success
1,070 posts
What You Want To Say Vs. What People Need To Hear
Every one of us has a story to tell—something we want someone to hear. So we begin crafting our messages by prioritising our need to be heard. The irony is the best way to make an idea resonate is not to start with all the things you need to get off your chest, but instead…
The Art Of Discovering Opportunities
How often do we look down when we could look up? How often do we do the obvious instead of exploring what’s been overlooked? How often do we sit tight when we could dive in? How often do we make excuses instead of making our mark? How often do we look away when we could…
How Are Your Customers Convinced?
Real estate agents get more new listings from the refferrals made by satisfied sellers, than they do from letterbox dropping flyers. Hotel rooms are increasingly booked on the strength of previous guest reviews on Trip Advisor, not because of the room sizes and facilities published on their website.
The Business Of Trust
Trust enables every human exchange. Our society can’t function without it. The belief we have in each other’s promises is so great that it even transcends our immediate circle in the physical world. We order books, book hotel rooms and ride in cars with strangers on the word of others who have recom
Getting The Story Formula Right
I often get emails asking about the right and the wrong way to tell a brand story. Questions like: How long should the story be? Should we start this way or that? What’s the best medium to use? The more important point to consider is not the length of the story or where to begin…
The Unchanging Nature Of Business
It’s a cool November day in 2014, and a young couple pause on a suburban street to snap a selfie with an iPhone 5C. 90 years earlier in a garden in Warwickshire, England (circa 1925), Arnold and Helen Hogg attach a Box Brownie camera to a long stick and take their selfie. When we think…
Why Do Your Customers Buy?
How thirsty is the college student who pays almost $5 for a Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks? Did the fitness instructor really need to upgrade his iPhone 6 to a 7? Can the mother who religiously gives her kids vitamins each morning prove that they work? When the CEO hires a contract lawyer is she pay
The Good Marketer’s Dilemma
People (including you and me) often convince themselves that they make logical decisions about what to buy based on things like quality and price. If this were true, then there would be no need for businesses to invest in packaging, design or user experience. Packaging, design and copy tell a story
What’s Missing?
The patisserie opened with great fanfare and then fell flat. The brand had an international reputation, was selling a half decent product in a good location and yet customers didn’t feel like they had a reason to come back. They couldn’t put their finger on it, but the cafe just had no soul. It’s ea
How To Communicate Value Beyond Describing Features And Benefits
In an attempt to gain the trust of prospective customers we often resort to simply telling them about our product’s features and benefits. While describing value might seem like the easiest way to communicate it, the simplest strategy isn’t always the most compelling one. When value is demonstrated
The Power Of Story To Find Value
As business leaders, entrepreneurs and marketers we’re used to leveraging the power of story to describe value. We mostly use stories as a tool for telling. Because we believe the way to succeed is to be more vocal and visible, we create campaigns, sales letters, videos and press releases. We craft
Buzzworthy
On my recent travels in country Victoria, I came across an incredible artisan gluten free bakery miles from nowhere. The owners baked only three types of bread. The bakery sold fresh salad rolls and quality coffee on the premises. As we got chatting about how well they had nailed their story, the ow
Changing The Customer Experience Narrative
My husband, who is a doctor has been trialling ways to improve the patient experience at the practice where he works one day a week. There are many things about the experience that are out of his control. He can’t control how the receptionist speaks to the patient on arrival, cut the waiting time or
More Than
In hard-headed, rational commercial environments where tangible advantages are sought in order to make the books balance, we often overlook the value of our products and services being more than commodities. Everything a customer chooses to exchange time, attention or money for says something about
Change Making
The story changes the value. The value changes the perception. The perception changes the experience. The experience changes the outcome. The outcome changes the customer. The customer changes the story. Image by Matthias Ripp.
The Power Of Perspective
The brilliant science graduate had a decade of first class education behind her. But the industry she thought she’d been equipping herself to excel in was experiencing a sudden downturn and her hope of finding the work she had trained to do. Her excellent academic record and transferable skills were
Getting There
In my mother’s day, ‘getting there’ meant finding a partner, having a roof over your head and family you could afford to feed. That’s still the reality for many but probably not for most people reading this today. Now ‘there’ is now the elusive place where accomplishments are built ever higher, boxe
How Our Actions And Results Align
If we want attention, we must deliver value. If we want to be innovative, we must practice empathy. If we want loyalty, we must give respect. If we want to be believed, we must earn trust. If we want rewards, we must embrace risks. If we want to matter, we must create meaning. We not…
The Potential Downside Of Maximizing
There’s a great cafe in East Melbourne where you can order half a sandwich. This addition to the menu seems trivial, but it tells us a lot about the values of the cafe owner. He knows that a peckish diner will order the whole sandwich and leave what she doesn’t want. Of course, this would…
Making Your Mark
Making a mark is not something we talk openly about that much, but it’s something we think about a hell of a lot. From the grandmother who hands down her legendary Christmas pudding recipe, to my Uber driver who, despite having held a managerial position with a big retailer for sixteen years, ‘wants
