It was about 15 minutes into my first pedicure of the season, in prep for my beach vacation, when the Vietnamese woman doing my nails looked up at me and said, "Can I ask you a question?". She's a friendly woman, about my age, who more than half the times I treat myself to this indulgence, is the one who does my nails. So we've talked many times before. She knows I am originally from Canada, and has told me of her cousins who live there. So the way she asked the question caught me a little, and I thought it must be something personal. I listened.
"You know the show The Bachelor? I watch the show and they say something I don't know what it means. She say, 'I don't wear my heart on my sleeve'. I don't understand," she says as she motions with her chin to the sleeve of her blouse (her hands were in the basin at my feet). I explain it means the character is not openly showing her emotions, but rather keeping them in check. Her face lights up with a smile as she thanks me. I can see her working this new meaning around in her head, when she says, "It means she hides". Yes, that's right, I confirm.
A few minutes pass and she says, "I didn't know you were coming today, or I have lots of questions. I keep a list and write them down". I told her she can ask me anything, but she says she didn't bring her list, and continues on to say she doesn't feel she can ask most people her questions because she doesn't want to disturb them. I told her I would answer anything and not to worry about disturbing me.
As I sat in the massaging chair and watched my new nails take shape I thought about the notion of approachability and why someone would give off the air that they weren't, to someone like this who clearly just wanted to learn.
A few more minutes passed and she looked at me and said, "For me, speaking English I feel frustrating". I empathized and told her it's a very difficult and unapproachable language, especially when it comes to these strange colloquiallisms like wearing one's heart on a sleeve. Her smile and nod told me she didn't understand "colloquiallism" - and stupid me had no more accessible way of describing it.
She then asked me, "Are upset and frustrating the same or different"? I explained that, to me, "upset" means more like "sad", and "frustrating" can have a bit of "anger" in it - carefully choosing my words to be both meaninful but hopefully approachable to her. She smiled again and said, "Then to me, when I want to speak English and they can't understand I feel upset, not frustrating".
We had made a connection for sure. She thanked me for helping her. I thanked her too, for reminding me to stop and recognize how challenging an unapproachable world can be. And I resolved to continue to do my part to help change that.
curiosities and things worth wondering about brands + community
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Why does making something feel so good?
To make.
To bring into existence by shaping or changing material, combining parts, etc. To make a scarf; To make a work of art.
To produce, to cause to exist or happen, to bring about. To make war; To make love.
To cause to be or become. To make a new friend; To make someone happy.
To put in the proper condition or state, fix, prepare. To make a bed; To make a great pasta sauce.
That's the meaning behind it all, but what about the feeling behind it all? How GOOD does it feel to make a great dinner for someone after a long day? Or how about watching someone who's worked for a week on a new scarf pull that last stitch through? Or the new energy and new discoveries that come with making a new friend? Or making a great turn on your motorbike? Or making your way in a new city? Or making that tight deadline and still producing your best!
What about just making time for someone, to listen or talk. Or making time to coach and teach a new skill, or refine a tired old one? There's something sweet and special hidden in that very simple word, to "make". Pollyanna positive? Maybe.
But what's behind these positive emotions wrapped up in "make"? I've made it a point to observe this in friends and colleagues the past couple of weeks, in anticipation of this post. Here's what I've seen...
To some it's a sense of personal accomplishment.
To others it's a gift they give and feel good because of it.
To others it's a sense of self-expression, of definition almost.
To others it seems more about confidence, overcoming something they hadn't before. (this would be me, making anything that has instructions, directions, or requires tools of any sort).
Whatever the individual motivation, one thing I have observed for sure - making time, making things, making the grade when you haven't before - it's a power-packed little word with a lot of potential.
To bring into existence by shaping or changing material, combining parts, etc. To make a scarf; To make a work of art.
To produce, to cause to exist or happen, to bring about. To make war; To make love.
To cause to be or become. To make a new friend; To make someone happy.
To put in the proper condition or state, fix, prepare. To make a bed; To make a great pasta sauce.
That's the meaning behind it all, but what about the feeling behind it all? How GOOD does it feel to make a great dinner for someone after a long day? Or how about watching someone who's worked for a week on a new scarf pull that last stitch through? Or the new energy and new discoveries that come with making a new friend? Or making a great turn on your motorbike? Or making your way in a new city? Or making that tight deadline and still producing your best!
What about just making time for someone, to listen or talk. Or making time to coach and teach a new skill, or refine a tired old one? There's something sweet and special hidden in that very simple word, to "make". Pollyanna positive? Maybe.
But what's behind these positive emotions wrapped up in "make"? I've made it a point to observe this in friends and colleagues the past couple of weeks, in anticipation of this post. Here's what I've seen...
To some it's a sense of personal accomplishment.
To others it's a gift they give and feel good because of it.
To others it's a sense of self-expression, of definition almost.
To others it seems more about confidence, overcoming something they hadn't before. (this would be me, making anything that has instructions, directions, or requires tools of any sort).
Whatever the individual motivation, one thing I have observed for sure - making time, making things, making the grade when you haven't before - it's a power-packed little word with a lot of potential.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
What's behind taste and preference?
Are you a dramatic, exotic bird of paradise? A simple, happy daisy? Or a fine lacy heather? These three different flowers grow wild along the side of Quail Garden Road, and I get to enjoy them on my morning walks. Each beautiful in its own way, and oh so different. What makes someone prefer one over the other? I have a definate preference and I suspect most people do.
Line me up next to someone with the same background, same age, same gender, same career, same stage in life, and yet it's very likely we'd both pick a different flower. The choice of a preferred flower may be no big deal, but think about the places where the aesthetic of taste has big financial impacts. Line me and that person who appears so similar to me again and ask us to pick a car, a pair of shoes, a color of paint, or any numer of consumer goods and we'll behave like the individuals we are.
Each with our own sense of taste. Not just members of some demographic group (which of course we are), but individual people with our own personal taste and preference. So for product designers and communicators everywhere our jobs depend on an understanding of this illusive aesthetic of taste.
I'm left wondering about that illusive chicken and egg debate. Does something become popular when it's liked? Or is it liked because it's popular. That's a matter of taste I guess. For now, I'm enjoying my dramatic and exotic bird of paradise.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Will you take yours standard or do you prefer customized?
It's the age of the customer, and they are in control, right? Right. I've been reflecting this past week on the number of ways, opportunities, products and experiences impacted by that frame of reference. More often than not it shows up as an "either/or" equation. Take homebuilding for example ... it's EITHER the 300 home/market/year national builder OR the 65 home/market/year more regional builder. The differences get further explained like this. The national can build homes faster, often less expensively, with more standardization. The regional may take a little longer, be more open to adapting to buyer requests, and in some cases it may cost a little more. This comparison is courtesy of Matt Jones, partner of Sabal Homes, as quoted in the January issue of BUILDER magazine. See page 147.
There are degrees of black, white and grey in this comparison for sure, as some of the best builders in the country are wrestling with. Whatever the space, or industry product-based comparisons are easier to identify than some others. But they are everywhere...
Take services. It's always peeved me as a client when requesting a proposal or an overview of services to be provided by an ad or PR agency when I get a templated response to a request. {Pull out last proposal with standard language and insert new potential client name here}. Ok, so it's just the start of the relationship, and it may result in zero new business, but show me you care, and that you want to dance baby! Show me a little interest and understanding of my unique problem or business opportunity. Show me you can customize your approach in this first moment of truth. I'm not saying give it all away, but don't just show me the standard. That's just boring, and easy. It's not an "either/or". Just like the homebuilder example, there are shades of grey.
Take medicine. My brother the pharmacist has drilled the importance of "evidence-based drug therapy" into my brain. So in medicine the paradigm would be follow the protocol (standardize) or personalize (customize) the care for the patient. That could get tough. Every human body is different and will react to the most tried, tested and true drug therapy differently, but the theory is the protocol gives physicians and pharmacists a place to start.
So maybe that's it - standard is just a place to start. It's a repository of knowledge and learning. Trial and error, and evolution over time. It could be the sweet spot visible only if you can embrace the ramped up, customer-driven speed of evolution.
There are degrees of black, white and grey in this comparison for sure, as some of the best builders in the country are wrestling with. Whatever the space, or industry product-based comparisons are easier to identify than some others. But they are everywhere...
Take services. It's always peeved me as a client when requesting a proposal or an overview of services to be provided by an ad or PR agency when I get a templated response to a request. {Pull out last proposal with standard language and insert new potential client name here}. Ok, so it's just the start of the relationship, and it may result in zero new business, but show me you care, and that you want to dance baby! Show me a little interest and understanding of my unique problem or business opportunity. Show me you can customize your approach in this first moment of truth. I'm not saying give it all away, but don't just show me the standard. That's just boring, and easy. It's not an "either/or". Just like the homebuilder example, there are shades of grey.
Take medicine. My brother the pharmacist has drilled the importance of "evidence-based drug therapy" into my brain. So in medicine the paradigm would be follow the protocol (standardize) or personalize (customize) the care for the patient. That could get tough. Every human body is different and will react to the most tried, tested and true drug therapy differently, but the theory is the protocol gives physicians and pharmacists a place to start.
So maybe that's it - standard is just a place to start. It's a repository of knowledge and learning. Trial and error, and evolution over time. It could be the sweet spot visible only if you can embrace the ramped up, customer-driven speed of evolution.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
DR Horton's authentic, personal follow-up ... there IS hope!
Just got a call back to a customer information card I filled out when visiting DR Horton's Alegria model in Palm Desert in November. It was the first EVER call back I've received after completing one of those forms in a model home. True story. And you can bet I have visited and shopped hundreds (ok, so I don't always) give a real number but most times I do.
Imagine my surprise when my iPhone rings, it's a 760 number that I don't recognize, and I answer it to be greeted with, "Hello Teri?". This is the first clue that it's potentially a sales call - the caller is tentative about my name. I go with it. Yes, it's me.
Marcie from DR Horton deserves huge kudos for sensing my pace and matching it. She had unapologetic confidence but played to her customer - me. Her first statement was "You visited us a while back. Now, I wasn't here when you came in, but you work for a builder as well right?" Wow. Not exactly, I work for Newland, a developer, but I am seriously impressed that she says she wasn't there, but is taking the time today to make a connection with me. Now I am listening.
She proceeded to ask me if I am looking to purchase a second home. I told her we were just beginning, when if I am totally truthful it's more likely that we were curious about the new product being put up in a development that stalled just as the housing recession caused so much grief. In any event, I tell Marcie yes, we are just in the early stages, not sure what our real plans are. Not missing a beat, or getting desperate, or trying to close me when that's clearly not my intent, Marcie is a pro.
She again acknowledges when we were there by saying, "I think when you were out we had just started on our new phase. Now it is much further along and we'd love to have you back out to visit us again." That was her ask, subtle, and related to the specific timing and phase of construction of the project when I last visited. She continues and tells me if I am interested there is still time to select flooring in these units, and DR Horton has added some nice upgrades.
No pressure, just acknowledgement. I thanked her, and hung up feeling that was a great exchange. It may seem small, but here are the take aways from me that Marcie delivered:
And for those so inclined, Alegria is a very cool single-family attached product with great amenities already in, located just off I-10 at Cook, and Frank Sinatra in Palm Desert. Comfortable floorplans, high level of fit and finish and well-priced. Check it out. Great job Marcie, thanks for a fabulous follow-up experience.
Imagine my surprise when my iPhone rings, it's a 760 number that I don't recognize, and I answer it to be greeted with, "Hello Teri?". This is the first clue that it's potentially a sales call - the caller is tentative about my name. I go with it. Yes, it's me.
Marcie from DR Horton deserves huge kudos for sensing my pace and matching it. She had unapologetic confidence but played to her customer - me. Her first statement was "You visited us a while back. Now, I wasn't here when you came in, but you work for a builder as well right?" Wow. Not exactly, I work for Newland, a developer, but I am seriously impressed that she says she wasn't there, but is taking the time today to make a connection with me. Now I am listening.
She proceeded to ask me if I am looking to purchase a second home. I told her we were just beginning, when if I am totally truthful it's more likely that we were curious about the new product being put up in a development that stalled just as the housing recession caused so much grief. In any event, I tell Marcie yes, we are just in the early stages, not sure what our real plans are. Not missing a beat, or getting desperate, or trying to close me when that's clearly not my intent, Marcie is a pro.
She again acknowledges when we were there by saying, "I think when you were out we had just started on our new phase. Now it is much further along and we'd love to have you back out to visit us again." That was her ask, subtle, and related to the specific timing and phase of construction of the project when I last visited. She continues and tells me if I am interested there is still time to select flooring in these units, and DR Horton has added some nice upgrades.
No pressure, just acknowledgement. I thanked her, and hung up feeling that was a great exchange. It may seem small, but here are the take aways from me that Marcie delivered:
- She knew me: when I was out to visit, where I work, and that I own a home.
- She made an offer that related to me, not her: If I am interested I can still select flooring
- She listened: No pushines, no threat to call back later, just clear, pleasant exchange of information
And for those so inclined, Alegria is a very cool single-family attached product with great amenities already in, located just off I-10 at Cook, and Frank Sinatra in Palm Desert. Comfortable floorplans, high level of fit and finish and well-priced. Check it out. Great job Marcie, thanks for a fabulous follow-up experience.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Sea of sameness - "jaded is the new stoned"
I drove out to Palm Desert today to see my parents who are in town on vacation from Vancouver (escaping a wet winter). Meant I missed my STAR 123 chapter motorcycle ride, sadly. So I drive along the 215, which then turns into the 60, in the heart of Riverside County, trying to stay awake. You know that whiplash feeling? Head drops, snaps back, drops again? So I cranked the music, and the A/C and kept drinking cold water.
This area is home to multiple new home communities and builder subdivisions, and with the IBS show coming up this week in Florida, and predictions from many of my favorite market researchers that this year will be the uptick we all hoped the middle of 2010 would bring, I paid more attention to the billboards and directional signage than on previous drives along this stretch. Or, maybe it was another technique to stay awake - keep reading.
Wow. And not in a good way. Cover the logo, or the company name (out of respect, names are withheld to protect the innocent) and most every sign out there said something like, "Own from the low $200s" ... or "Own in the desert from the low $200s" ... or "Brokers welcome, new homes from the low $200s". Sure doesn't make me want to take the next exit and see what all the fuss is about. Or give me any reason to think there would be anything particularly compelling or meaningful if I did.
As I thought about this, and the observations made by many other than I that new home sales has become not much more than selling a commodity, I thought about one of many killer lines in Youngme Moon's book, Different that I finished last weekend - "Jaded is the new stoned". Maybe so. But if this is the kind of compelling call to action our customers face when trying to make a decision to buy, they might just all wish they all were.
I'm going to give us all a pass. It's been a tough few years in real estate and perhaps it will take a while for the creativity to rise from the ashes like we hope the economy does. One things for sure, there's lots of white space there for those with the passion and energy to grab it. KC and team?
This area is home to multiple new home communities and builder subdivisions, and with the IBS show coming up this week in Florida, and predictions from many of my favorite market researchers that this year will be the uptick we all hoped the middle of 2010 would bring, I paid more attention to the billboards and directional signage than on previous drives along this stretch. Or, maybe it was another technique to stay awake - keep reading.
Wow. And not in a good way. Cover the logo, or the company name (out of respect, names are withheld to protect the innocent) and most every sign out there said something like, "Own from the low $200s" ... or "Own in the desert from the low $200s" ... or "Brokers welcome, new homes from the low $200s". Sure doesn't make me want to take the next exit and see what all the fuss is about. Or give me any reason to think there would be anything particularly compelling or meaningful if I did.
As I thought about this, and the observations made by many other than I that new home sales has become not much more than selling a commodity, I thought about one of many killer lines in Youngme Moon's book, Different that I finished last weekend - "Jaded is the new stoned". Maybe so. But if this is the kind of compelling call to action our customers face when trying to make a decision to buy, they might just all wish they all were.
I'm going to give us all a pass. It's been a tough few years in real estate and perhaps it will take a while for the creativity to rise from the ashes like we hope the economy does. One things for sure, there's lots of white space there for those with the passion and energy to grab it. KC and team?
Friday, December 31, 2010
What are they saying? Or not...
How many vacant letters of recommendation have you read, or Linkedin endorsements have you received updates about that say nothing? Social media is opening up the floodgates of information about peers, colleagues and employees (notwithstanding my current employer’s social media policy that prohibits such behavior). But judging by the recommendations and referrals I’ve seen lately, it’s not much more than a bigger sea of sameness and genericism.
Now that performance review time is upon us again, I pride myself on taking the time to actually think about the individual whose performance I am charged with reviewing, and to write comments and feedback that could ONLY be for that particular individual. Anything less is a cop out in my opinion and not worth my or their time. Same goes for referrals and recommendations. What is the point of?
Recommender #1
“NAME has tremendous expertise in the sales and marketing of new homes and large-scale master planned communities. NAME’S knowledge of sales and marketing programs is undeniable, and NAME’S reputation within the industry in unparalled.”
Or, for the same individual…
Recommender #2
“NAME’S experience is unsurpassed.”
Seriously?
Undeniable. Unsurpassed. Unparalleled. NAME must be amazing… but I learned nothing new to help inform a decision from these adjective-laden posts. Too bad NAME’S reviewers couldn’t provide one tangible reason why. It seems to me that if you are going to take the time to provide a referral or write a review, your time is best spent going back to basics. What are the specifics about your experience with that particular individual and the tangible examples of their greatness? The proliferation of information channels makes that even more important. If I am reading 12 recommendations about NAME, why not be the one who took the time to actually SAY something?
Maybe it's just a personal pet peeve, but I'm over "Unparalleled, unsurpassed, and undeniable" with no substance behind it. Sigh... we're all marketers at heart I suppose. But even in the world of referrals and recommendations great marketing stands out from the rest of the pack.
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