Coffee Anyone?

In this world of ever

increasing commoditization,

key to winning the battle of

the marketplace is a clearly

differentiated (and better)

customer experience

Question: How is it that a person will spend over three dollars for a cup of coffee at a trendy coffee shop when that same cup of coffee could be enjoyed at an upscale hotel for two dollars and fifty cents, a casual restaurant for a buck and a half, a fast food place for a dollar, or in the comfort of your own home for a total cost of about twenty cents?

Answer: It’s not about coffee . . . it's about the customer experience!

Think about it. Regardless of what you are buying, your decision as per whom you buy it from is more dependent on the total value proposition (convenience, service experience, image, ambiance, trust, packaging, etc.) than it is about the product or price.

The same holds true for almost any product. Take financial products and services for example. You can get a mortgage, open an RRSP, or receive financial advice from any number of financial services providers ...and all for pretty much the same price. Why do you bank where you do?

Long gone are the days when all you had to do was build a better mousetrap and customers would beat a path to your door. Today, new and improved product and service offerings can be replicated by the competition in a matter of days, if not hours. Now, to get the customer to come to you, and stay with you, you must present a better total value proposition!

That is what customers are really buying and knowing what customers are really buying is key to selling more of it!

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If you would like to know more about how Wavemaker Consulting can help your company improve the customer experience you provide, visit our Website, or email us at wmconsulting@live.com

A Magic Formula For Thriving In Tough Times

I'm sure you all recognize this famous couple, but how much do you know about their history? Well let me tell you about it…



It all began in 1923 when an ambitious young man named Walt Disney arrived in Hollywood California with a big dream, a few sketches and $40 in his pocket. Soon thereafter, Walt convinced his brother Roy to join him and together they formed The Disney Brothers Studio using $200 Roy had saved, $500 borrowed from an uncle, and $2,500 contributed by their parents who mortgaged their house to come up with the funds! In no time, they hired a small staff and got down to the business.

For the first few years, Walt and Roy paid the rent and their staff by selling their early cartoons which were the original versions of “Alice in Wonderland” to M.J. Winkler, a New York film distributor. It wasn’t until early 1928 that Mickey Mouse, Disney’s best known creation was born.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

When the demand for the Alice series waned, Walt created a new character for Winkler named ‘Oswald the Lucky Rabbit’. Oswald’s popularity grew, and in the spring of 1928, Walt decided to go to New York to negotiate a higher price for the contract.

Unbeknownst to Walt, Charlie Mintz , Winkler’s husband, had recently engineered a hostile takeover of Walt’s operation, enticing most of his staff away with the promise of better money. What Walt also did not know was that according to the terms of the original contract, Charlie Mintz and Universal Pictures actually owned all legal rights to Oswald as well as the Alice series. Thinking he had the upper hand, Mintz demanded that Walt Disney give up his business and go to work for him. Walt refused and stormed out of his office to return to California with virtually nothing.

It was during the four day train ride home from that fateful meeting in New York that Mickey Mouse was born. Walt originally wanted to call the little guy Mortimer, but fortunately, Walt’s wife convinced him that Mickey would sound less formal. Likely prompted by that conversation, the creation of Minnie was soon to follow.

Walt completed Mickey’s first cartoon, "Plane Crazy." in record time, but likely intimidated by the Universal Pictures disputes, no distributor would buy it. Not one to quit, Walt produced a second silent Mickey cartoon, called "Gallopin' Gaucho" which was also a very tough sell.

If nothing but persistent, late in 1928, Walt Disney began work on his third Mickey Mouse cartoon, this time a talkie, entitled, "Steamboat Willie." The young man (now 26) invested everything he had left into the film. This time the investment paid off and Mickey and his leading lady Minnie became stars, and orders for more cartoons came flooding in.

All that said, Walt’s troubles were far from over. It was 1929 and looming on the horizon was the Great Depression. Fortunately by this time, Walt, Mickey and Minnie were no strangers to adversity. They not only knew how to manage it, but even how to turn it to their advantage. Laughter sold well during the dirty thirties… and well beyond!

So what was Mickey, Minnie and Walt's magic formula for thriving in tough times. It's simple really. For over 80 years they made people (customers) happy! And they still do.

To comment on this blog click on 'comments' below. To read previous articles, see the Blog Archive (lower right) and to become a Wavemaker Blogs follower, click on 'Follow' (just above Archive).

NEW: If you would like to be notified whenever a new Wavemaker blog topic is posted, just drop us an email at wmconsulting@live.com with "Blog Me" in the subject bar. We promise never to provide your contact details to anyone else and you can unsubscribe from this service at any time.

If you would like to know more about how Wavemaker Consulting can help your company improve the customer experience you provide, visit our Website, or email us at wmconsulting@live.com