Looking Passed The FOG
As brands, we look in the mirror. We look in the mirror a lot. We make sure our brand promise looks fresh. We reflect on our objectives. Sometimes, we need to look passed our [insert whatever your favorite objective/gubbins is here - aka FOG] to focus on our customers' needs. Yep, we need to wipe off the FOG.
Objectives that make perfect sense to those of us peering into the mirror can become foggy (aka - favorite objectives/gubbins gone yo-yo) to our customers. When our FOG doesn't align with our customers' expectations, their experience is inconsistent. They lose trust. They tire of the fog. They don't feel appreciated. They leave.
I'm reminded daily to wipe the FOG off the mirror...glance at the FOG for a gut check, maybe, but then look passed the mirror. Usually I put the mirror down. I used to have to remind myself to peer out from the FOG into our customers' experience through chatter online. Not just a quick look-see, but a long take-their-perspective-on gaze. As Chris Brogan explains:
The Zulu greet each other by saying “Sawubona,” translated literally to mean, “I see you.” It means, “I know that you’re there and I acknowledge you as another person.” The response back is, “Ngikhona,” which is literally, “I am here.”
Chris discusses why brands need to become their customers in detail in his post today, Become The Buyer. Let your customers know you really see them through the FOG. Next post, I'll talk about how we at H&R Block are actively cutting through the FOG and showing our customers "Sawubona".
Photo by Roland Hutchinson of Geeky Gadgets.
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