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Hi, I’m Kevin Coupe and this is FaceTime with the Content Guy.
I love a metaphor. Always have.
I’m with the late, great Robert B. Parker, who once wrote, “Life is mostly metaphor.” And yes, I know I’ve quoted that line before. Doesn’t matter. It still resonates, and I’m probably going to go on quoting Parker until I drop.
Anyway, here’s today’s metaphor.
Last weekend, Mexico City had an earthquake. A small one, but it registered on the city’s seismic sensors.
But it wasn’t a natural earthquake. The experts who pay attention to such things said it was generated in an “artificial manner.”
Like, by people jumping up and down. Many people. Jumping a lot.
You see, the earthquake happened right after the Mexican men’s national soccer team had scored a goal against powerhouse Germany in their group-stage match at the World Cup … a goal that stood up as Mexico managed a huge 1-0 upset against Germany.
It is hard for me to imagine what that must’ve been like - I’ve been through a couple of earthquakes, and the idea that amass of humanity could create a facsimile of one is extraordinary.
It is, however, a great metaphor for the power of the customer.
Now, more than ever, consumers have the ability to create earthquakes that can put some companies into business, and destroy others. Sometimes it’ll be fair, and sometimes not … but it doesn’t matter, because consumers have the power and access to all the technologies that give them vast ways in which to express it and make it felt.
Some retailers say they’re consumer-centric … actually, a lot of them say it, but not all of them mean it. Some don’t even comprehend the degree to which the world has changed.
It is really simple, though not easy to achieve. You have to know what your customer wants and needs, through actionable data that can even give you a sense of where they’re going next week, next month, next year. That is going to mean different things to different businesses, and that knowledge will be expressed in different ways.
But know this. The land upon which you are standing may seem stable … but you’re just one earthquake away from a life-altering experience. It may well be your customers who will cause that earthquake, which means you need to have them on your side.
The best way to do that? Prove to them every minute of every day that you are on their side.
That’s what’s on my mind this morning, and, as always, I want to hear what is on your mind.
- KC's View:
