On Monday, I suggested that being interesting is a good growth strategy for any business. Today, I wanted to take a second to show you a couple of examples of interesting that aren't hard, expensive or time-consuming to accomplish both at a business level but also at the personal brand level too.
Have you ever been to a restaurant? The one thing that has always blown me away is that pretty much every restaurant in every city finishes the meal exactly the same way -- whether the restaurant is a white table clothe, casual dining or mom & pop. They bring you the check presenter. (photo by POSSupply)
Recently though, I was at the Fig, a restaurant in Charleston, and this is what they gave me after my meal.
Simple but different. And if a person remembers the first and last thing they experience, being different at the end of the meal is important wouldn't you agree? Here are a few examples I found on Flickr that show the ordinary check presenter treated as brand impression tool.
by vvvanessa
Sticking with the restaurant theme for a minute, I recently had breakfast at the hotel restaurant in the Charleston Place Hotel. As I don't do anything in the morning without coffee I was quite pleased when the waitress brought this to my table instead of pouring me a single cup of coffee.
Now a french press isn't all that new but they're usually glass and don't keep the coffee hot while you're drinking. So this item is not only different and interesting but provides a real consumer benefit as well.
As my 20 month old just decided he needed to sit in my lap, let me finish with an example of being personally interesting. As a busy father of four, I usually eat lunch at my desk. This lets me squeeze another hour into my workday without having to work late. So I have a lunch box. I used to have the standard office worker issue lunch box that I had carried since my college days. Kind of like this one but mine was black.
Solid. Cheap. Convenient. BORING!!!!
Now I carry this Tiffin Box.
Thing is, if I lived in India, this Tiffin Box would be an igloo soft sided cooler. But here in the states, it's different, interesting and comes with a back story that total strangers truly enjoy hearing when they ask, "what is that" as I ride the elevator to or from my office.
And that is the power of interesting. That is why you want to be interesting or have interesting elements of your brand experience -- it creates conversation(s). Conversation that can be leveraged to grow your brand, power WOM efforts and extend your marcom efforts much farther than you yourself will ever do on your own.
What'cha think folks? Are you interesting? Have you seen companies or brands that are doing interesting things? Let me know. Share them here. I'm all ears.
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