I didn't see it coming. I hadn't heard the rumors. When I saw the LAST ISSUE banner atop the October issue, I thought it was a joke.
In fact, I had just responded to your request to continue our relationship... I had just sent in my subscription renewal. AND I chose the 2-year option, not just 1 year. I committed to you.
This is the worry of many a restaurant-chain marketer and operator (at least the ones that care). That the quality of appearance of actual prepared food won't live up to the results of the stylized food shots used to advertise it.
A website by Jeff Kay compares fast food restaurant advertising food shots with photos of the actual purchased food.
The most disappointing presentation is the ad vs. the real McDonald's Sausage Breakfast Burrito...
Ad
Actual
Although Arby's Beef 'n Cheddar is pretty sad as well...
Ad
Actual
It's funny sad. We really don't expect much more than you see here when we quickly buy and eat these foods.
Is the problem that the food photos promise too much? Or that the operators aren't making and serving the products properly? Or both?
Does your company under-deliver on its promise? Are you offering a version of reality doesn't match the promise?
Ah, the beauty of a good diagram. Picture = 1000 words.
We're familiar with the term 'return on investment' or ROI. Have you ever thought through the relationships of the elements that make up ROI? Neither have I.
Here is the chain of formulas that build the ROI equation:
ROI = Profits / Investment, and...
Profits = Sales x Margins, and...
Margins = Price - Cost
Take a look at this same relationship illustrated...
I'm almost excited about ROI when I view this diagram. I "get" it now. ROI isn't just about your PR budget as it relates to an increase in sales... You can see that margins, costs, and price are also factors.
It's not rocket science... but illustrated... ROI becomes something easier to grasp.
Use this example to break down and tackle challenges. Draw them. Don't worry, they needn't be fine art. Discover relationships between the parts.
Transforming your problem into pieces you can view and maneuver will help you reveal the solution.
Recently I needed technical support and acquired the phone number via the company's website. The support page featured an image of the woman below...
I'm pretty darn certain the scruffy sounding guy, with the thick Brooklyn accent wasn't her. Helpful, but not the "attractive woman" featured in the photo.
More times than not, I feel like I've been speaking with Greenie the Clown...
Is this false advertising? Where's the friendly looking person you featured on the website?
Fiction, I'm afraid.
Is there a chance that through phone support you would actually speak to any of these people below? Each of these actually represents a company's phone contact.
Check out that last person. There's no way she's dealing with customer issues for 9-hours a day using a pad and a laptop...
Perhaps we don't want to see the honest truth. Scores of people, trained to manage irate (and a couple of happy) customers, hidden in a maze of cubicles. Wires all around. "Number of Calls in Queue" LED display. Walls plastered with the support protocol, recall notices, and response time reminders...
Doesn't this - even a little bit - degrade the credibility of your business? Shouldn't you take a few minute to find a clean desk and take a photo of someone actually employed by you? (Or at least outsourced by you?) In addition to being authentic, it would probably improve the morale of the folks answering your phones as well.
An elevator pitch is that 30-second blurb you should have in your back pocket... at the ready for networking or expressing yourself clearly to your company's senior leadership.
To continue the discussion, I've made this the topic of the February Sand for Your Inbox eNewsletter.
If you would like to subscribe to "Sand for Your Inbox" (creativity and problem solving tips delivered to your inbox each month), click to subscribe!
Others riding the Elevator include...
David from Where's The Sausage asks what kind of movie would you create for your brand?
johnmoore at Brand Autopsy describes how the elevator pitch supports making a message sticky. Which leads us to...
Dan and Chip Heath hosting their "Made To Stick" blog agree that this type of story telling can engage your audience. (This site supports thier kick-ass book "Made to Stick").
It's important to have an "elevator speech." A 30-second summary of what you're working on to tell the boss... When meeting new people, a quick way to summarize the value of your company and what you do.
It can be challenging to boil down what you do into a short blurb... For inspiration, I suggest paying attention to the 30-second narrations at the beginning of TV shows.
At the start of each episode producers deliver the swift backstory and premise of the show. If this was our first viewing, we would understand what makes the show worth attention.
This is EXACTLY what you need for YOUR elevator pitch... What's your 30-second blurb? Your backstory that builds awareness of the premise of you (or your project, company, etc...) and lets me know why you're worth my attention?
For inspiration, here is the text... and some clips from some classic TV show "elevator pitches." I've put mine at the bottom of this page...
Read and listen to these as if they were your own backstory. Ask yourself... Is mine as engaging? Would it make your customers want to tune in week after week?
In 1972 a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit.
These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune.
If you have a problem. If no one else can help. And if you can find them. Maybe you can hire...
Doctor David Banner. Physician. Scientist. Searching for a way to tap into the hidden strength that all humans have.
Then an accidental overdose of gamma radiation alters his body chemistry.
And now when David Banner grows angry or outraged a startling metamorphosis occurs.
The creative is driven by rage and pursued by an investigative reporter*.
"Mr. McGee... don't make me angry... You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
The creature is wanted for a murder he didn't commit.
David Banner is believed to be dead, and he must let the world think that he is dead until he can find a way to control the raging spirit that dwells within him.
Problem Solver Paul Williams. Creative. Clever. Searching for a way to tap into the hidden strength that all humans have. (Imagination)
To boldly go where no brand has gone before!
WE have the technology.
We have the capability to make the world's best iconic brand.
Yours can be that brand. Better than it was before.
Better. Stronger. Faster.
If you have a problem. If no one else can help. And if you can find me. Maybe you can hire...
My name is Idea Sandbox.
Paul: This experience is going to make a great book.
I made that faux elevator pitch using lines from many of the TV shows...
*I never understood why David Banner was so afraid of the investigative reporter. I've worked with many reporters over the years. While they ask some tough questions - none of them have inspired me to flee from town to town...
Ever have information you need to present but just don't know how to organize it? Knowing a picture is worth a thousand words - something visual would be just the trick.
The recent "
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It's important to have an "elevator speech." A 30-second summary of what you're working on to tell the boss... When meeting new people, a quick way to summarize the value of your company and what you do.
