Patience isn’t only a virtue, it is a differentiator

Patience in practice.

I am not a patient person.

I want what I want when I want it. Not unlike a two-year old.

The scary thing is that I am not in the minority. Yep, I’m in the majority. And, quelle surprise,  so are you.

Me?

Yes, Pumpkin– YOU. ‘Fess up, I bet you probably don’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many times in a day you exasperatedly say “Jesus Christ, could they/you/it take any longer? I’m in a hurry.”

That’s a good point. As wrote the sentence above there’s a “Me-centric-ness” that just leaps out. And that’s what’s wrong. In this day of almost effortless immediate gratification, we’re training ourselves to be less patient, more self-centric and thus less grateful for the effort, the ingenuity, the technology that transpires for our benefit.

Slow it down.  Follow my logic train. Let’s think about apple pie.

What?

Apple pie. Only a little over a century ago, getting an apple pie involved much more than hoofing it over to Shaw’s, Ralph’s, Winn-Dixie or any other  le supermarché.  To get a hot apple pie on the table you needed the following: some grain, a mill, flour, a cow, milk, churning butter, a chicken, eggs, making baking soda, an apple tree, some apples, a wood stove, trees, axe, cutting the wood, sugar, a pig, a knife, rendering the fat (insert a dozen other steps,) procuring spices (insert dozen other steps,) mixing, rolling, cutting, seasoning, mixing, laying the crust, scooping the apples in pie tin (oh, yeah don’t forget procuring or forging said pie tin,) baking, cooling and then eating.

In essence, a hell of a lot of planning, time and patience. No wonder obesity was nil back then.

There probably weren’t a whole lot of F.A. Jeans hanging on people’s pegs.

Nowadays, your average two year old know Dunkin’ Doughnuts = doughnuts. NOW.

My two year old also knows Amazon “One-click” button = books, probably tomorrow; Comcast OnDemand= Scooby-Dooby-Doooo!; ATM = $$. We’re raised on more and more immediate gratification. By contrast, and to be fair, we were all raised this way too. 7-Eleven= slurpees & big gulps, TV= entertainment, Ice cream/ Pizza parlours & McDonalds= YUMMY Food Fast.

Drink me.

So what does all of this immediate  consumption and immediate expectation mean? That we, as a species, are developing into pretty freakin’ impatient beings. We want what we want, when we want it. Usually right NOW.

Calvin demonstrating my point.

So not only is patience a virtue, it’s a premium– so much so it’s a differentiator.

Be the patient one. That’s the goal. While everyone else is running around like a chicken with their heads cut off (blame my Mom, Jeannine, for that charming little turn of phrase but it fits) be the one that realizes it is just temporary. It’s ALL temporary in some form.

I’ve been recently reading (more like listening to CD’s) of Dr. Wayne Dyer. He does a pretty good job for making the case for the temporality of it all. And I mean it all. But I am not selling my brand of crazy here– I’m just making the case for patience. Patience not for it’s own sake; but  accepting that everything has a flow, unfolding on its own terms, at its own tempo. You might as well enjoy the journey and not be inpatient about it.

Hear me out.  Sometimes things happen effortlessly. Sometimes, no matter how freakin’ hard you try, The Titanic is just going to go down– throwing deck chairs off the deck isn’t going to stop the inevitable. Not to say don’t try, don’t have goals, the exact opposite.  Set the goal, work the system and relax in the unfolding. That is the patience I am discussing here.

I’ve always loved how the Chinese looked at patience. In the past, when the Chinese implemented a major initative, they expect it to take years, decades, even generations for it to come to fruition. That’s some patience folks. Now compare that to modern business strategy implementation, usually they expect results in weeks, months or until the CEO gets fired.  Of course, given how technologically interconnected we all are now, I bet even the Chinese are starting to get impatient.

Business today is chock full of the impatient. People investing for a quick buck. A lot of the economic mess we’re up to our eyeballs in can be pretty much chalked up to impatience. I want what I want when I want it. Now. Bigger house, better car, newer TV, nicer vacation. Bigger, better, newer, nicer. Now.

Again I am not saying not to dream of nice things. Ambition and goals are a good things. The stress of NOW (wither overextending yourself financially or the stress of work or overwork for example) really negates the pleasure of obtaining your heart’s desire or goal. What if you just relaxed and let it unfold? What would happen? I think you’d be surprised at what transpires. I usually am.

Be the different. Stop being inpatient.

As they say, a journey of a thousand steps starts with one step. My two cents is this: I say stop looking for the shorter route and enjoy the walk. See the sights. Learn a few things. Breathe. You’ll get there in due time.

Of course, I have to remind myself of this… a lot.

Marketing- Delivered Milkman FRESH!

I get milk delivery. From a real milkman. Like the 50′s “I like Ike” nuclear-family era.

Really.

Love me. Make fun (insert joke HERE.) Be utterly, desperately jealous of me- it’s ok… you should be. It’s a pretty great service that has saved my bacon (an item which they deliver) quite a few times.

You're average every-day Milkman of yesteryear.

My milk service is a lesson in marketing best-practices. In this day and age of Super Markets, the image of the friendly milk-man delivering milk is often relegated to “Leave to Beaver” or “Happy Days.”

But they exist. My milk delivery service, Hornstra Farms, doesn’t just exist, they thrive. They take a Seth Godin approach, the littlest things, an every “touch” matters customer experience.

For example. They recently lowered prices. No biggie, but they made sure to tell me about it. Alongside my hormone-free locally-raised freshly bottled milk, was a nice little note explaining that “due to a small decrease in energy costs, both at the dairy and at the fuel pump, we are able to decrease the price of your milk as well as your delivery charge.”

Now in reality, they were offering a $0.10 off per half gallon, $.20 of a gallon, and perhaps $0.50 off delivery. No big whoop, but I had to check it. This was after I mentally shuttlecocked them into the “truly awesome” company bracket. Why? They were looking out for me. In one small customer letter , they had communicated that they CARED. ABOUT ME. Rather than just walking off with the extra 10 cents or so (again, I had to do the research on my actual savings), they decided to pass it on and write a letter singing it to high heaven.

So freakin’ smart.

They make this old-fashion “high-quality touch” customer experience flows right through to the cars they drive (1950′s looking milk vans retro paintjobs,) my sweet little milk box, and to the information they pass on to customers– say when someone’s favorite Oatmeal-molasses bread isn’t available.

Once my bread (umm a certain Oatmeal-Molasses) wasn’t delivered. Not only did I get an apology but information to the effect that no one received bread that day. I was told that upon delivery to Hornstra from the bakery, it was deemed stale. “The owner is a stickler for fresh, not fresh… not delivered” was my driver’s reply. Stop. You had me a fresh.

Every touch is about quality, honest value, customer-centric convenience. With every touch they pass on their brand, story and message consistently.

Got to run, need to fill out my order, the milkman comes tomorrow!

Implication of “The Cougar”

Just saw the ad for TV Land’s “The Cougar.”

Yes, the show is TOTALLY ludicrous.

And, yes, I TOTALLY DVR’d it.

(By now you know I have to at least check the debacle out. But that’s not the point here.)

Ok, back to “The Cougar.”

Wow. That chica is not bad looking.

Meet Stacey, Resident Cougar.

Quite frankly she blows the paradigm of what a working single mom of four (!) should look like. She’s sure as HELL ain’t no Mrs. Robinson folks, and when she was “Mrs. Robinson,” Anne Bancroft was 36 years old…. really! Honest. You can follow her adventures on TVLand and on Twitter.

Fabulous Anne Bancroft, at 36, is the original "Cougar" as Mrs. Robinson.

Then I see Valerie Bertinelli’s latest Jenny Craig commercial trotting around in a bikini. Not bad for the first time in 30 years? Try not bad for being in your 20′s. Val’s bangin’ at 48.

Valerie Bertinelli's Bikini Cover Bod, not bad for 48!

We’ve heard about “the cougar.” It conjures up images of preying man-eater while the younger girl “kitten” seem more innocent, something to coo at. I see it as a salacious or smarmy way to describe experience and age. Sure some women are cougars, that’s just inherent personality (and believe me there are some 20 year old cougars out there,) but what what have here are some fantastic, sexy women who are looking fabulous way past the expected point of no return. It’s a cultural paradigm shift, I mean really, for example, do you think Anne’s 36 is over-the-hill middle age anymore?

Not that at 45 you’re suppose to start wearing a babushka, nor should you be wearing Daisy Dukes. But people in general are not only living longer but aging better. Your current 49 year old can now look better than the 36 year old 4 decades ago.

Now we come to the marketing to these women. And really the point of my whole post, besides a serious “Atta Girl” to Both Valerie and Stacey for raising the bar on looking fab.

Does this change how we think of the classic ad demo of  18-34 or 18-49? How we design ad campaigns, design products. Is there opportunity here? Or, conversely, are we missing opportunities now?

Quite possibly.

The Mulitiplier of Free- can small acts of economic “gifting” pay big dividends?

If you follow me on Twitter You know I recently was in California visiting the family, friends and basically enjoying a brief break from Boston (which, come February is hellishly cold with a side of bleak.)

On my way to Cali, while laid-over at Chicago-O’Hare, I took it upon myself to try and slip in a bit of work. Powering up my ever-awesome Macbook, (which I should probably name Delilah.) I was shocked that I couldn’t connect to any Wi-Fi. Correction: I couldn’t connect to any FREE Wi-Fi.

Some Boingo wireless company had the BALLS to ask $6.95 for 24 hours of Wi-Fi. Great if I had 24 hours to kill but I only had maybe 2- 2½ hours before my connector to John Wayne.

Image from andyabramson.blogs.com

I was shocked. I was insulted. Plus, I was getting really annoyed. 

Little backstory: genetically I’m part Scottish. At a start-up company. And though my mostly French side  (merci petite Maman!) would totally pay $250 for a pair of kick-ass Juicy wedge cork heels, the Scottish lassie in me is like “$6.95 for 2 hours of freakin’ Wi-Fi access?”  

Are they high?

I just paid hundreds of dollars to fly, had an intimated moment with an airport security matron named Gloria (and she didn’t even call later,) shelled out about $2.00 more than normal for my Starbucks and muffin at the airport kiosk, and NOW I have to pay over $6 frackin‘ bucks to get my email and maybe work on a blog post.

You know how this ends.  Ticked off, I whipped out my iPhone*and  managed to get THAT MUCH BETTER utilizing one of the most dazzling pieces of technology that has come out since Laser hair removal… and Botox (or so I hear.)  

Aside: I’ve actually told my husband that, outside of his love, the children and my wedding rings, my iPhone is the nicest thing he’s ever given me. True story.

So back to blog… Before my iPhone workout I, of course asked around, not believing this Wi-Fi debacle to be true, and found that the airport Starbucks I just tithed to didn’t offer free Wi-Fi.

“But Starbucks always has free** Wi-Fi,” I whined. It’s like a deal — I buy your obnoxiously over-priced ground bean & water concoctions and I get Internet access, gratis.  And I’ll probably be back for seconds. Happily. Skipping with cash in hand.

This got me to thinking…

Other business people seemed resigned to the fact that they need to pay for Wi-Fi.  Which for almost $10 a month, at a number of airports & hotels, Boingo seems like a deal for hard-core travelers.  But what about the majority of us that don’t travel as frequently?  My thought is that, for the cost of tickets, the indignity and hassle of airport security, the overpriced food and drink, asking the extra $6 to send some emails seems a bit rude.

Coversley, knowing what I know now …what would happen if I found an airport (or any establishment for that matter) that offered free Wi-Fi?

I’d be more apt to patronize that establishment. Ticket my lay-over there, where of course I’d eat, drink, and buy my secret trashy airport mags (US Weekly being one fave.) This also led me, remember I DID have a couple hours to kill,  to think what would happen if more businesses offered Wi-Fi for free? Those establishments would be more attractive to patronize but there would also be a hidden multiplier effect at play.  For every $1 spent of offering free Wi-Fi I wondered how many MORE dollars would A) the establishment receive; and B) would the economy get as a result from being able to do business and shop Amazon.com to our hearts content?

Don’t underestimate the “trickle down” effect that something as simple as free Wi-Fi might do. I stand by my Starbucks (or Panera Bread) example, go to anyone in a metropolitan area– besides over-caffeinated souls, you’ll see something else transpiring…business. A favorite of start-ups, students, consultants, and others, free Wi-Fi areas are both a gathering place -a respite, and a place of commerce. How many times have I had to squeeze in a moment, on the run, to send a business email, buy a book, or last-minute gift online? Every dollar spent on providing Internet access probably pays back many times more*** for the host and the economy at large.  

That is an amazing concept to get behind AND to replicate.

It’s a shame O’Hare doesn’t want to pay for Wi-Fi. Instead of the Boingo popping up (nice little reminder that you’re captive & “we’re going to nickel & dime you whenever possible,”) the open page could be a customer-friendly “We are happy to offer you free Wi-Fi while you’re waiting for your flight” with a helpful terminal map, including food & beverage offerings. The airport vendors could chip in, and I know I’d feel a lot better paying for the $9 sandwich if I knew that a portion paid for my access to my email.

My 2 hours really seems so small, so trivial,  but it was the tipping point of my trip.  Given that long day of travel, I already felt put upon (Gloria, seriously I thought we had a “moment” during the pat down) and, looking back at the game reel, Chicago O’Hare had a real opportunity to make me a fan. They chose not to. 

So can this example be extended to other arenas?****  To your business? Others? What if there were more establishments that “gifted” their customers or clients with something outside of shampoo samples? What other opportunities to offer customers something, that in turn benefits both you AND the economy long-term?  That is the challenge, but if you can figure out how — you have a fan. A fan that will most likely return and refer their friends.  The multiplier of “Free” is a solid PR and marketing technique.

You could just call it “gifting” with a side of good economic Karma.

* Now with the advent of iPhone 3.0 Boingo might be worried (tethering is one of the new features.)

** not necessarily true I found out later

***I couldn’t find a study on this but if you find one, let me know.

**** I was reminded of the policy of free soft-drinks to “designated” drivers at bars. A GREAT example both as an economic (and karmic) multiplier. In college, we’d specially target those bars (and bartenders) that followed this practice.

Betsy, So Why The Liquid Betsy?

Welcome.

In a sea of blogs, you may ask why, oh why did I jump in with my own?  

Simple. I needed an outlet.

I am totally ADD, but without the Ritalin. I follow my muse pretty much wherever it takes me. With a Mathematics degree, a past in Movies & Television, background in marketing & PR,  an MBA and love of tech, design, travel, and anything just plain cool, I needed an outlet to express me. My hubby and children can only take so much. My job doesn’t allow me to spout about the finer points of the wedge heel or the unearthly delights of Fois Gras.

Selfish. I know. 

So follow me or not. Read me or not. Take my RSS feed. Abuse me, send me free Gucci sandles (size 10) to blog about or ship me off to your (warm) exotic locale to sit and taste-test your painkillers. I’ll do it. Not for you, but for me. The only thing I won’t touch is cauliflower or gut a fish. So that leaves us pretty much wide open.

I’ll be touching a lot of everything. My mantra is “Good is Good” and if it’s Good, you’ll hear about it from me. 

Come on in, the water is fine.

Betsy