Author: whatifconcepts

Empowering those that inspire so they can excel at the work that matters.

The Power of Holding the Spotlight
Spain

The power of those who stand behind the spotlight and direct its illuminations is an often under appreciated.  A powerful beam of light attracts attention and the shadow it casts can be even more expansive.  So many causes scramble to be in the spotlight.  They want the local paper to write more articles on their amazing work.  Enterprises wish to be profiled in the Visitor Bureau’s marketing materials.  Consider the opportunity to change the paradigm.  What if the community comes to your door to help draw attention to their initiatives.

Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. ~ Warren Buffett

You Must See…
Font màgica de Montjuïc

When guests come to visit, what sight do you take them to first?  When a friend asks for a recommendation for a restaurant, what is the one place you know will not disappoint?  If you were throwing a dinner party, who is the one person you would invite to make it perfect evening?  Asked for recommendations, we are converging our personal reputation with that of an enterprise or place.  How passionately are your fans recommending your cause?  How often are new visitors telling you that a friend or colleague insisted they visit.  Do you have a marketing plan that is more powerful than a personal recommendation and word of mouth?  Upon reflection, dedicating some resources to those who recommend us might be the most powerful investment.

Standing Out
Barcelona Bus Turistic (Image)
Barcelona City Tour (Image)

Can you see the difference between these two city tour bus services?  They have the same price structure, run the same routes (in different directions), make the same stops, supply the same audio options, provide the same hop-on-off service, and each has an automatic canopy to cover the top deck when it rains.  Which one would you choose?

I would suggest this is a classic example where people matter.  When I rode one of these lines, the greeter was inattentive about our request for ear buds, the driver stopped twice for a smoke break, and we were all told to disembark at 8:00 PM, apparently closing time.  Maybe both services hire from the exact same group of candidates.  But I would argue that these individuals are clearly fluent in at least four languages and skilled providing customer service (or avoiding it).  In a country where unemployment is reaching 20% a job is not easy to find.  If one of these bus services created a culture of fun, empowerment, and appreciation for its team members it would swamp the other with the limiting factor being the number of seat available.  People matter.  These two bus services have proved that it is easy to copy features but more difficult to foster a community.

Scale
McDonald’s Restaurant US Store Locations

If you think you can win on price or location, make sure you are measuring the right competition.  McDonald’s restaurant chain has better national coverage than most mobile phone providers.  If you are getting into the fast food business it is best to understand scale.  If you are so unique that people will come to your location then scale is significantly less important.  Think how Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream got its start.