by Micah Smith on February 22, 2012
A few weeks ago, Tony Schwartz wrote an article for Harvard Business Review called, “Why Appreciation Matters So Much.” His post focuses mostly on the results of appreciation when it comes to bosses and employees, but the truth is that genuine gratitude can define a brand in a way no website, marketing campaign, or blog post can. In Tony’s words:
“Whatever else each of us derives from our work, there may be nothing more precious than the feeling that we truly matter — that we contribute unique value to the whole, and that we’re recognized for it. … Feeling genuinely appreciated lifts people up.”
Step back and look at what that can mean for your relationship with your customers. What if your customers walked away from their experience with you feeling like they matter, like they add value, like they’re genuinely appreciated. That feeling is so rare.
Will they share it with others? Yes.
Will they come back for it? Yes.
In his book Influence, Robert Cialdini shares the story of Joe Girard, a car salesman who sells an average of more than five Chevy cars and trucks a day and has won the title of “Number One Car Salesman” for 12 years straight, not to mention being called the world’s “greatest car salesman” by the Guinness Book of World Records. That’s a pretty impressive resume.
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by Micah Smith on February 16, 2012
The quickest way to tell people you’re ordinary is to tell them you’re unique. The word “unique” is overused. In fact, overused is an understatement. It’s white noise. Don’t be unique.
“But what if I really am unique?”
That’s awesome. More power to you. Just don’t use it as a selling feature. Just don’t.
When you tell someone you’re unique, you have all these qualities running through your mind to back it up. You’re creative. You’re personable. You mean what you say. You actually care about your clients. You pay attention to details. You don’t turn in incomplete projects. You’re concise. You create value.
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by Matt Cheuvront on February 13, 2012
While Adele was winning basically every award there was to win on the Grammy stage, there was another winner that nobody expected. And no, it wasn’t Nicki Minaj’s confusing performance to open up the third-hour…
It was a 140 second ad spot from Chipotle, aptly titled “Back to the Start” (check out the video below) that left people Tweeting, Facebook-ing, and applauding around the country.
The ad, featuring a Willie Nelson cover of Coldplay’s “Scientist”, can be downloaded via iTunes with all proceeds going to the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, supporting sustainable agriculture, family farming, and culinary education.
Recent comparisons have Chipotle on the same innovation playing field as Apple. The fast-casual food chain is proving, just like Apple, that we want quality, and we’re willing to pay a premium for it.
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