Page 15 - GBC spring 2016

Every chance I got, in front of every corporate audience I spoke to, I told people about it. A few months later, I returned to the hotel (without any advance warning) and when I got to my room, there was a note thanking me for positive mentions, Diet Coke and BBQ chips (my favourite snacks) on the table, 20 shampoos in the bathroom (love the humour), and a picture of me with our two dogs in a silver frame on the bedside table. Compare that to a photocopied letter from the general manager that says “Dear guest...”
It is not a question of budget. It is not a question of strategy. It is not a question of leadership. It’s simply a question of whether you have the genuine desire to connect with someone or not. If you do, the information is all out there. Don’t just know it. Use it.
BE HONEST
In the Expression Economy, people are starved for time. Winning orga- nizations are the ones that consumers trust. If I trust you, I don’t have follow up. Trust means I don’t have to check my bill. Trust means I don’t have to ask around, feel buyer’s remorse, or wonder if I’m getting scammed. Trust means I can spend more time on the stuff that interests me and less time on the stuff that doesn’t.
No surprise, but trust starts with honesty. Every. Single. Time. Consumers want to do business with brands (and individuals) that are open, honest, and transparent.
Take another look at Volkswagen. That brand was admired. Then they lied, broke the trust, and lost an estimated $10 billion in brand value after the emission scandal. Penalties and fines in the billions will follow. I’m not sure if they’ll ever get the trust back. After all, “qual- ity of product” used to be the most important variable in determining trustworthy brands. Now it’s #2. The most important variable - more important than the quality of the product itself - is how the brand communicates with people.
It’s not like there’s a ton of hidden scandals in the golf industry. Most people in this business are trustworthy and are honest. But it goes beyond simply not lying. It’s an approach that acknowledges that most of us aren’t as critical in our customers’ lives as we think we are.
The second last line of every commercial in Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man in the World cam- paign is, “I don’t always drink beer but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis.” Normally, beer companies would wander into hyperbole to say something like, “Either it’s Dos Equis or it’s nothing!” It might be more confident but it’s just not honest. That’s not how people buy or consume beer. That’s not how people make decisions.
Be honest. You’ll always remember what you said.
SOLVE THE PROBLEM
James Dyson was always frus- trated with drying his hands in public washrooms. I’m sure many of you experienced it. You’d wash your hands and put them under the under- performing hand dryer before giving up and wiping them on your pants. Millions around the world simply put up with it be- cause there was no other option. In the grand scheme of things, it was a tiny and insignificant problem... until Dyson solved it. Then it was glorious.
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