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Hall of Fame

My happily-ever-after in business

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Quite some time ago I came across a brilliant book called ‘Mischief Marketing’ by Jean-Luc Ginder. While it was full of simple and often trivial advices, there was one thing that helped me make sure my business wasn’t boring… and that I wasn’t getting bored of it either.

One of the essentials for finding your happily-ever-after in business is to enjoy the process. Believe me, having a sense of enjoyment and excitement when it comes to your business is by far more important than your results in finance, marketing and management…however in saying that, before you get too comfortable, having impressive results definitely doesn’t hurt. At the end of the day, if you want to make your customers fall in love with your product/service, become the most devoted fan of your company first. Experiment with your business processes, play with design and constantly look for new ideas.

I have plenty of examples of New Zealand companies who stand out of the crowd. They offer experiences that no one else would offer. If you are going to Dunedin, have a cuppa in  the cosy and welcoming atmosphere at Modaks, the most popular hipster cafe. They have hundreds of old gig posters and Ryan Gosling pics instead of traditional table numbers 🙂modaks_2

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Hall of Fame

It’s never too early to learn barista skills

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Adler is such a star in the making. A 3 years old barista was discovered by the popular coffee blog from beanhunter.com While searching for the best coffee spots all over the world, they came across Bindle Coffee located in Fort Collins, Colorado.

According to their website, Bindle Coffee provides a space and environment that gives people room to breathe, to dream and to enjoy beautiful food & coffee. Bindle is the forging of artistry and ritual. It is restorative and comforting. And it is also adorable. Have a look at how Adler makes a decaf cappuccino under his dad’s supervision. So cute:)

You can also share your best coffee shops/cafes’ experiences using Beanhunter app. The video was made by Benjamin Dinsmore.

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If our life experiences are pointless without being broadcast over social media.

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blog_1January and February are peak travel periods for New Zealand. Can you guess what would be the most important daily routine in tour guiding work?  It is to ensure that tourists are able to charge their devices (cameras, mobile phones, etc). Why? Because they may want to cancel a scheduled tour if their devices are not ready to explicitly document their adventures. That is exactly what happened last year when my company’s clients called a whale watching tour off.

Some time ago I researched relationships between businesses and consumers on social media. One result that has come through vividly is that our consumption practices take on a new meaning in the digital age  – without being broadcast over social media, they are pointless. How does it apply to businesses?

Supporting consumers’ desire for self-presentation/expression has certain benefits for businesses, particularly when it comes to branding. For example, KiwiYo, a fast-growing chain of frozen desserts in New Zealand, blurs the line between its offline and online presence: photos taken by consumers in the cafe go to the company’s social media profiles in KiwiYo’s colorful promotional picture frames. KISS, an iconic American rock band, is famous for allowing their fans to display their photos on the stage jumbo screens, as well as on social media during the band’s performance. According to KISS’ website, they were the first band to experiment with “interactive concert photo experiences” (KISS debuts “KISS Liveshare”, 2010).

It seems logical to conclude that if business does not offer their consumers an opportunity for self-expression, then it might be wasting time on social media. In this respect, the ultimate goal for any business, regardless of industry, is to provide consumers with personalised experiences. Here is how:

  • Learn what makes consumers engage with a brand. There are numerous personal and professional reasons. Use this knowledge to change approaches to social media content and conversations.
  • Turn consumer-brand interactions into “red carpet” or “award ceremony” experiences by taking advantage of modern technologies in conjunction with social media.

(Piven, I. & Breazeale, M. (2016). A desperately seeking customer engagement: Five-Sources Model of brand consumption in social media community. In V. Benson, R. Tuninga, &  G. Saridakis (Eds.), Analyzing strategic role of social networking in firms growth and productivity. UK: IGI Global.)