is how we own our story.
Image by Udo Geisler
Building A Following
We’re seduced by the idea that followings and fortunes are made by hastily increasing our visibility on the platform of the day. The truth is the people and brands who earn our attention patiently built their following over time.
It’s the work we quietly get on with when no one is watching that makes people care to connect. Visibility alone won’t get us to where we want to go.
Image by Garry Knight