Trent365! - Ep. 1001 - 1500

Sabbaticals are extended periods of paid leave, often granted to University Professors, Clergymen, etc.

And whilst most of us probably won't have the luxury of getting paid for this extended leave, the broad concept of 'taking a sabbatical' might be a smart thing to do right now.

The world is on pause right now. So your colleagues and peers will won't be able to leapfrog you in the career queue. And it'll be really easy to explain that gap in your CV a few years from now.

So...IF you can sustain yourself financially for a year or so, why not take your sabbatical now?

Maybe Now Is The Right Time For Your Sabbatical? #1001

I have a brilliant strategy for your hotel to build brand loyalty even whilst your guests can't travel to stay with you...

Send them a bar of soap!

Seriously!

As someone who, until COVID-19 clipped my wings, travelled 6 mths a year, I would always take the nice hotel soaps home with me.

Now that I can't travel anymore, I've run out of soap at home. 

And I really miss my nice little hotel soaps.

So, if you're in the hotel business, why not send a bar or two of your soap to your regular, loyal guests, with a nice little note from the Housekeeper.

Soap - The Key To Building Hotel Brand Loyalty? #1002

Iso-Tourism is the idea of traveling for tourism but effectively staying in a secure 'bubble' for the duration of your trip.

It is ideally suited to islands or any form of remote destination.

And it could be here to stay.

COVID-19 is likely to be with us for a while.

As a result of which, many countries have closed their borders, with no sure signs of when they will re-open.

Having to quarantine for up to 14 days when you enter another country, or return home to yours, may be something that becomes part of the travel reality for some time to come.

Iso-Tourism - The Next Big Trend In Travel? #1003

Google made the idea of the 20% Time famous.

The idea is that employees can spend 20% of their time working on a side project of their choice. Anything they want to.

Right now would be a good time to consider implementing 20% Time in your company.

Maybe not in the purest sense. 

Offer staff a 4 day week instead of 5. Reduce their salary by 20%.

The company saves some money and the employee has an extra day off each week to work on their side project.

Chances are, a number of employees might already be working on their side project now anyway. Either because they're not busy at work or maybe because they're worried about the future and want to try to find a back up plan.

Now Is The Time To Negotiate Your 20% Time #1004

According to Brian Roemmele, Tool Blindness is a human bias that convinces us that the new tool must be better than the existing tool.

I think we've probably all been guilty of a bit of Tool Blindness over the years.

Arguably, this bias is even more prevalent now, especially because product life cycles are so much shorter.

The problem, of course, is that the new tool is not always better for the job you need to perform.

So, the next time you're ready to jump ahead to the next shiny new tool, ask yourself...

'Am I fully exploiting the capabilities of the current tools?'

and

'Is this new tool really going to be better for me than what I have now?'

‘Tool Blindness’ Might Be Making You Super - Inefficient #1005

Oftentimes we can fall into the trap of treating our B2B clients just a little differently from our end-customers.

But we shouldn't.

If we put the same amount of care, attention and effort in keeping our B2B clients, imagine what impact that could have on your overall business.

If you care for your end-customer, you must take care of your B2B clients.

Your B2B Clients Deserve Your Best B2C Service #1007

We all talk about the need to understand our customers. 

One of the best ways to do that is with Focus Groups.

Now is a great time to do more Focus Groups. But not the kind that just ask for a feedback on your product or service.

A pure Focus Group is one that seeks to understand all of your customer’s needs, whether they relate directly to your product or not.

Show then you care. Help them anyway you can. You’ll know then better. They’ll know you better.

After all, isn’t that what a good relationship is all about?

Now Is A Great Time To Double-Down On Focus Groups #1006

The COVID-19 Crisis is having an undeniably huge negative impact on businesses around the world.

Many will simply not survive.

But don't make the mistake of blaming all your business woes on COVID-19.

If your business is going to survive it's important that you make an honest assessment of what was working and what was not working before COVID-19.

The same applies to any crisis.

If not, your business will always be vulnerable.

Don't Let The Crisis Mask Your Real Issues #1008

Industry Conferences have screeched to a halt due to travel restrictions and limits on how many people can gather in one place.

In their place, virtual online events are all the rage.

But there's another option.

Do this...

1. Identify the topics you want to cover and the experts you want to learn from.

2. Find their content - books, videos, blogs, eBooks, etc.

3. Gather in a small group in your local area to discuss & debate.

Much of the knowledge you're looking for will likely be available for free or at a relatively small cost - ie: the price of a book on Amazon.

Business Book Readings Are The Next Industry Conference #1009

One Man's Logic Is Another Man's Insanity.

Sometimes, no matter how good a job you do at trying to convince someone, they just don't get it.

Sometimes they never will.

So don't beat yourself up over your failure to convince the 'unconvincable'.

Sometimes They'll Just Never Get It #1010

Sometimes we find ourselves in a position we don't want to be in, but there's not much we can do about.

For any number of reasons, we might just have to accept that this is simply where we need to be right now.

That can be a frustrating space.

But, as my new buddy Juan Berrocal said the other day, when that happens, you just need to understand your moment.

Suck it up. Pay your dues. Do the work. And when this moment has passed, you'll be good to go.

Take Time To Understand Your Moment #1011

We have a tendency to turn only to the experts for advice.

Those who have been there, done that, and achieved high levels of success.

However, we can learn just as much from those who are still on the journey.

The same realisation is important for those giving the advice, as much as for those receiving the advice.

Just because you haven't yet reached your destination or achieved the level of success you think you should, you can still be a source of great inspiration and counsel for others.

You Can Also Learn From Those Still On The Journey #1012

Nobody likes airline food. Right?

Wrong!

Apparently the folks in Bangkok are loving it right now.

Thai Airways have opened a Pop-Up restaurant, complete with actual airline seats for the furniture and cabin crew for service staff.

It's brilliant on so many levels. With this Pop-Up Thai Airways can...

- sell their existing food inventory

- generate some revenue

- get some great PR

- market test new food concepts and recipes

- enhance their image as a fun, innovative airline

Here's a link to the story...

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/events/chicken-or-the-beef-thai-airways-opens-up-pop-up-restaurants-serving-their-airline-food

Thai Airways New Restaurant Pop - Up In Bangkok Is Booming #1013

It's comforting to assume there are others in the metaphorical boat with you.

But whilst we all may be sailing on the same stormy Coronavirus Ocean right now, we are not all in the same boat.

We each have different capacities to weather this Coronavirus Storm - financially, physically and emotionally.

Also remember that as with any weather system, the intensity and ferociousness of this Coronavirus Storm can vary considerably from one location to another.

We're All In The Same Ocean, But Not The Same Boat #1014

You should value your customer's time as much as they do their own.

How much time and effort to your customer put in to come to your business to buy your product or service?

Too often, we think only of the monetary investment our customers make in our business.

Maybe I had to take some time off work? Maybe I need to arrange a babysitter? Or I may have had to schedule a number of other little jobs for the day around a visit to your business.

View your customer service through that lens and you might just find the level and quality of your service improves dramatically.

Never Underestimate The Value Of People’s Time #1015

We're generally pretty good at telling ourselves the story that we need to hear.

Some are better than others at communicating that story to other people.

But the real power lies in being able to tell yourself the Reverse Story.

The opposite version of your story. The other side.

In doing that you should be able to...

1. better empathise with those who hold opposing views

2. be able to counter objections to your own position

3. maybe even decide that your original position is not the right one for you

Go ahead. Try it.

The Power Of Telling Yourself The Reverse Story #1016

If you ask people if they want to have control, most will probably say Yes!

But the reality is not everyone does want control. At least not all the time.

We each have a different perspective on control at various stages.

Control is often about Choice and Choice is often connected with Trust.

How does customer control manifest in your business?

Maybe it's in menu option?

Maybe in choice of service provider?

Also, consider how your messaging could differ depending on whether you're talking to customers with a high control mindset vs a low control mindset.

Each Of Your Clients Have A Different Relationship With Control #1017

Singapore Airlines Flights to Nowhere are exactly that.

You depart from Changi Airport, fly around in the sky for a few hours, then land right back where you started.

Seems like a pretty silly thing to do. 

But if they can at least break even in terms of costs, maybe it's worthwhile.

At least then they can...

1. Keep some staff employed

2. Keep the planes in motion

3. Allow passengers to continue their relationship with the brand.

Do Singapore Airlines Flights To Nowhere Make Any Sense At All? #1018

Many brands have trouble clearly expressing exactly what it is they want to be.

How can you really define something like Culture?

But most people do know what they don't like. What they don't want to be.

So, identify your Cultural Enemy and you might just find some clarity on exactly what you want the culture of your brand to be.

At the very least, you should be able to avoid the behaviours that would risk turning you into your Cultural Enemy.

So, who is your Cultural Enemy?

The Value Of Understanding Your Cultural Enemy #1019

Over the past few months I've received more Customer Love than usual from brands and businesses whose products and services I have used at some time in the past.

Brands that have never previously been great at customer engagement or showing they care...all of a sudden do care.

Or do they?

Are they really trying to help ME out by sending me some discount vouchers to buy their thing? Or are they really just trying to drive their own revenues?

If you haven't as much as sent me an email before to wish me a Happy Birthday and now, all of a sudden, you're offering me discount vouchers to celebrate my birthday month, that kinda reeks of self-serving motives.

If this sounds like your company, it's not great.

BUT, as long as you keep doing it from here on in, you're forgiven.

Customer Love must be enduring, not fickle.

Trent365! - Ep. 1001 - 1500

Trent Munday