In my last post: Changing the Rules of Engagement, I challenged readers with the notion that business can no longer grow and thrive by simply being the best at their game as they once could. Today, winning requires the ability (and courage) to change the rules of the game completely. Innovation must be so radical that the competition is left scratching their heads.
Understanding the premise and delivering on it are two different things however. Radical innovation and game-changing shifts in how businesses operate requires radical action and game-changing shifts within the organization; action that many leaders, stakeholders and employees simply don’t have the courage to implement.
This is the first in a new series of posts that will set forth challenges for businesses looking to change the rules of the game in their industries. However, before any discussion of tactical changes in business functions can be had, we must look at changing an underlying business philosophy; one so critical to the process that if you cannot muster the courage to change it, you might as well forget the rest.
Stop focusing on profit
Yes, you read that right. Stop focusing on profit. A singular focus on profit generation, the underlying practice in most enterprises today (heck, since the beginning of time really), creates a myopic view of the playing field, thus making it impossible to truly change.
Those of you who have heard my rants about “profit not being a four-letter word” in social media marketing know I’m a firm believer in the concept of profit, so why the apparent turnaround? Well, it’s not really a contradiction but a rethinking of the path to achieving it.
Profit is – and will always be – the main reason for a business however, in practice achieving it can be less linear. Social and technological changes, as well as increasing competition from a shrinking global marketplace have made innovation almost a commodity. Product innovation is not enough anymore.
Focus on the generation of profit leads leaders to work within industry standards, leverage past experiences, use formulaic relationship management practices. In short, very logical, one-plus-one=two thinking. Rules are logical so changing the rules of a game inherently requires non-logical thinking. Non-logical thinking requires a business to think with its heart and not its mind.
Become a Passion Brand
It’s about transforming your brand from a product or service provider to a brand of passion. Change the “why” in why people choose your product. Do you choose clothing to keep warm or to make a statement about your mood, your style or your personality? Clothing certain ly has utilitarian (logical) functions (such as the need to keep warm) but you have choices in the items you choose to keep you warm. Your choice – consciously or subconsciously – then becomes about your emotional needs.
A passion brand is one that transcends the utilitarian use of its product(s) and becomes part of the customers’ lifestyle. Emotionally, your brand must become synonymous with how the public perceives their personality…how they wish to enjoy their lives. It must appeal to all their senses, not just their logical needs.
The Smells, Sights and Sounds…of a Bank?
One of the best case studies I’ve come across is Umpqua Bank, based in Portland Oregon. A regional bank, it sought to change its fortunes by transforming itself into a passion brand like Apple or Starbucks. So it asked itself: what does a bank smell like? What should it sound like? What taste should it have? Clearly, non-logical questions to ask of a bank yet required thinking for those wishing to change the rules of the game. And in so doing, it went on to completely transform what a bank means to a community.
- Art directors have created mini-museums in each bank to showcase and sell artwork from local artisans.
- Umpqua’s Music Director curates local indie-artist’s music through the banks public speakers and gives their customers the chance pick their favorite music at in-branch kiosks (top vote-getters become part of the bank’s year end compilation CD)
- Each teller is equipped with a personal cappuccino machine featuring Costa Rica, fair trade sourced Umpqua-branded coffee
- Employees hand each customer a box of Umpqua chocolates after each transaction add to the complete sensory experience of banking.
- Each night, the bank reopens for a few hours to serve as a community center for book clubs, civic groups, etc.
Smell, Sound, Touch, Taste. It’s not banking, it’s personal.
Each tactic is an expense to the business; contrary to focus-on-profit thinking, which creates a “where do we cut costs” mentality instead of a “how do we improve the customer experience” mentality. In choosing a non-logical path to profit, they reinvent the banking rules.
Umpqua Bank changed the public’s perception of what a bank is. It made the bank a part of the customers’ lifestyles not just their bill payments.
Being directed by customer experience instead of profits made them a profitable bank. The once regional bank has actively expanded its market to include Vancouver, Washington, Seattle, San Francisco and many other cities across North America.
Becoming a passion brand requires the courage to risk profit in order focus on the customer experience and change the rules of engagement. Do you have that courage?
Let me know your thoughts on this concept. Is passion fleeting? Are such cases exceptions or the new reality of business success?
Related: Stop Measuring Customer Service
Sam Fiorella – Sensei
Feed Your Community, Not Your Ego
Feed Your Community, Not Your Ego
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