What's Your Heritage? In Photo FDR & Bill

Going Back to The Future ! “Your BackStory” Part 2

Hi again,

Thanks for stopping by.   As I recall at the conclusion of my last letter I promised to share more thinking on telling your back story.  Part 1 Here  But first I have a few questions for you to consider.

Have you ever made a decision to watch one program over another because one was billed as a true story ?

Have you ever bought something because you felt more connected to the business?

Have you ever not bought something from someone because you just didn’t trust them?

Ok…. A quick review- Your backstory is how you became what you are today?  It’s the revealing of the where, when, who, and why of your business or organization.

I believe we all need a point of departure on the important concept of a business backstory.

Let’s start with why you should invest your precious time in both understanding your story and telling it.

In part one of this series I explored how understanding their backstory (Their beginnings) not only energized a brand, but was a catalyst for transforming a dog food company.

There’s another reason for crafting a great back story of your company according to marketing expert and thought leader, Rohit Bhargava,  author of *Personality not included”*.

It will help establish a foundation of trust and credibility for your business or organization.

Stories ultimately help build an emotional connection.  Emotions are critical in buying decisions. (Over 50% of all buying is done based on Emotions)

Telling your backstory provides context and meaning for the greater story of you and opens up the emotional gates for those deeper customer connections.

Back to those questions at the beginning of post

When trying to understand a concept ,  I always attempt to ‘get it’ from my own world’s point of view or experiences.     That statement provokes the question- When is the last time that you heard a story about a business that had a significant impact on you, to influence a buying decision?

Do you like buying something  from someone you don’t really trust or like?   I know I don’t.  Why are you loyal to one business over another ?  I will spend more if one business treats me like a person versus transaction.

One of the most daunting challenges faced by every business today is gaining trust from your customers.   Numerous research studies conducted on customers, clearly identify the lack of trust in businesses as a major issue.  Only 8% of all consumers believe advertising and marketing messages. (Wiki Brands)

A Small Example

I recently bought a couple of expensive concert tickets because I watched a video backstory of a musician. (Toby Keith)  Before I saw his story, the one of a decent guy, who overcame many trials and challenges before making it big,  I would not have paid money to see one of his concerts.   Was he perfect?  No. But his story help make him more human, more real.   More importantly, a part of his story became my own, a key ingredient of any great story.   His story, not his music was the key,  in establishing a deeper connection.  There were plenty of live music concerts to choose from but I spent the bucks on his.  (side notes- I am more a traditional rock fan- Toby Keith puts on a great show !)

Where do I begin telling my BackStory? 

Here’s some elements to think about when telling your backstory.  Exchange them with your team or a trusted colleague after you’ve tried to answer for yourself.  It doesn’t matter if you’re a solo entrepreneur or the CEO of a fortune 500 corporation.

Characters –

Every great story has characters, people who’s actions and decisions ultimately determine the script of the story.  Who are the key people who have shaped who your company is today.   Who are/were the founders?   Who were some of the very early employees?   Who are the current day leaders?  Who are the people that customers must interact with ? What kind of stories are told about your people or you today?  The characters in your story don’t necessarily have to be exclusive to individuals directly associated with your company.  Are there any heroes or villains in your story?

Challenges-

What were the challenges or problems the business was trying to answer for customers?  What was the sense of purpose for starting the business beyond just the bottom line?

Vision-

What was the dominant theme or idea of the founders that they set out to create and have others follow, both customers or employees ?

Conflicts-

What were the obstacles that the business faced or has faced that stood in the way of success?

Triumph-

How did the team overcome the conflicts or will overcome them?

To conclude, examining, understanding and sharing(telling) your backstory fits perfectly in the new business world where connecting with customers is the new business imperative.  As Rohit writes in his book *Personality not included , “the biggest challenge most organizations face today is discovering how to go from a brand that people consume to one that they are passionate about.  Personality Matters.”  So what’s your story?

Until Next time- take care and Rock Your Customers. (Employees too!)

Bill G.

PS.  If you’re interested in Engaging Customers, Telling Compelling Stories or On-line Video Production, I’d love for you to join the community. Sign up for Rock Your Customers Newsletter and Blog on the right.  Best to you & Thanks

Going Back to The Future ! “Your BackStory”  

A Gateway to Emotion Connection & Engagement

Part 1

Hellooo Again from Story Mavericks  !

Just a quick little “Hope all is going well so far in Twenty 12.”  What a difference a year makes.  If you’re from the Northeast or snow country and love snowfall & winter,  I’m guessing you’re not a happy camper this year.   Last year was a different story.  Hang in there.  Snow is on the way.

Ok.  Todays topic relates to the importance of revisiting your backstory.  How you became what you are today.  Your heritage.

I’d like to explore the topic by first sharing a little story.

It’s about a dog food company.

How Did Pedigree (Dog Food) Transform Itself From A Just Another Company Selling Dog Food, To A  Distinctive Company Where Dogs Rule ?

Back in 2004 Pedigree began a process to strategize how to answer the challenge most businesses face today,  commoditization of their brands. (Price-Price-Price)  Early on, as part of that process, they revisited their roots, their history, their backstory.

The Pedigree Team immersed themselves in a journey through time, to explore and try to uncover new ideas or something from the past that would be special today,  in moving forward and rejuvenating the Pedigree Brand.

By revisiting their back story, the Pedigree team were reminded that The Mars Family, who founded the company, had been passionate pet-lovers for generations and that Pedigree had a long history of being  a brand endorsed by breeders.  What Pedigree discovered was that they had moved away from the original founders mission.

That mission was centered on being in the business,  because they loved dogs.

That was their soul.

They had become another me too  company who tried to make food that cost less.

Rediscovering their soul created a gateway to the future success of the Pedigree Brand.  It became their compass to guide future business strategy.  More importantly, it allowed them to transform their culture and invigorate the brand with a greater sense of purpose.

It made them different and distinct in their industry.

Imagine the difference in a company culture where it’s employees come to work thinking that they work for a company who loves dogs, versus coming to work for a dog food company.  I believe it makes a big difference.

Imagine again, the neat, talk-able stories, that were created by everyone walking the “canine talk” at Pedigree.

Here’s a few actions Pedigree took after exploring their backstory:

• Employee badges and cards included photos of employee dogs.
• Employees were encouraged to bring dogs to work or use the companies on-site dog care center.
• The company offered health insurance for pets.
• In some cases dogs made sales calls on supermarket buyers
• The company crafted a creative customer (dog) experience statement that they called “Dogma”, a manifesto on why the company exist and how it should behave.

” Originality matters.  But history matters too.  The very act of rediscovering and reinterpreting the past creates the clarity and confidence necessary to craft a distinctive game plan for the future.” 

William Taylor-Co-founder, Fast Company Magazine, Author of Practically Radical

I came across the quote in “Practically Radical” a book on the changing landscape of business management from William Taylor.  (Great Book!)

The Pedigree story is an example of one of the many companies that get the fact that their heritage & tradition can be an important component, in providing a competitive advantage versus competition, and one that can’t be copied.

The transformation of The Pedigree culture, no small task, gained momentum and energy  by exploring their back-story.  Understanding their history helped create a clear path and distinctive game plan for their future.

The key message I wanted to share with this post is the critical need for all businesses to look at themselves with a pair of “Fresh Eyes”.  Let’s face it to remain wed to past practices ignores the reality of a changed world.  Despite the revolution in marketing, there is still important lessons we must take from the past.

Imagining your business from the framework of a story and revisiting the effects of your heritage, your origin, history- back-story, is a great place to start.  In that story can be found a script to guide your future communications and the staging of authentic experiences for all stakeholders in your business.

In part two I will share some thinking on the elements to consider in your back-story including some questions to explore with your team, colleagues or friends.    Until my next post, give some thought to why and how your company was founded.  Take care &  always, “Rock Your Customers.”

Bill G.

Welcome Back to Rock Your Customers.  I hope everyone has recuperated from Super Bowl XLVI.   To begin with I have a couple of confessions to make.  1.  I spent most of the entire Super Bowl Sunday parked in front of my TV. watching both pre-game coverage followed by the actual game.   2. Yes, I am a Giant Fan, but  not a crazy one – crazy defined as probably not losing any sleep if they lost.   My wife is from New England (Ma.) so it might be a good bet to say that she was not happy with the outcome.  I’ll continue to console her tonight by cooking a nice pasta dinner.

Unlike many people who say that their favorite part of any Super Bowl are the TV. Commercials, I have a different view.  I watch pre-game coverage mainly to view the backstories the networks decide to produce. I’m just not into the XXXX’s & OOOOO’s.

I think that instead  spending so much time evaluating commercials,  we should be talking about the meaningful and inspirational stories that that some how intersect with the game of football or the NFL. We should be voting on our favorite story.

Besides isn’t it somewhat ironic that we create a lot hoopla over TV. commercials a business practice that people love to hate?

This years Super Bowl coverage had backstories on players, teams, parents of players, owners and even special programs that came directly out of the NFL.  Most of these stories connected you on a more personal level to a person or player not just a number on a jersey.   I found myself rooting for that individual, regardless of team (kind of)  to do we’ll.

One of my favorite stories was about,  a program called The Indianapolis Legacy Project that incorporated such activities as planting trees, (becoming the greenest Super Bowl ever), fighting cancer, & redeveloping neighborhoods.  They even had a program to motivate, train, & recognize The Indianapolis  Super Bowl Volunteer Force,  called “Super Scarves” all part of a Super Service Initiative.  Very cool stuff !   There was so much for community builders to learn and be inspired by in this story.

The other favorite  was a heart breaking but inspirational story about Steve Gleason a former football player from The New Orleans Saints.   Check the video above to learn about Steve’s Story.  The lesson- Life is short.  ”We all have a timeline. Most of us don’t live like we have a timeline.”   It is a story about courage, about love and about helping & inspiring others.  Seems to me a more important story to share than voting for your favorite Super Bowl Commercial.

Tell me what you think ?

Best

Bill G

PS. Sorry New England Fans.  For what it’s worth the Pats are my second favorite team.

It was a brisk September Morning in September of 2005.  I was sitting in an outdoor amphitheater, anticipating the opening session of ‘tHINKABOUT’, a two-day business conference held that year in The Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The event staged (and I do mean staged) by Strategic Horizons (Joe Pine & Jim Gilmore) is an annual gathering of 150 business professionals to learn, explore, and share ideas on the important role experiences are playing in business worldwide.  I’m sure Joe and Jim won’t mind me using their conference name –ThinkAbout to introduce the provocation for this post.   Which is….

When is the last time you really staged a serious THINKABOUT on your world of business? 

No I’m not talking about the traditional stuff like industry trends, competition, ROI, ROE, etc.

I’m referring to some thinking on how much the business world has been turned upside down and every which way,  by the Internet, “the greatest source of commoditization know to mankind”.

and……..What Are You Going To Do Differently To Change With The World.

My personal THINKABOUT was dictated by my own business feeling the pressure of commoditization.  We knew we had to find a new way to differentiate-to find something that made us unique in the world of video production.  The commitment to finding that something, ultimately led to me sitting in an amphitheatre that September morning in Keystone, Colorado.

I remember thinking, what an incredibly inspiring environment The Rockies offered, to re-Imagine something new for my business.  International business guru Tom Peters,  was the opening keynote speaker.

THINKABOUT KEYSTONE was the beginning of a journey of learning and discovery on business and how many businesses worldwide  are redefining WHAT work they do, HOW they do it, and WHY they do it.

It all starts with the simple act of Thinking, followed by recognizing that in most cases incremental improvement is not going to cut it.

So…. have you stopped for a minute to simply THINKABOUT what changes you have made in your strategy (if any) that reflects the transformation occurring in the business?

Tom Peters says it best.  “Business today is a brawl with no rules”.  “Business as usual is a bust”.

In Industry after Industry the old guard is cutting back and losing ground,” state the authors of Mavericks at Work, William Taylor and Polly LaBarre.  The companies that are winning big today in business are those that are “rethinking the logic of how business gets done.”

Let me first suggest having a serious THINKABOUT with one of the priorities being just to be honest with your self on your organizations capacity to change.

Let me also suggest , that your THINKABOUT Jam, should devote  some serious thought to YOUR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE and the inextricably linked EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE. (Employees ultimately stage your customer experience)

Research Reports, Business Books, Blog Post, Articles, etc etc. all point to one very clear fact about business today.  It has become a CUSTOMER DRIVEN MARKETPLACE.   Additionally,  research  illustrates very clearly,  that senior level business leaders consider The Customer Experience to be the next battleground of competition in The US.

I wish you the best for productive ThinkAbout.  Be sure to check out STRATEGIC HORIZONS  thinkAbout Learning Experience HERE –  being held this September 19 & 20 – 2012 in SanFrancisco.   It is a learning & adventure in business like no other.  Links below are additional resources to check out The Customer Experience Discipline.

Strategic Horizons (Pine & Gilmore)

The Experience Economy- The Book UPDATED EDITION

Welcome To The Experience Economy HBR

If you want to chat about how we can help you with your customer experience initiative please feel free to drop me a line bill@storymavericks.com or Give me a phone Call @ 518-587-6340

Don’t forget to sign up to become a member of  The Rock Your Customer Community. (Sign up to right)  I will send you the latest info, tips, industry practices, & ideas that will help you create more value for your customers and your business  through the staging of  memorable customer experiences.

THANKS FOR VISITING WITH ME.  I truly hope you found the information meaningful and relevant.

BILL G.

If I had to chose one important area that most businesses do not understand  when it comes to their customers, it is the difference between their Customer Service and  Customer Experience.  In my  involvement in the customer experience discipline the last 8 years,  I can’t count the number of times people have equated their customer experience to their customer service.

Ok Let’s be honest do you know the difference  for your own business ?  I think you should and here’s why.

When you cut through all the marketing buzz on , technology, mobile , search engine ,  Tweets, Blogs & Post, what it all comes down to is two words – the reason for any business-

THE CUSTOMER.

Let there be no mistake, we are now living in A CUSTOMER DRIVEN MARKETPLACE. (Just ask Netflix & Bank of America.   What Joe Pine & Jim Gilmore argued in the seminal work in 1999, “The Experience Economy,  is now a reality.  So Welcome to “THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMY”.

Lesson number one, your customers want more than just your goods or services.  They want EXPERIENCES.  Experiences that engage them in an inherently personal way ultimately creating a great memory.

Your Customer Experience more than what you sell or its quality,  will differentiate your business more than any other factor.   Your Customer Experience encompasses much more than what everyone refers to as your customer service.

Since the purpose of this post is intended to provide you a tip, not an essay I’ll keep it simple. I hope you don’t mind.

When I think of CUSTOMER SERVICE, I think more of a transaction, handling a problem, limited in duration from a time standpoint.  Promptness, Please & Thank You,  Maybe a genuine smile are interactions that come to mind.    Nothing really special or as I say story worthy.  Is it important?  YES !  – But is it a compelling experience?

When I think of the word EXPERIENCE, I think of an event, a journey, an adventure.  It’s more holistic and emotional.  It’s different and original.  It involves senses and surprise. The good ones leave an indelible memory.   There’s a story.  A beginning, middle, and end.  Call it a WOW.

There’s a big difference between the words service & experience.  Black & /White.  Day & Night.

A Great Experience Staged by a Business Rocks Customers

I hope this post provokes some new thinking on your customer experience.  See Links below to a couple of additional resources on The Experience Economy and The Customer Experience.   Please feel free to join the conversation, tell a friend about this site/blog and would love to have you join The Rock Your Customers Community.

Rock,

Bill

Experience Resources

The Experience Economy

Revolutionize Your Customer Experience

Welcome Back to Rock Your Customers.

I thought I’d share some thinking on INTERNET VIDEO that  should be meaningful and helpful to your business.   By chance just in case you haven’t heard or read somewhere….

On-Line Video is Exploding.

YOUTUBE  NOW DOWNLOADS 60 HOURS OF VIDEO CONTENT PER MINUTE

The above was a recent headline in many of the tech news sites this past week.  Additionally, YouTube alone streams 4 billion videos per day to an internet video audience of 182 million people. (85.3% of Internet users)  To give it a little perspective its

• The equivalent of Hollywood creating and releasing 302,400 full-length movies every week.
• The equivalent amount of content that 3,600 cable TV channels could broadcast (or narrowcast) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Source REEL SEO

AN OBVIOUS CONCLUSSION.  I NEED A REEL.

On-Line Video consumption continues to explode.  It is clearly the preferred communication vehicle preferred by people.  That’s not a big secret.

I think it is also safe to say that if your business or organization is not yet using video to connect with audiences you are at a  competitive disadvantage

YES YOU DO.  BUT NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND

30% of Videos on YouTube Get 99% of The Views

Just having a video up on YouTube does not guarantee any kind of audience.  It indicates also that a lot of the video content posted on YouTube and other Video sharing sites is just not worth looking at.  THE USE OF VIDEO ON THE INTERNET HAS BECOME ORDINARY.

WHAT YOU NEED IS A CONTENT STRATEGY THAT WILL MAKE YOUR VIDEOS UNORDINARY.

Let me suggest a different way.  — by thinking of your video project using the frameworks of a compelling experience design not just making a video.  Changing our language can be a game changer and make all the difference.  The goal is to engage people in a personal way and connect with them.  Create a Lasting Memory!

The  video should observe the 6 Attributes of compelling experiences – which are:

Defined – Do you know it?  Can you describe it? Do the pieces fit together?

Fresh    – Does it startle, amaze, amuse?  Can you make it your own?

Immersive – Does it engage you? Can you feel it? Can you lose yourself in it?

Accessible – Can you try it? Get better at it? Get it to do what you want?

Significant – Does it make sense?  Do you Remember, Connect, Think & Grow?

Transformative – Do you feel differently? Do you want to tell someone about it?

Source compelling experiences Doblin Group

Designing a Great EXPERIENCE is Like Telling a Great STORY – 

To have basis for a story, we need something unusual, something different, and something out of the ordinary, something strange or unique. Deviations from the norm attract our attention!  “When everything goes as expected-the sun comes up, spring follows winter, the airplane works flawlessly there’s no story.  The regular reoccurring events in our existence are simply the way things are.  They are unremarkable.”

Story (Video) Check List Considerations

Clarity – Is the story simple and clear ?

Emotional – Does it connect with you, Have an Impact?

Believable – Does it sound like it can actually happen or happened?

Transport – When audience sees video, can you picture yourself there?

Surprising- What aspects of the story are unexpected ?

Relevant – How relevant is it to issues/needs/wants of target audience?

Memorable – What will be memorable about story ?  What is the Signature Moment?

To conclude, these two check lists give you a solid foundation to start producing/designing content that ultimately inspires your customers.   Would love to hear your thoughts.

Rock UR Customers

Bill

     EXPY STAGING TIP #1

 Great Customer Experiences Are Deliberately Defined & Planned

Hello again from Saratoga Springs, New York, The Home Base of Story Mavericks & “Rock Your Customers.”  As always, I hope your world is great both personally and professionally.  The topic of this post has been on my mind for quite some time so I thought it was time to share a thought with you on an important principle, on storytelling and customer experiences.

Below is a paragraph originally written by the  author of Story Theater Method”, Doug Stevenson, about the art and hard work of business storytelling.  Colin Shaw substituted the words “Customer Experience” for “Story” , in his book,Revolutionize Your Customer Experience.   I think the paragraph illustrates the point i am making in this post.

“For a Customer Experience to come alive and captivate and audience, the content, structure, and performance must be crafted strategically.  The Customer Experience itself is only a beginning.  Customer Experience is an art and the designer of the Customer Experience, the artist.  And all artist need tools.  The actor needs a stage, props, and costumes.  The musician needs her instrument.  The artist needs his brushes and paint.  And the Customer Experience designer needs form, content, and presentations skills and techniques.  The great designers of Customer Experiences distinguish themselves not just by their talent, but also their dedication to their craft.  They think about their Customer Experiences constantly.  They structure the sequence and flow of the Customer Experience,  and experiment to find just the right words that are genuinely theirs.  They work on gesture or movement until it is just right.  Then they rehearse it over and over until it becomes second nature – the line and the gesture effortlessly married together.  They incorporate acting skills and turn the Customer Experience into little theatrical events.  In order to have an end that is amazing, you will have to spend many hours working on your Customer Experience.  Your Customer Experience must be worked and re-worked, formed and re-formed. You’ll want to find the drama and comedy of your Customer Experiences and let them shine.”

I mentioned earlier in the post that this topic has been on my mind.  It is the result of hearing or reading about so many promises of great experiences, or wow customer service from businesses.   The words have really become buzz words that are ubiquitous and have little marketing impact.

The above paragraph written to teach the concepts of Story and Customer Experiences, by Doug Stevensen and Colin Shaw, are becoming a reality in today’s business world.

Study upon study of business leaders points to one very clear fact.  They consider reconnecting with customers the top business priorty for 2011.

Let me be clear that I am not merely talking about customer service here but memorable, “Rock Your Customer” type experiences.  The growing importance of fighting off an increasing commoditized business world of goods and services by staging experiences, was first articulated by Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore in their best selling book ,  The Experience Economy”.

The subtitle of Pine & Gilmore’s book, “Work is Theatre & Every Business a Stage”,  offers a great work model to stage great customer experiences.   Great stage performances just don’t happen. The same holds true for great customer experiences.

Have you intentionally designed your customer experience?  Do you have an articulated written customer experience statement?

Please share your thoughts and if you’ve done something really great in this area I’d love to share it on this blog.  Thanks Much

Best to You & Rock Your Customers !

Bill

Once Upon A Time and Business

Touching Hearts – Reaching Minds through Authentic StoryTelling

I remember a “Once Upon A Time”, told by my dad to his then still growing tribe of six kids. (It grew to 10 !) The story was about a mean troll who lived under a bridge.  For those of you unfamiliar with Trolls, according to Wikipedia, A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore.   My dad told his troll story as we drove home in our green 56 Green Chevy Station wagon, from a family experience – to get some ice cream.   My dad was a great storyteller maybe by necessity to keep is energetic boys from driving him crazy.   I would guess after all these years that we were all juiced up from an ice cream high.  I can still remember this particular tale, decades later, being captivated and engaged by the suspense, plot twist and ultimately the climax a triumph of good over evil. (Yes, The Troll was slain!)

So what does story have to do with business? The sharing of the Troll story is to make one important point about the very nature of storytelling.

Great Stories are memorable.

I remembered the story after decades. And even though I have a hard time remembering at times what day it is, I can vividly recall the details of the family trip to get ice cream because of that story.

In today’s new economy, commoditized by the Internet and technology, one-way telling – Features & Benefits Marketing no longer works. Just ask yourself:

When’s the last time you were captivated or influenced by a TV. Ad or for that matter, any kind of marketing message.

When is the last time you even believed that message – remembered it – shared it with a friend.

When’s the last time a Power-Point presentation or website experience had an emotional impact on you, inspired you to some kind of action, or even changed you?

Let’s be frank probably quite rare.

THE BOTTOM LINE HERE IS: To compete in the ever changing business world, to attract, engage, and connect with customers overloaded with information, demands new thinking, management strategy, and skills.

Enter StoryTelling.    Yes Good StoryTelling is a SKILL and an ART.   More and More businesses are realizing its importance in marketing strategy.

The distinctions or hallmarks of good stories are being memorable and personal.  There’s no better tool to stir people (your customers and equally important your employees) emotionally,  than sharing a good story with them.   Much too often the sole focus of business today is high tech. With everyone focused on technology, a tremendous opportunity for distinction is being missed, by not adding high touch, the emotional connection, to business strategy.

Let me conclude with a question.  How far back can you go to remember an engaging story that was told to you ?  Feel free to share it.

Best & Rock Your Customers…..WITH GREAT STORIES !

Bill G

Ok back to the topic of this post. On-Line Video & The Experience Economy.

As we begin the New Year, let me ask you a question.

WHAT MAKES YOUR WEBSITE DIFFERENT & MORE COMPELLING THAN YOUR COMPETITION?

Ok, time to hit the play button on this REEL which focusses on an area of business that continues to  explode, On-Line Video, a tool that can help make your website distinctive.

The big picture of  WHY USE VIDEO comes down to one word.

EXPERIENCES

Let’s look at the features and benefits of on-line video from through the lens of experiences, something most video production companies and web companies don’t address or emphasize enough.

Why EXPERIENCES?

Today, consumers value experiences more than ever.  The experiences you stage creates distinction & differentiation for you and new value for both your business and your customers.  Experiences go much deeper than technology and physical attributes. (Product,Price,Place, Promotion)  Let me also note , that this applies as well, to companies with business to business offerings.

First, a quick  top-line definition of a business experience from my friends, Joe Pine & Jim Gilmore, authors of an Internationally recognized book on experiences. The Experience Economy – Work is Theatre & Every Business a Stage.”

“An experience occurs in a business when a company engages customers connecting with them  in a personal and memorable way.”

If one really takes a minute to think about this definition coined by Pine & Gilmore in 1999, you’ll should see the very reason driving the explosion of Social Media as we enter 2011.

I believe that all companies, small or large, regardless of industry would serve themselves well by considering another Pine & Gilmore thought.  “The Experience is the Marketing.” In other words the best way to generate demand for your goods and services is to have your customers experience that offering in a place (physical or virtual) so engaging that they can’t help but pay attention and then pay up.

Secondly,  a sneak peak  at the stages of any experience as defined by the Doblin Group, an internationally recognized leader in innovation, from Chicago.

…  just wanted to provoke some new thinking and introduce a new framework to explore the business case for on-line video.  I’ll focus on the main 3 stages of experiences,  Attracting/During & Extending.
 

ATTRACTING CUSTOMERS (Pre-Experience)

On-Line Video by its very nature is effective in capturing attention & mind share of customers, in a world of information and marketing overload.

• Getting someone’s attention is the very first step to attracting people to your business on-line.
• Video can help build a foundation of trust & credibility.

On-line video provides SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Benefits

• Did you know that YouTube is the number two search engine behind Google? The SEO benefit applies directly to THE ATTRACTING STAGE of an experience.

DURING STAGE-(The Main Experience)

On-line Video can help make your website more Engaging & Memorable-A Better Experience.

• Video can help bring your website to life creating a place that customers want to experience over and over.  Static text and photos only websites are a dime a dozen and undifferentiated.
• Video can create stickiness to your site getting people to spend more time with you.  More Time = More Sales
• Adding new video content to your site is a great way to keep it fresh, giving customers a reason for a revisits.

 On-Line Video like no other marketing tool available, has the power to evoke Emotions from your Customers

• Emotions directly account for at least 50% of all buying decisions. The motivation to chose one brand or company over another, when choices are endless is sparked by emotion.
• Specific emotions drive value during each experience stage that attract new customers,  produce loyal customers and produce customers who will recommend your business.

On-Line Video has the power to give your company a Face, a Personality.

• It has the power to humanize your brand, demonstrate your uniqueness in a world of sameness.
• People buy from people they know, like & trust.

On-Line Video is a natural  fit with  digital STORYTELLING

•  Per above, emotions  impact buying decisions.  Stories connect with customers on emotional level.
• Great stories spark action, transmit values, foster collaboration, communicate who you are, & help lead people.

 EXTENDING STAGE (The Post Experience)

 Video is an excellent  piece of marketing collateral,  that people can  share with friends or colleagues.  

• Viral word of mouth marketing is still the most effective from both a cost and results standpoint.

Video is an excellent  tool to use as a piece of memorabilia for people to re-live their experience and remember you.

•  Video can be used after the main experience to demonstrate to customers that they’re more than just a transaction.

 ON-Line Video engagement is  measurable.  Here are a few areas.

• Number of views
• Time spent by each viewer
• Customized set of criteria relative to time (days,months, specific ranges of dates ) videos are viewed
• Specific drop off points for each on-line video
• Unique viewers and where they came from

To conclude,

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you find the content I provide meaningful and relevant to your business.  We continue to explore and think about new ways to provide more value in our communications with you.  If you are already considering On-Line Video drop me an e-mail or call and I will send you a summary of current packages available.

As always, feel free to give me a call should you want to start a conversation on marketing including on-line video or your customer experience. 518-587-6340  bill@storymavericks.com

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WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME !

A belated Happy New Year to everyone and a big thanks for stopping by for a visit.    2012 is a special year for Story Mavericks.   It marks our 25th Anniversary as a video production company.  I’ll share more thoughts and observations on this milestone in future post.

As you may know we have been very busy designing our website, blog and newsletter.  This process involved switching suppliers in all three cases which has been a challenge.   One of the challenges was figuring a way to efficiently transfer two years of Rock Your Customers Post.   I’ve been told it can be a night mare to try to automate the process so I’ve decided to share some of the post piece by piece.  I hope you don’t mind.  The writings are  still timely and relevant to the current day business environment.  So without further fanfare here are some thoughts on why we called this blog “Rock Your Customers”.

Rock Your Customers Live !

Welcome back to The Rock Your Customers Blog.  I really do appreciate your visit and hope the time you spend on the blog provokes a world changing idea.  Really !

Rock Your Customers

I don’t know if I’ve shared the full backstory for naming this blog -Rock Your Customers-but let me keep it simple by saying part of the reason was that I’ve always enjoyed attending live rock concerts.  The theme was developed a few years ago during a creative exercise that was part my Experience Economy Certification Training.   Well it just so happens that during this past month, I’ve  attended a few  live concerts and it seems like the perfect time to share what the heck Rock & Roll has to do with business.  What can all business leaders and marketing professionals learn by attending a rock concert ?

Here’s a few tunes..Oh I mean thoughts provoked  by  The Moody Blues, Heart, Journey and Toby Keith at The Saratoga Performing Arts Center. (Yea ok so Toby is not defined by music purist as Rock&Roll)

Rock = Energy

Let’s start with the heart and soul of Rock- the ENERGY factor.  A live rock concert is a high energy event filled with excitement, passion, engagement, sensual stimulation, (sights & sounds)   and incredible creative design. Simply stated, it has most of the key elements that should be considered  in designing a compelling customer experience.  Let’s explore the energy component and how that relates to business and the customer experience.  The Rock Your Customer Theme was developed out of the context that too many business interactions are often boring, mundane and impersonal transactions.   Stop for a minute and try to think about the hundreds of interactions you have with businesses on a regular basis.  How many are memorable ?  (In a good way)

Left Brain Rock Stuff

In their book The Brand Bubble, John Gerzema and Ed Lebar, argue that the greater the brands energy, (let’s face it all companies are brands)”the greater the consideration, loyalty, pricing power, and value they command. In their research of over 40,000 brands, across 44 countries, on 70 brand metrics, they discovered that the brands that had the greatest value were those that offered “a more exciting, dynamic, and creative experience. Also included in what they defined as “The Brands Energy was vision originating from leadership, invention through product or service innovation and finally the dynamism consumers feel-”how the brand creates persona, emotion, advocacy, and evangelism.

Rock Your Customers- The Encore

One of the important learning points from attending a live show is that the experience is not made memorable by the music alone.  Let’s equate the music to what your business sells be it a good or a service.  When you pay $50 to $150 to attend a concert we expect quality music.  What makes the performance a memorable experience is the intentional design of the show from not only a technical standpoint but the theatrical attention given  to creating drama, suspense and surprise.  Finally and most important in creating a lasting memory is the energy of the artist and their ability to connect with the audience in a personal way, despite playing the same set night after night.  This is not unlike your employees performing the same task over and over on the stage of your business, in front of customers.  Yes, your business is a stage and your employees are the ones charged with the responsibility of delivering performances that will either leave the seats empty or have your customers standing screaming for More! More! More!  Please do share your thoughts &….

Rock Your Customers !

Best  Bill G