momorantings

Some time ago, I was at the box office when a major donor who lives out of town came up to the window. I instantly recognized her even though she hadn't visited us in quite some time. After warmly welcoming her back, I stepped away briefly to attend to another matter, and when I returned to continue our conversation, I was startled to see that she was being charged an exchange fee to transfer into another performance. When I inquired, the box office associate rightly told me that she wasn't a subscriber, and that waiving exchange fees was a subscriber benefit. In this case, the patron wasn't a subscriber because she lived thousands of miles away, however she was an incredibly generous donor, giving both to our annual fund and our campaign. Her giving over the years easily made her one of our most valuable customers, but because she wasn't a subscriber, the box office didn't grant her one of our entry level benefits. This wasn't a human error, but a systemic one....

I recently sat in on a research group. There'd already been home testing and diary writing. Now there was a discussion about what the product/service category meant to the assembled group and, lastly, there was an element of further testing. It was a long, informed and opinionated session. And then they left the building and went home. The research company will, no doubt, host other groups, write reports and make presentations that the client will digest, consider and have meetings about. But these engaged, informed and interested users will probably hear nothing more. What a missed opportunity. One I've seen repeated by innumerable businesses employing a variety of external agencies throughout the process of product development and market research that make no attempt to leverage the enthusiasm of the potential customers they ultimately view solely as "participants". Just think what might be unleashed by sending them a trial subscription or samples and discounts onc...

When I saw this indicator board on the Tube some months ago, I immediately assumed it was faulty and sure enough (as you can see) a train arrived in three minutes. But, in those three minutes, it was amazing how many others passengers (not tourist) surprisingly took it at face value and left to make other journey arrangements. People believe what they believe. They do so based on their world experience, and yet the majority of marketers focus on positive proclamations about their product or service in the hope that this will change their mind. But to supplant an existing worldview, you need to do more than provide an alternative, you need to undermine their status quo. People are arguably more intrigued by persuasive arguments that are at odds with their beliefs (especially about trivial stuff like brands). So don't make nebulous claims, debunk received wisdom. Refute people's prejudices. You may be selling products or services, but bundled therein is your expertise and it'...