In the news recently was the story of Arthur, a stray dog who stumbled upon a team of Swedish extreme adventurers in the Amazon rainforest when he was at his most vulnerable – tired, weak and hungry. What hungry and homeless mutt wouldn’t accept a gift of food? But having tasted the Swedish delights he decided these adventurers were the ones that could give him what he needed long term and being savvy he took the lead and ran with it – literally. He stuck to them like glue. He learnt to do what they did, walk when they walked, run only when they ran, swim where they swam, and eat what they ate. Basically he learnt how to attract not repel attention – to ‘fit in’ and become one of the pack because he knew that’s what would give him what he needed to thrive.
Success was Arthurs – he was officially adopted by these Swedish adventurers, and was granted entry into Sweden, to be cared for and fed for the rest of his life. He had convinced them that he was right for their pack, he built their trust by following them, he adapted to their needs.
Ok, so clearly I’m using this analogy for a reason. In business, just as in life, you need to get under the skin of your target audience. Get to know your potential clients and existing customers as well as you can – and it’s a continual process, it should be as natural and instinctive as it was for Arthur. Far too many companies talk ‘at’ people instead of starting up a conversation in order to get them know them first. I always advocate ‘say the right thing to the right people in the right way’ – and they’ll listen. Keep it up, be adaptive and they’ll stay listening not just now but in the future.
Business messages have become far too needy – sell sell sell is all some marketing agencies appear to be able to do. Ok so ‘buy 1 get 1 free’ works as a quick fix because who doesn’t like something for free – but there’s no loyalty being built on this strategy. Customers will go wherever they can to get money off – one store one week, a different store the next. So what would Arthur’s outcome have been if he had taken this approach? Say he ran up to the strangers in the Amazon and jumped up at them demanding attention and grabbing whatever he could get. What if, having done that he then ran off leaving a trail of disappointment and resentment behind him? Isn’t that what ‘selling’ is?
I have a Basset Hound called Florence, she’s 4 years old and I’ve watched her learn over the years. To start with she was an attention seeker, constantly demanding (like most young dogs) and incredibly stubborn as Bassets tend to be – she never gave up. Over the years, and despite much training, she has come to her own conclusion that the quieter approach brings more rewards. She’s learnt when to shout and when to smile, and even in her dog world – when to approach other dogs, and more importantly when not to. She stoically watches to see when the best time to interact is, and the rest of the time – she’s still watching and listening, picking up new signals. As such she gets regular treats, she doesn’t beg for them, she just knows the right behaviour and interaction brings the rewards.
Every business lead needs a nurturing process, and maybe there’s things to learn from being a dog. In business I’m happy to be more Basset – to be quiet, to listen, learn and adapt to every client’s situation and the rewards keep on coming.
It works.
Here’s the original story of Arthur
Comments are closed