Brand Thinking
You WILL have unhappy customers
Words of wisdom, and advise, from the always brilliant Bernadette Jiwa of The Story of Telling:
The unhappy customer lays his story at our feet, and we hastily pick it up, place it on our shoulders and carry it around with us. Yes, sometimes our products or services fall short, sometimes we get it wrong even when we’re doing our best.
Take responsibility for your mistakes and fix the things you can fix—while remembering there are some things you have no way of making good. You are not obliged to own the weight of your customer’s circumstances or worldview. You have an obligation to get back on track for the other ninety-nine customers you hope to serve and delight. Some of the greatest lessons unhappy customers can teach us are not about improving systems, processes and logistics, which in the end are easily fixed. The important learnings are about ourselves, and our resilience and determination to do good work and make a difference to the people we get the chance to serve again tomorrow and the day after that.
Photo by Don Agnello on Unsplash
Little plastic pizza table has its own tiny chairs
This summer in parts of Canada folks opened their boxes to find the classic plastic pizza-portector ‘tables’ paired with miniature patio chairs on top of their pizza. The tiny seats are precisely scaled-down reproductions of actual outdoor furniture sets, and have been 3D-printed using food safe materials.
Branding design by John St. see more of their fine work here>>
Media out of balance
Via Seth Godin:
Successful media (let’s define ‘successful’ as media that can make a difference, make a connection and possibly make a living) has four elements:
Attention
Enrollment
Trust and
Permission
Too often, particularly online, people just worry about the first one.
It’s a race to go viral, to go low, to make a bunch of noise. The quick hit, the shortcut, the inflammation.
But attention is insufficient.
Enrollment means that your audience wants to go where you’re going.
Trust earns you the benefit of the doubt.
And permission means you don’t have to begin from scratch every time. You’ve earned some attention. The privilege of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages over time.
Photo by Rachael Crowe on Unsplash
Bonnie’s rules for being a better client
Bonnie Siegler has more than 60 in her delightful new book! Here are my favorites:
White space is your friend
No, you can’t watch us work
Be open to things you didn’t imagine
Be confident, not arrogant
Nothing takes a second
Don’t be rude
Tell me the problem, not the solution
Decide who will decide
Have clarity of purpose
Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash
Scientific problem solving & your Brand
The next time you have to break down a problem, consider using George Heilmeier’s method for solving research challenges:
- What are you trying to do? Articulate your objectives using absolutely no jargon.
- How is it done today, and what are the limits of current practice?
- What is new in your approach and why do you think it will be successful?
- Who cares? If you are successful, what difference will it make?
- What are the risks?
- How much will it cost?
- How long will it take?
- What are the mid-term and final “exams” to check for success?
(via John Maeda)
