One of my stops while in New York was a tour of Yankee Stadium, a place that is filled to the brim with history and legacy. Everywhere you go there is a reference to the 27 World Champions that the franchise has won – clearly impressive since second place is St. Louis which has only won 11.
I noticed that the last trophy that the Yankees brought home was in 2009, which made me wonder when their championship dynasty occurred. What I learned was that since 2000, 12 different teams have won the World Series, with the Yankees only winning twice in those 18 years. The Boston Red Sox and the San Francisco Giants have won three each in that time. The Yankees’ tour conveniently glosses over when the winning took place and instead focuses on the fact that it did.
For the Yankees, the enormity of their total championships clearly outweighs the recent gap in winning one. They do a great job of associating “Yankees” with “winners” in the public’s mind, even if the recent history would say otherwise.
There are many versions of any story and your job is to determine which chapter of your story to read aloud. In the Bronx, there is no doubt which pages those are.
At the risk of TMI, let’s leave it that my puppy is having some issues with her stool and the veterinarian recommended that I switch food. I have on hand a new 40# bag of food, auto-shipped from Chewy.com that I figured I was stuck with, but when I was on the website ordering new food, I noticed a “Returns” tab, so I gave them a call.
In less than two minutes (literally), I had received a $50 refund for my food and told to donate the unopened bag to the Humane Society on Chewy’s behalf. Before I hung up, I had an email with the credit and another canceling my auto-ship. No questions asked, no hassle, just “have a great day.” Wow.
Chewy’s refund policy says: “We want you to be delighted, enchanted, blown away, jubilant, thrilled, ecstatic, tickled pink, euphoric, overjoyed, pleasantly surprised, elated, flying high, excited, and definitely over the moon about your experience with us. Our policy is simple: If you’re not 100% totally, completely, and unconditionally satisfied for any reason whatsoever, return it! We'll give you a complete refund. Oh ya, we’ll also pay for the return shipping.”
Why does working with a company that delivers such stellar service have to be the exception rather than the norm? In the dog eat dog world of retail sales, Chewy has found a way to distinguish themselves as Best in Show. Take a lesson from them on how to truly treat your customers so that, like me, they’ll be wagging their tail with happiness over the ease of their transactions.
How do you get someone to pay $9 for a cup of root beer? You turn it into an experience.
Wild Bill’s Soda has done just that with their Olde Fashioned Soda Pop stand. Stationed at the area’s first festival of the season, Wild Bill turned an ordinary utility trailer into a scene from the Wild West. They sold reusable cups for $9–$20 promising the opportunity to get refills at events throughout the season (if you remember to bring the cup back and if you want to drag it around with you…). Wild Bill’s allowed customers to dispense their own and experiment. You could try one of their flavors (such as Sarsaparilla Six Shooter, Outlaw Orange, Vintage Vanilla Cream, Blazing Black Cherry, or Buck'n Birch Beer) or mix them in your own combination. There was a line at their booth all day.
Starbucks mastered the idea of turning a generic cup of coffee into a multimillion-dollar franchise by raising the price commensurately with the experience around the beverage. Maybe Wild Bill can do the same – and maybe you can take a lesson from both of them. Don’t think about what you offer in a literal sense when you assess its price; think about the value of the experience you provide. They both can rise in tandem.
I recently was at a Target Superstore on a summer Sunday and they were totally out of regular Coke cans. This would seem to me to be a staple item that you could count on to be there whenever you shopped, but there were none. Not on the shelves, not on the end caps, not on the display in front of the store.
If you looked at the space allocated for Coca-Cola branded beverages, it was substantial, but the square footage was taken up with Coke Zero, Caffeine Free Diet Coke, Cherry Coke Zero and other variations that did not sell. So many choices and flavors added to the complexity but detracted from the core.
Coke is the #1 selling pop and Diet Coke is #2* yet Target and Coca-Cola diverted their attention and lost (at least some) sales because they focused on niches at the exclusion of the main products.
Think about the offerings your organization provides. Are you making your version of Coke and Diet Coke as robust as they could be or are you pushing Cherry Coke Zero only to find it still sitting on the shelf? You may find that a narrow focus is more refreshing.
*Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42255151/ns/business-us_business/t/sweet-americas-top-brands-soda/#.WxL2ai-ZOqA
One does not normally look for a dry cleaner while on vacation, but there was a cap and gown that needed to be pressed so we sought one out. It turned out to be one of the most fascinating stops of the whole vacation.
Milt and Edie’s drycleaners is a place like no other. They are open 24/7/365 and offer alterations during all those hours – at no extra charge! There is free popcorn and coffee (always), sometimes supplemented with free hot dogs or cookies. You can eat your treats by the fish pond outside where the sign proclaims: “If we were any more environmentally friendly, we’d be beating your clothes on a rock.”
Milt and Edie’s provides free cardboard caddies for hangar recycling, bins to donate old clothes and free shirt collar stays and buttons on a lapel pin to use in emergencies. As a new customer, we received a gift bag with a lint roller, nail file, notepad, coupons, and more. I walked out of there with more branded materials than I have for my own company!
The place is so busy that at night they have a security guard directing traffic in the parking lot. When you walk in there are six counters to serve you, all awash in their distinctive hot pink.
Milt and Edie’s has been in business for over 70 years. When it was founded it was certainly not common to offer this level of service or to create such a distinctive environment, but perhaps their foresight is what has sustained them for three-fourths of a century.
If Milt and Edie can make a memorable experience at a dry cleaning and tailoring business, think of the possibilities that exist in your organization. How can you go the extra mile to deliver the seemingly impossible for your clients and clean up on your competition?
The Griffith Observatory was filled with a multitude of exhibits that really impressed on the viewers the grandeur of the universe and our small place in it. What the Observatory did not have, however, was recycling bins. Worse than that, their cafeteria served sandwiches in bulky plastic containers, sold water in bottles and offered no capability to recycle any of it.
I come from a long line of extreme recyclers and we were all dismayed at the incongruity of their brand. We were surrounded by messages about the importance of the Earth, yet their actions were contradicting that. I thought about all the money they spent to install elaborate displays in the Observatory but failed to invest a small sum more to put into practice what they are preaching. At the very least, they could have sold water in paper containers and made a point with the novelty of them.
Never doubt that people notice the small things and take to heart more of what you do than what you say.
Like all good tourists, when I was in Hollywood I strolled Hollywood Boulevard and looked at the Walk of Fame. I thought about the thrill that must have been for those whose name is permanently engraved on the sidewalk and how for many it would represent a highlight of their career.
We reveled in seeing the stars – as if it were the star themselves. Tom Cruise, Marilyn Monroe, Alex Trebek, Bob Hope, Harrison Ford, Walt Disney, Matt Damon, Amy Grant, Michael Jackson – blocks and blocks of the biggest names in entertainment and we were standing where we know they once were.
But we also traversed over dozens of stars whose names we did not recognize at all – Viola Dana, Clyde Cook, Gabby Hays, Faye Emerson, Madge Bellamy, Barbara Whiting, Meriam C Cooper, Eerlin Husky, Yma Sumac – all famous enough to be immortalized on the Walk of Fame, but not enduring enough to become household names (at least in our circle).
Your organization likely does not have a literal walk of fame but think about the people who would be on it. What are you doing to keep their legacy alive? How do you tell the story of your founders or legends in your industry so that the subsequent generations would at least recognize their name? It’s nice to do recognition in the moment, but even better if you allow the star to keep shining over the long term.
I have always been curious about the origins of vehicle names. I wonder why some companies label their cars as a numbered series, others use just letters, some adopt common words as their names and others create their own words for naming. (Think of the BMW 700 series, the Acura TLX, the Ford Focus or the Dodge Caravan.)
Once you start paying attention you will quickly realize that there is no similar platform for what vehicles are named but I wish I could have eavesdropped on the discussions when the protocol was determined. I am sure the first time someone said “Dakota” people thought of the states, but now they see a vehicle image in their mind. Accord used to mean agreement or conjure up images of a Peace Accord, but now it’s a Honda. I’m sure that in their own way, all of the decisions made logical sense.
What I don’t understand, though, is who thought it was a good idea to name an RV “Intruder.” While some words like sierra, excursion or escape may have a dual meaning, none of them had a negative connotation before they were branded as vehicles. It reminded me of the infamous Nova debacle – with No va meaning “no go” in the Spanish market that was targeted for the vehicle. At least that wasn’t as blatantly obvious as the Intruder!
Bottom line: take great care when choosing a name. Whether it be the moniker for your product, service or child, it’s hard to change or live down a bad one. Don’t let a poor branding decision intrude on your messaging.
My 6-month-old puppy was spayed yesterday, an action that was traumatic for her (and me!), but in the scheme of things, very ordinary. There were no complications and after a few hours, they sent her on her way.
It was routine surgery and I’m sure any vet in town could have performed it in essentially the same way. But what set my vet apart was that in addition to the pills and wound-care instructions, Emma came home with a letter that explained her experience:
Today was a very special day for me!...My day started when the veterinarian and the nurse made sure I was OK to have surgery. They looked me over carefully and then took some blood samples for tests…After this step, I was given some medication which made me feel a little sleepy. While I was relaxing, they told me I would soon fall asleep and, when I woke up, the surgery would be all done…They told me not to worry because I would be given pain medicine before I even woke up, and they would also trim my nails while I was sleeping!...It seemed like only a few minutes but then I woke up and the nurse told me surgery was all over. I was kept warm and comfy with soft blankets, and the nurse called my family to tell them how everything went.
These are [some of] the instructions from the veterinarian to help take care of me for the next few days:
- Don’t let me lick or scratch at my incision site. If I can’t leave it alone, I may need an Elizabethan collar (the Cone of Shame!) to keep me away from it.
- No bathing (yay!) or swimming for the next 7-10 days.
…So that was my big day! Everyone at Colonial Terrace Animal Hospital was very nice and made me feel special! They said my family is lucky to have me (and I know I am lucky to have them), and that I was a wonderful patient!
I have had many dogs spayed over the years, and none of them have come home with anything but the standard, rote instructions. In fact, it seems that everything that requires directions comes with plain, technical language.
Why not take a few extra moments to make your communications memorable? Especially for situations like spay surgery that happen frequently, an investment up front can pay multiple dividends and help you become the Top Dog in your client’s mind.
Talk about being able to create an experience: the out-of-town donut shop brought its “Emergency Donut Vehicle” to our city today. It’s a retrofitted ambulance, so we were greeted with sirens and lights when it turned into the parking lot – and they were greeted by 121 people in line before it opened.
The outside of the vehicle added to the festivity with their spaces for long john storage, emergency jelly pump, sprinkle storage bins and icing bandages. Overall it made for an out-of-the-ordinary noon hour for dozens of people in line as well as the dozens back at home or in the office who were able to partake in the dozens of donuts being distributed out of the “ambulance.”
I did not stay until the end, but the clerk said that last time they were in town, the packed-full vehicle was sold out in a half hour. What a way to generate business.
I doubt that if they had a bakery in town that it would have created this much buzz on this particular day. While they may have steady sales, people would not wait an hour in line and buy multiple dozen donuts at noon on a regular basis. Today’s levity succeeded because of the novelty and scarcity.
Think about how your organization can make something you provide less accessible. Is there a way for you to create demand because of the difficulty in obtaining a product or service? Should you shrink an element of your distribution in order to ultimately expand it? Would something be more popular if it was limited?
Maybe a manufactured emergency is just what the donut doctor ordered for you.
Firefighters, police and military units identify themselves through the use of patches on their uniforms. I was recently at a Firefighters Museum and was able to see a display of hundreds of different patches – all in one place. Even though they all represented firefighting teams in Minnesota, they all displayed their own personality and uniqueness.
If your profession wore a patch on a uniform, what elements would you want it to convey? How could such a common identity serve to foster team pride? You don’t have to wear a literal patch to create one or to convey the intent behind it. Maybe it could be your next team builder to create one!
Most people know the origin of the Post-it Note: a failed attempt at making a super-strong adhesive led inventor Art Fry to repurpose the substance to make bookmarks for his choir hymnal. The ability to reposition tabs without tearing the paper was appealing to him – and eventually to millions of others. 3M’s accidental product is now available in 27 sizes, 57 colors and 20 fragrances (!) and generates $1 billion in annual revenue.*
The newest incarnation of the sticky note is the Extreme version – designed to transverse from the office environment to the construction realm. Extreme notes are made to stick on irregular surfaces such as brick or wood and to be compatible in the outdoors. They are water-resistant and function in hot and cold weather. If they really work and catch on, the revenue figures could see a substantial boost.
Post-its are a classic office product. It seems natural to extend this line into shapes, colors, sizes and other variations for office or educational use, but it took some imagination (and engineering) to make a product that extends the same product into an entirely new field. The creative legacy of the brand’s formation must still be alive!
Think of the products or services that you offer. Is there a way to extend their use into a completely new arena? Is there a modification you could make that would enhance its appeal to a different audience or market? Try to run your new business development like Post-its and don’t permanently stick to one spot.
*Source: worldwatch.org
Disney on Ice came to our town, and even though I am childless and grandchild-less, I went to experience the Disney Magic and spectacle. I was not disappointed.
You notice the Disney difference from the second you step into the theatre. The lobby is lined with special merchandising booths and everything from sno-cones to cotton candy bags comes in a character-shaped container – and a premium price. The salespeople have their faces painted (which you can get too for a mere $16) and they wear crowns ($16) and wave laser wands (also $16 – it must be a magical price point).
But what stood out among the merchandising mania was one particular salesperson; he was masterful. He called out to everyone who went by. He ran two credit card machines simultaneously. He demonstrated his laser wands – the princess one when a little girl walked by and the Buzz Lightyear saber for the boys. For every single purchase, he asked the customer if they’d like to add a coloring book for $5. I am sure he had more sales than the other dozen clerks combined.
For Disney, merchandising isn’t an afterthought. In addition to the revenue it produces, the colorful themed booths set the tone and heighten the anticipation long before the show itself begins. The prolific clerk capitalized on this frenzy and leveraged it for increased sales.
Think of what the equivalent of merchandising is in your organization. You may not have sno-cones or princess necklaces to sell, but how are you creating an environment from the moment your customers enter and sending them home with a reminder of you?
With the number of recent trades and team-swapping in the NBA, some fans are understandably nervous about investing in a jersey of their favorite player for fear that it may be obsolete in the short term.
The NBA Store and American Express have teamed up to offer a “Jersey Assurance” program that allows fans to switch jerseys if the player switches teams. With the number of restrictions on the program, it is unlikely that there will be a huge financial loss, but there could be a substantial gain.
The Jersey Assurance program is a way to encourage purchases but makes everyone feel better if a trade happens.
Think of how you can adopt a component of this program and do something to mitigate perceived risk. Maybe your providers aren’t traded, but providing some assurance to your customers is a slam dunk.
Intellectually we know that if we recycle items that they are repurposed into other goods, but the process by which this happens is elusive. Several stores have added displays to make a more direct connection between recycling and its end game.
Madewell clothing promotes recycling of jeans – which are then turned into housing insulation. Their “donate your jeans program” has prominent displays in the front windows and throughout the store, making a connection between products that most people would not normally associate together.
The Eataly supermarket shows how their carts come from recycled bottles hopefully helping customers see that recycling actually does have its benefits (in addition to giving the franchise recognition for its environmental consciousness!)
Many organizations are doing good things in the area of sustainability. Follow the lead of these two businesses and connect the dots between efforts on the front end and their implications. We all like to see a happy ending to the story.
Happy International Women’s Day!
This holiday has been designated for many years, but it seems to be receiving much more attention this year in the midst of #MeToo, women’s marches, Time’s Up, and a general mobilization of female activism.
To celebrate this year, McDonald’s has flipped its arches for the first time in history and will be featuring upside-down arches (to form a W instead of an M) on all of its digital platforms. While it is sure to garner media attention, it seems a bit off-brand to me. McDonald’s isn’t a particularly female-oriented business and it seems a stretch to make such a statement about one segment of the population.
Mattel, on the other hand, tied into International Women’s Day to launch a new line of diverse Barbie dolls representing 11 countries. This is far more aligned with the holiday and their customer base and, in my opinion, was a fitting release date.
Other businesses are just trying to capitalize on the momentum around the day and the women’s movement by offering an array of “women-themed” products. This, too, seems to be commercially motivated rather than genuinely relevant to the event.
There are literally holidays for every day of the year and a plethora of causes that could link to your marketing efforts. Think carefully before you jump on the "brand-wagon" and alter your products or messaging because of them. Authenticity drives revenue in the long term.
Many people who eat out at restaurants frequent the same place and order the same menu items. While this can be a comforting thing for the consumer, it likely means fewer return visits due to the monotony.
California Pizza Kitchen has adopted a novel way to inspire customers to try something different by offering a Menu Adventure Guarantee. “We encourage the spirit of adventure, especially when it comes to tasting new flavors,” their menu reads. “So try something new – if it doesn’t thrill you, we’ll replace it with your regular favorite.”
My dining companion was comforted enough by their offer to try the Citrus Adobo pizza for the first time. The waitress even came back to check whether he wished to exchange it (he did not).
The Menu Adventure Guarantee is a low-risk way to encourage others to take a risk that could pay off for you in the end. Think of how you can model this formula for your organization: offering a refund on a new service, allowing for a trial period, enclosing a sample of something new in a routine order, or making it easy for customers to have a do-over for the experience.
The biggest risk you are taking may the one that you aren’t acting upon.
When you hear National Park Service, many people think of places like Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon, and picture rangers in wide-brimmed hats like Smokey the Bear.
While this is true, the National Park Service is an agency that does much more than protect the 59 National Parks. Scientists, educators, conservationists, engineers and accountants comprise the workforce that maintains 417 different sites: monuments, parkways, seashores and preserves, as well as hosts over 300 million visitors/year.
To help visitors understand the breadth of the Park Service, the Lewis and Clark Visitor’s Center in Omaha has a beautiful display that communicates both the mission and the multiple departments that are organized to support it.
Oftentimes only the “front of the house” areas are visible to visitors or are highlighted in organizational publications. It was nice to see Property Management & Office Services, Safety, Information Technology, Human Resources, Contracting and Fire & Aviation Management as prominently displayed as Heritage Areas, Natural Resource Stewardship & Science and Ranger Activities.
Think about how you can make your organizational chart come to life. It may be worth adopting this idea for your organization as a way to recognize your staff in addition to educating others on the scope of your services. For political or public relations reasons, helping others understand your breadth is always a wise investment.
Cincinnati’s famous ice cream store, Graeter’s, marked the birth of the local zoo’s hippo by creating a new flavor, Chunky Chunky Hippo. Fiona the hippo was quickly a local celebrity, and Graeter’s was smart to jump on the bandwagon.
What is even more impressive than capitalizing on the arrival of the hippo was Graeter’s decision to leverage the event even further by re-releasing the flavor in celebration of Fiona’s first birthday. They have even sweetened the deal by commissioning a local artist to design the containers, drawing even more attention to the product.
What event can you re-commemorate? It’s easy to think of milestones in your organization’s history, but be more creative that than. The one-year anniversary of a large donation? One thousand days since a new service was offered? Your boss’s start date at the organization?
There is no need to save specialness for a one-time use.
Thanks, Lucy!
