Customer Experience

April Fools' Day for email Marketing

Clearing out my inbox tonight, I discovered a few brilliant email marketing campaigns. The first was from Houlihan's anouncing their Scratch and Sniff menu.

The link takes you to this clever Instagram video.

The second email was from Bonobos.

Which takes you to this highly produced parody video.

Finally, wearable technology that fits your life. Learn more at http://bonobos.com/techstyle. Video by http://binderynyc.com

Well played email marketers. Well played.

Run Your Business as if...

I just started listening to Gary Hamel's What Matters Now, and I loved the following advice he gives to graduating MBA students.

I tell them assume that the following things are true:

  1. Your widowed mother has invested her life savings in your company. She's the only shareholder, and that investment is her only asset. Obviously, you'll do everything you can to make sure she has a secure and happy retirement. That's why the idea of sacrificing the long-term for a quick payout would never occur to you.
  2. Your boss is an older sibling. You'll always be respectful, but you won't hesitate offer frank advice when you think it's warranted, and you'll never suck up.
  3. Your employees are childhood chums. You'll always give them the benefit of the doubt and will do whatever you can do smooth their path. When needed though, you'll remind them that friendship is a reciprocal responsibility, and you'll never treat them as "human resources."
  4. Your children are the company's primary customers. You'll want to please and delight them. That means you'll go to the mat with anyone who suggests you should deceive them or take advantage of them. You'll never exploit a customer.
  5. You're independently wealthy. You work because you want to, not because you have to, so you will never sacrifice your integrity for a promotion or a glowing performance review. You'll quit before you'll compromise.

These assumptions if acted upon will help nourish the seeds of stewardship in your business life and by example in the lives of others.

Sarcastic SOUTHWEST Culture

Southwest Airplane - Icon of a brilliant sarcastic culture As a family, we fly Southwest exclusively. I'm sure my kids will be confused the first time they have to board a regular airline. I can hear their questions:

"What you mean I have to sit in this assigned seat?"

Well, this airline feels like they must maintain greater control, and in doing so it greatly slows down the boarding process. Like a lot of things in life, the more you try to control it the less you actually do.

"Why is there no room for my carry-on bags?"

Because this airline charges $25 to check a bag, so it incents passengers to bring their bags on the plane, but they don't have enough room for everyone to bring their bag on the plane, so they slow the departure even more by having to check the bags of the last few people on the plane.

In addition to the great service, we enjoy the people who work for Southwest. They are fun. Flying to New Hampshire for a family vacation, we had a layover in Chicago and had to change planes. As we were exiting our first plane, I overheard our pilot being greeted by the pilot of the next crew. "You're late," he said with a giant smirk.

Our pilot looks at his wrist in an exaggerated manner and replies, "You better check your watch because I'm actually 10 minutes early."

And then here's the part that hit me. The first pilot says, "I'm Terry," and the two shake hands like men who have admired each other's work for years and are finally meeting for the first time. They were two pilots who didn't even know each other, and their greeting started in a sarcastic exchange. That speaks volumes for the Southwest culture, and why I LUV Southwest.