Observation Day 6: I never knew I wanted vintage butter dish

Observation: Hundreds of people braving biting winds and an early weekend morning to trawl through piles, tables, racks and stacks of stuff at a car boot sale.

Somehow, most people end up walking away with something they never knew they wanted. In my case, a vintage butter dish. Asking people why they loved it, they responded that it is the prospect of a bargain, the joy of finding something to add to their collection, the amusement of finding so many strange things and the slightly voyeuristic interest in seeing people's lives on sale.

There is so much to take from this simple experience - from the raving fans that hunt for years for their favourite pieces, the creation of a satisfying and inspiring hunt for a bargain and the creative inspiration that comes from the unexpected.

For now, I'll focus on one opportunity, the notion of creating a delightful rummage.

Opportunities:

- Create a virtual rummage sale. Each page is 50-100 images (a cross between google images with iPhone functionality). People can quickly scan what is available, maybe location limited, click through to price, live text-haggling and standard buy-now facilities.

- Create a virtual job-lot / car boot dump (maybe in addition to the above). People literally dump the contents of what they have to sell, take a pic, people get to 'rummage' through the images, tag what they are interested in and live-chat or email to finalise the purchase.

- Marketing idea - if you have a strong brand that people re-sell or trade, be it jeans or memorabilia, why not create a virtual meet-up or a virtual flash-sale for them all to meet and trade?

how to touch the untouchable?

Is your customer hard to get to, let alone have a conversation with?

Well...why are you trying to have a conversation with them?

Why should they listen?

Maybe it is us who should be doing the listening. To what they have to say.

Mack Collier (@mackcollier) recently shared that Dell customers would be willing to pay more to get better service. An interesting finding for a highly price driven category. Kraft listened when the public told them that the name for the new version of the iconic Australian brand Vegemite, iSnack 2.0, stunk and killed the name in 4 days. As a result both brands have gained much positive media exposure for the way they listened to customers.

Maybe your customer (or potential customer) is not untouchable, they merely expect you to get to know them a little better first?

Flickr photo credit: Verces300

blinded by focus

Focus is absolutely required to achieve, as many sayings, both cliched and powerful tell us. It makes intuitive sense, in fact, it just feels better when you can focus on one thing.

Yet recently I realised that absolute focus can cause absolute blindness to all other things. Ok, sometimes that proves useful (shaving might be one of those moments). But what if by focusing we miss better ways to do things along the way, a better idea or even a great big STOP sign?

What are you missing through focus? Have you taken a moment, even a minute, to pause, talk to others, think about something else or simply go for a walk? It's amazing the clarity a little unfocused time can give you.

Hurrah for holidays...

Flickr photo credit: Bracketing Life

simple inspiration

Delving into the stack of books in the dying-to-read-when-I-make-the-time pile, I was flicking through the second Love-marks book when I came across a really powerful statement that resonates with me both as a business owner and a brand-professional.

“I am not interested in competing, I’m interested in making a contribution.”
Horst Rechelbacker – founder Aveda.

So much hype goes into watching, analysing others. Often seeking to emulate others’ successes. But the brands which have true meaning are exactly that – they focus on their meaning, purpose and customers – sod the rest. The rest can follow if they want to.

Why focus all your energy on where your energy on your competitors when you could be focusing all of your energy on where you brand and business want to be.

The most iconic brands are not revered for their competitive ability (although an important tactical advantage), they are revered for their place and contribution to people’s lives.

(4 Jan, 2009)