Author: Garth Beyer

Build Talkability Into Your Design

Build Talkability Into Your Design

Garth Beyer

MillerCoors Rooftop View

Pumpkin patches and apple orchards do a wonderful job of adding talkability factors into their design. They have the picture of a farming couple that you can put your head into and take a photo or the turkey that’s begging you to stand behind and show your face where its face should be. They add simply interactive designs that a majority use to share and talk about their experience.

I went on a three and a half hour private tour of the MillerCoors facility in Milwaukee today with a friend. I was too busy listening to the guide and chatting about how to brew beer to take dozens of photos, but there was a moment that was irresistible. As seen above, we’re on the roof of a 12+ story building and it’s clear they’ve designed this rooftop experience as a talking point. You have the shipping carriers, miller park, the brewing facility and the giant Miller sign all in one photo. MillerCoors figured out a way they could add talkability into their design.

I’ve been guilty of trying to make an entire experience worth talking about instead of focusing on a few little points that tell the larger story, that are easily talked about, and that people can’t help but share.

Consider how you can design talkability points into the experience you’re providing people.

 

Stay Positive & Better To Guide The Points Than Have Others Decide What’s Worth Sharing

because in most instances, they’ll choose not to share.

If I Told You Exactly How

If I Told You Exactly How

Garth Beyer

Follow Instructions

If Milton Glaser walked you through how to create a masterpiece, step by step, every minute detail by ever minute detail, your art piece couldn’t make the same impact.

If Taylor Swift held your hand throughout the entire songwriting process, your finished product won’t feel unique.

If I told you exactly how to write with voice, you would feel like your writing is a cheap knockoff.

How others feel using your product or service, looking at your art, listening to your songs starts with how you feel using your product or service, looking at your art, listening to your songs.

If you paint by numbers, color within the lines, and follow every “how-to” guide, you’ll ship work and you’ll learn a thing or two, but it won’t feel right.

And the feeling is why we make art.

 

Stay Positive & Make Remarkable Art, Not Remakable Art

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You’re Surrounded

You’re Surrounded

Garth Beyer

Surround Yourself With People Who Care

There are people all around you. To your left. To your right. You’re surrounded.

How do you feel about it?

It pays to really think about the answer because you’ve decided who you’re surrounded by. It’s your decision to work with people with low standards. You’ve decided the friends you will hangout with are the ones who don’t inspire you to work creatively.

We’ll never stop being surrounded by people. Whether we succeed in our endeavors or screw up, there will be people all around us, prodding, interacting, asking questions.

We owe it to ourselves to surround ourselves with people who will challenge us to go to the next level, to think differently, to answer the tough questions.

You’re surrounded. Is it a good feeling?

 

Stay Positive & If Not, Change The People

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Why Wait Until Thanksgiving

Why Wait Until Thanksgiving

Garth Beyer

Garth Beyer Blogger GarthBox

Today is my 3rd anniversary of blogging.

1,214 blog posts

20,475 page views

and a ton of online interaction and offline discussion from what I’ve written

Words, no matter how much I practice my craft, are not enough to express how thankful I am for you, my readers. Although I write daily, I don’t expect you to stop by everyday and read, but to simply stop by when you feel the need, when it’s time to remind yourself to switch things up, when you’re craving some motivation.

I can’t say that without you I wouldn’t be writing, because I still would be, but you certainly make this experience a grand one.

Thank you.

 

Stay Positive & No Day In The Future Is As Special As Today

The Machine Won’t Let Me

The Machine Won’t Let Me

Garth Beyer

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Most businesses, particularly franchises, attempt to streamline success with the implementation of machines. It makes sense given machines speed up most processes, cut overhead costs, and typically make math easier. Yet, when configuring your business to move faster, cheaper, easier, you’ve got to analyze how much control you’re giving to the machines and how it may affect customer satisfaction.

Chili’s, for instance, now has handheld computers at each table where you can play games, add dessert, and pay for your meal. Chili’s quickened the transaction time of paying for a meal, but at the expense of a possibly higher tip for the waitress, at the expense of leaving a final human impression with guests, at the expense of reminding patrons the business carefully choses who they hire to work.

Earlier today at Buffalo Wild Wings I attempted to order a beer. With five minutes left for Happy Hour, I ordered a beer. Moments later the waitress came back and said, “the machine won’t let me.”

Perhaps the machine forgot to account for daylight savings time or maybe management forgot to give priority control to waiters and waitresses over the machines.

When you seek fast, cheap, and easy, it always comes with sacrifices.

 

Stay Positive & Is What You Sacrifice For Machines Worth It?

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Riff On Yellow Pages

Riff On Yellow Pages

Garth Beyer

yellow-page-ads-dont-work

I’m surprised I’ve got to write about Yellow Pages. I’m surprised they still exist.

The issue isn’t so much how yellow pages promotes itself, reaches out to businesses, and pays people minimum wage to ship the pages to people and businesses that don’t want them. No. What amazes me is that businesses still use them to advertise. Perhaps they think they might as well since so many other businesses have pulled back. That thinking begs to be written about.

When starting a business or working on growing it, you’re presented plenty of options that are small investments with small returns. You may shrug them off or you may run with them. After all, there’s little to lose. Right?

Wrong.  This “Yellow Pages Method” leads you to spread yourself thin. It gives you a false sense of successful marketing. It distracts you from the people you’re meant to focus on, the people who care, the people who seek you out on purpose rather than come by you on accident.

Having a business name that starts with A doesn’t get you extra business anymore.

The other issue with choosing to advertise in Yellow Pages is many do it simply because it’s what they recognize. Again, this action defers the question: is the Yellow Pages what your target market recognizes. Not you. Your target.

It pays to remember businesses don’t survive because of Yellow Pages, Yellow Pages exists because of businesses inability to devise a marketing plan that matters.

One last statement about Yellow Pages, the print version: it’s not a product anymore, it’s an advertisement. The tangible product keeps Yellow Pages on your mind for when people (like me) write about them or mention them, you still recognize it. Perhaps you may come across their online version. Then the question turns away from business owners to the marketing successes and failures of Yellow Pages.

 

Stay Positive & Would You Say Shipping The Hardcopies Is Good Marketing?

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