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Top of Mind Thursday Memo Archive
Top of Mind Thursday September 3, 2020: Change is in the Air
This week, 3 major airlines did something revolutionary: they did away with a fee that was a big revenue producer for them.
On Sunday, United announced they are eliminating change fees–those pesky charges slapped on customers who decide they want to change their itinerary after they’ve ticketed their travel.
Shortly after that, American and Delta announced they will follow suit. They join Southwest, who for years has used the fact they did not charge these fees as a competitive advantage.
With the extended impact of the pandemic, airlines are struggling. They’ve had to waive change fees over the last several months, because there’s so much uncertainty about when and where people will fly.
United also announced they are furloughing 16,000 employees because of the drastic drop in air travel, and other airlines will do the same. That’s why it makes sense for airlines remove any potential barriers to customers returning to the skies.
Yes, the fees created revenue. But they also irritated travelers. Stuff happens and travel plans change. Why make it more difficult for your customers to use your product or service?
What obstacles do your customers have to face when doing business with you? Now’s the time to do away with anything that might cloud your relationships with customers.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise–even in a crisis situation.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
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Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday August 27, 2020: Time Out
Yesterday, all the games in the NBA and WNBA were postponed, as were many MLB games.
Players, coaches, and even broadcasters walked off their jobs in protest of yet another unarmed Black man being shot in the back, followed by two people killed and another injured by a white teenager, who says he is part of “the militia.”
Is this an extreme action? Absolutely. When the Milwaukee Bucks refused to get on the court, they were potentially sacrificing an NBA championship. But other teams followed suit in a move of solidarity. The WNBA did the same, as did a number of Major League Baseball teams.
Why was such an extreme action necessary? Because in spite of all of the outrage and reaction to the deaths of Ahmed Aubrey, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, this kind of thing keeps happening again and again. The only difference is this time Jacob Blake was not killed–only seriously injured and potentially paralyzed for life.
Sometimes going through the normal channels doesn’t work. Sometimes the way to be heard above the noise is to make all the noise stop. Sometimes the best way to effect change is to take actions that are so dramatic, they’re impossible to ignore.
The NBA Playoffs resume today. Let’s hope the actions that precipitated the walkout do not.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise–even in a crisis situation.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday August 20, 2020: Virtual Reality
The Democratic National Convention is being held this week, not in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but virtually.
Instead of long days of speeches, pageantry, and balloon drops, this year’s event is a series of short video presentations moderated by a celebrity host, followed by livestreamed keynotes. It hasn’t been perfect, but in some ways, it’s a big improvement from the endless days of convention formalities that very few of us wanted to watch anyway.
Some presenters are better than others in this format, but overall, the effect has been positive. Instead of a long, drawn-out, boring roll call for each state to pledge its delegates, this year’s event featured short video clips representing the unique attributes of each state. Keynotes were held in empty classrooms and isolated convention halls. No applause or crowd noise–which meant the presenters had to be that much more focused on their delivery.
Most importantly, when faced with the reality of today’s situation, the conference planners pivoted. They took the tools available to them and created the most compelling event they could under the circumstances.
As in so many other ways of life, COVID-19 may have changed the way things are done from now on. Convening large groups of people in a big convention hall to formalize a nomination that is already decided no longer makes sense. The pandemic gave planners a good excuse to rethink what was important about their event.
What tried-but-tired programs, processes, and events are still in your arsenal? How can you use today’s situation to jettison old methods that don’t work and introduce new ways of doing things?
In today’s reality, it’s virtually the best thing to do.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise–even in a crisis situation.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday August 13, 2020: A Newsworthy Choice
This week, after months of speculation, presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden announced that California Senator Kamala Harris will be his running mate.
With this selection, the campaign will finally be moving into the home stretch before the November election. Virtual nominating conventions will be held in the next couple of weeks, but they are practically irrelevant, since we know exactly who will be nominated for each party.
Kamala Harris will be only the third woman nominated for the vice presidential office by a major political party. She’s also the first Black and the first Asian American candidate in this role. Her nomination will inspire many Americans who feel other candidates have not reflected the profile of America today, while creating animosity from others who would have preferred more traditional choices.
Whether the Biden/Harris slate will win is still to be determined. But this choice will move America forward to match the example set by many of our allies across the world. Choosing women, people of color, and those of varying ethnicities and religions is not an issue in many countries. America will join their ranks when the gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual preference of its leaders is no longer news-worthy.
The good news is we are finally taking steps to make that happen.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise–even in a crisis situation.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com