You might be a programmer, designer, or manager; but do you ever daydream about other careers?
I often imagine what it'd be like to be a restauranteur or a rock star. My daydream is always about how I'd promote that business in unique ways. Here are a few of my ideas:
I was thinking about the jobs we hire music to do. When I'm working out, I'm using music to pump me up. At work, I want tunes that keep me focused. If I'm at a club (rare, now that I'm 36, married, with 4 kids) I'm looking for jams that will get out on the dance floor.
What's the biggest challenge with being a musician? It's hard to make a living off $0.99 downloads on iTunes (or pennies on Spotify).
But what if musicians sold music in packages for specific jobs to be done? For example:
Morning workout: every morning, you get a new adrenaline pumping tune. It comes in multiple formats: music only, narrated aerobics, and narrated weight lifting. The narration also helps you decide what kind of exercise you'll be doing that day.
Pomodoro streaming: your office probably wouldn't pay for Spotify. But your boss might pay for service that helps keep employees more focused. My Pomodoro channel would give employees 25 minutes of ambient music, followed by 3-5 minutes of "break time" tunes. (More on Pomodoro here).
The pub on the TV show Cheers had a great slogan: "Where everybody knows your name." The truth is, what we really want is for the owner, barista, and bartender to know our name.
I had family in town last week. We wanted to go out for a late dinner, but everywhere was closed. I texted my friend Eric who owns Station BBQ (for those who listen to my podcast, this is where we did the infamous MegaMaker Burrito). I asked him if he could keep his kitchen open for us. He said: "Absolutely!" When we arrived, he said: "Hey Justin! I saved you a special table." The whole staff welcomed us and were genuinely happy to have us. Eric brought the whole table a special bourbon to try. I felt like a VIP.
If I owned a pub, coffee shop or restaurant I'd take this one step further. I'd find customers who were natural cheerleaders, and give them a gold business card. On the card, I'd have my personal cell number with the words: "if you ever need anything, just call me." I'd also instruct these customers to show it to staff if I wasn't ever around. Anytime my team saw the card, they'd know who they were serving: a VIP.
In the service industry, word of mouth is king. When your best customers feel like bigwigs, they'll tell everyone they know about your place.
What would you do to disrupt those industries? I'd love to hear about it. ;) You can message me on Twitter, Instagram, or my newsletter.
Cheers,
Justin Jackson
@mijustin
PS: if you like creative "out of the box" ideas like this, you'll love my new book, Jolt. It's the book Nathan Barry is currently reading. Mike Taber said it was full of "cool marketing ideas, backed up by data." And Jason Resnick rated it ?????.
You can buy it here or download a free chapter here.