Design

MANAGING CUSTOMERS | What’s Your Etched Fly?

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The most compelling speaker at the SMG Forum this year was easily Frances Frei. She was engaging, funny, challenging, and thought-provoking. One of the points she made that stuck with me is to learn how to manage your customers for mutual benefits. She went on to illustrate this point with a very concrete and memorable story.

At the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, they were having a tough time managing customer behavior, specifically males going to the bathroom. The men's restrooms were filthy, and the airport authorities determined the constant uncleanliness was due to a lack of consistent aim into the urinals.

Their first solution was to put signs that said, "Focus." I love when leaders try to solve problems with signs. The Department of Motor Vehicles in Missouri has turned this into a fine art. Sadly, the signs did not work. Next, they came up with the brilliant idea of giving guys something to aim for, and they created an etched fly on the porcelain.

Instantly the cleanliness of the washrooms improved. Don't mandate the behavior you want from your customers. Find the etched fly that will naturally drive the behavior you're looking for.

WHAT OTHER EXAMPLES HAVE YOU SEEN OF "ETCHED FLIES" THAT DROVE CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR? Leave your observations in the comments below.

FROM THE BAD SIMILE FILES | Technology is Like a Train

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Yesterday, I sat through a webinar about how technology could improve our business. One of the speakers boldly stated, "Technology is like a train. It's hard to stop, and once it leaves the station, you can't catch it." This image may have worked for the presenter, but he lost credibility with me by illustrating the power of innovation with such an "old school" image. After all, there hasn't been any innovation with the railroads since they decided to leave the caboose off the lagging end. It's like comparing technology to the buggy whip.

The second flaw with the simile was with the explanation, "Once it leaves the station, you can't catch it." I know trains can move fast, but I generally picture them going fairly slow, especially when they are leaving the station. Just think how many movie scenes there are where someone runs to catch the train, and usually makes it.

And finally, one of the most challenging things about dealing with technology is trying to figure out where it's headed. I can't think of anything more predictable than the path a train is headed down. You know the schedule, and the tracks pretty clearly map out where it's going to go.

What bad similes and metaphors have you heard? What would you compare technology to more accurately? Or more absurdly? Share your thoughts in the comments.