#92 The Changing Buyer

Hello, friends.

What I’m Learning/Doing

Wow. A lot can happen in two weeks. I’ve been writing a version of Notes from the Field regularly since 2008. I don’t believe there’s been a time where I’ve needed to “learn” and “do” as iteratively as right now. The combination of multiple businesses and volatile times is challenging and exciting.

So if you’re up for it, I’d like to publish a series over the next few issues on all the notes I’m taking. I may even send them weekly for the next month or so if I can make time for it.

I’ve always tried to keep NFTF brief and brilliant (ok, at least brief), but these may run a little longer.

I ask you to hang with me and invite some friends. Hopefully, you’ll gain some insights that will help you.

One of the misconceptions of positioning is that it’s static. People read Trout & Reis, looked at their brand as the source of truth and interpreted positioning as a one-time thing. It’s not. The market, the culture, your competition and the customer’s perception are all inputs that we need to factor into how we position our product or service. As a result, messaging also has to adapt. April Dunford’s great book, Obviously Awesome, brings a lot of this to the surface. Given how things are changing for your buyer, the messaging should align with those changes. For example, if I made/sold skincare, I’d probably change from talking about how young it makes you look (enhancement) to how long one bottle lasts (savings) and the risk-free return policy (safety).

Additionally, things are changing for our businesses. As the world increasingly becomes more distracted and unpredictable, our focus is on strengthening relationships and simplification. You can never go wrong with making sure relationships are healthy. And simplifying allows you to stay nimble and frees up much-needed mental energy to adapt and spot the opportunities on the horizon.

Changelog

Honestly:

  • Hired a new engagement leader
  • Developing a series of communications to strengthen relationships and help the community during this time

LOFT:

  • Handling a lot of COVID support requests. Last week alone, we handled almost 300 support requests from customers. We’re truly seeing the peace of mind LOFT is providing.

CrewPay:

  • We decided to make the platform free to use for businesses so they can pay their independent contractors without fees — giving them one less thing to think about
  • Working on financial models for fundraising or exit

Pttrns:

  • Exploring ways we can help the design community as many are losing their jobs

Until next time.

-David

P.S. The local Chamber of Commerce invited me onto a webinar/conference call to discuss managing remote teams: Click here to listen (we get into it around minute 11)

P.P.S. The new Real Estate record is pretty good: https://www.realestatetheband.com/

P.P.P.S. Finally got around to seeing: http://www.towerrecordsmovie.com/trailer

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