You’re probably doing many things right. But if you’re not careful, it’s easy to fall into habits that result in customers and employees becoming disinterested.
Interesting businesses aren’t just talked about more frequently in the media. Their businesses are alive. Energy flows throughout their organizations into the heart and minds of its customers.
This open exchange between business and customer continually breathes new life into the enterprise. It also helps to grow the business.
Here’s a list of ten things companies often unintentionally do that bore their customers and employees and what interesting companies do differently.
1. Boring Companies Sell Products
Boring companies focus on the product’s features instead of how the product fits into the customers’ lifestyles
Interesting companies sell experiences. They sell lifestyles. Material possessions bring little joy. Experiential purchases leave a lasting impression.
2. Boring Companies Talk AT Their Customers
Boring companies broadcast their messages in a single direction.
Interesting businesses engage in an open exchange with their customers. They listen, keep their customers engaged, and adapt to customer feedback. They realize a brand isn’t just what the company says it is; it’s also what the customers believe it is.
3. Boring Companies Focus On Transactions
Boring companies focus attention on constantly generating the next sale.
Interesting companies focus on long-term customer relationships. Focusing on the long-term changes the way they made daily decisions.
4. Boring Companies Aren’t Relevant
Boring companies know less about their customers than they think they do. They lack relevance because they don’t know what’s meaningful to their customers.
Interesting companies understand the wants, needs, tensions, and aspirations in their customers’ lives. They discover these human motivations by taking a genuine interest in their customers’ lives.
5. Boring Companies Treat Their Customers As Numbers
Boring companies treat their customers not as people, but as a data points to be sold to.
Interesting companies treat their customers as people. They develop trust by treating their customers as more than just a sale. Cult Brands excel at this and more often make customers feel like they’re part of the family.
6. Boring Companies Have A Boring Corporate Culture
Boring companies are just as boring to their employees as they are to their customers. And, if people aren’t passionate about their work, it’s impossible for them to be passionate about serving their customers.
Interesting companies take the time to create a distinct culture and hire employees that are passionate about the company’s purpose. They have core values that aren’t just a corporate exercise; their core values guide daily behavior in the organization.
7. Boring Companies Don’t Have Fun
Boring companies are monotonous. They focus on doing the same thing every day, maintaining the status quo, and keeping up a “professional” appearance.
Interesting companies inject fun by encouraging experimentation and creativity. They treat the status quo and the “same old routine” as the enemy.
8. Boring Companies Don’t Learn
Boring companies don’t look to the future. They don’t learn about their customers and where their customers are going.
Interesting companies focus on how they can meet their customers’ human needs. They understand what motivates their customers and they develop products and services that meet their customers’ needs in the future, instead of just today.
9. Boring Companies Follow Their Competitors
Boring companies constantly try to focus on how they can outperform their competitors. They try to beat the competition by doing more of the same thing everyone else is doing.
Interesting companies are bold and courageous. Instead of trying to beat the competition at their game, they create their own game and focus on being the best at what makes them unique.
10. Boring Companies Lack An Inspiring Company Vision
Boring companies either have no company vision or they have a lifeless vision statement. Their vision statements, or lack thereof, are usually just words on a page; the vision doesn’t act as a tool for decision-making.
Inspiring companies have a company vision that’s driven by a passionate purpose. Their company vision acts as a North Star that guides decision-making and inspires employees’ daily actions.
Onward
Sadly, boring companies often don’t realize they’re boring their customers and employees.
What’s the energy like in the workplace? Do you get a sense that employees care about their work? Do they share ideas with passion? Is there a general sense of interest and curiosity?
And, how about you? Do you care about the business? Do you care about your employees and your customers? Are you leading with vision?
Are you interested in what’s going to happen next?