Thanks for the Memories

What does your oganization do to let satisfied customers/audiences tell you about their satisfaction? We know that a personally meaningful experience - in the theatre, at the mall, or even on an airplane - results in postitive memories long after the immediate experience has ended. And, if the experience is really great, sometimes the customer would like to tell you so. Does your organization have a way to collect and share such praise? If you're like most organziations and companies, probably not. Many have complaint departments, but not gratitude departments.

I just learned about American Airlies program called Applause. They give frequent travelers who've reached "elite" status a set of preprinted cards - think instant Hallmark moment - to be given to employees who offer exemplary service. http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/applause.jsp

Who can i tell when I have a great experience at your performance or exhibition? We know that word of mouth is one of the best, and cheapest, marketing methods. Why not prompt people to give postive feedback in the moment, and capture their memory? This simple action might just bring them back for another meaningful experience.

Doing the "Right" Work

We often avoid the question of whether something is worth doing by going straight to the question of "How do we do it?" In fact, when we believe that something is definitely not worth doing, we're particularly eager to start asking How? We can examine what's worth doing on many levels - as individuals, organizations, families and communities. If we are truly committed to the pursuit of what matters, we might be well served to hold a moratorium on the question of How? It would force us to engage in conversations about "why we do what we do", as individuals and organizations.

Asking Why? will allow you and your organization to drill down to the core of what's worth doing. In addition, don't ask Why only once, ask 3 or 4 times. This will not be easy or comfortable work, but it's critical for staying necessary and relevant. In the race to do "more with less", asking Why just might allow you to do less because you are focused on what is deeply meaningful and valuable.

Excerpted from: The Answer to How is Yes, Peter Block.



What Laundry Detergent Can Teach Us About Winning Audiences

A couple of years ago the makers of Gain laundry detergent, Proctor & Gamble (P&G), were looking for a way to better engage and win customers. They used web and social media tools to launch a “Sniff Contest.”

They invited current and new Gain customers to purchase a bottle of detergent, open the cap, and sniff the scent. Then, customers were to visit the company’s website or Facebook page and write a brief story or upload a video about their experience with that bottle of detergent.

When I first heard about this request, I found it hard to believe that anyone would take the time to do this…for laundry detergent?

As it turns out, the campaign was wildly successful, resulting in over 300,000 stories, videos, and fans. P&G dubbed these people the “Gainiacs” and continues to engage them in a variety of ways to increase product sales.

Everybody loves to hear a good story. A powerful story is a critical tool for engaging and winning audiences – current and potential ticket buyers, class participants, board members, artists, and donors. 

I’ve attended many workshops where presenters tell nonprofits to develop clear, persuasive, and compelling stories about their work. However, few offer specific steps for doing so. My goal for this post is to provide a few tips to help you begin your journey of collecting and telling stories about your value.

Just like P &G, you can and must collect and create different stories for different listeners. One story will not resonate the same with everyone you want to communicate with. For example, parents will be motivated by different stories than senior citizens; and corporate donors may be motivated by different stories than individual donors.

Willie Pietersen, former CEO of Tropicana, says in his book, Strategic Learning, “Winning in business means winning in value. And, you can’t cure a value problem with cost reductions.”

For me, this quote describes the current state many nonprofit arts organizations face. We’re so busy looking for ways to cut costs and programming, that we’ve stopped working to define and communicate value. The overwhelming response to shrinking revenues is cost cutting.

While this strategy works for a while and keeps organizations in the black, what happens when there are no more funds to cut? What if we could get more proficient at communicating the value of what we do by collecting and creating stories about the personally meaningful engagement of ticket buyers, class participants, board members, artists and donors?

Here is a basic framework to get you started:

Compelling and persuasive stories must:

• Be Specific, but Universal – Identify a challenge or person that is widely identifiable.

• Name a Protagonist – Use a proper name when you can. Provide as many details about this person as possible.

• Provide Context – Describe the circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, or challenge.

• Identify a Challenge – What is the situation to be overcome? In what ways did your organization help?

• Describe the Action – Describe what action took place. How did the protagonist interact with your organization in valuable ways?

• Share the Results – What happened? How was the protagonist’s life changed by your organization? What do you want the listener to do?

• Document – Use photos, video and comments to demonstrate value for the protagonist. Share widely in print and electronic communication materials.

I’m convinced that if over 300,000 people will share stories about laundry detergent, your audiences will gladly tell stories about their experience with your arts programming.

You just need to make it easy for them to tell you.