By Leo Valiquette
I trust everyone has had a happy holiday season, even — dare I say it — a merry Christmas. It’s now back to work with depleted bank accounts, expanded waistlines and perhaps a few stories to share from another mad shopping season.
We all do it in some fashion – hunt for the bargains that begin popping up ere the break of dawn on Black Friday south of the border. Midnight Madness and the Pre-Boxing Day Blowout now rival the traditional Boxing Day bonanza, while post-holiday sales continue to creep further and further into January as retailers attempt to keep the tills ringing.
When confronted by packed parking lots and long lineups, it is often easy to focus on the price of the prize in hand and forget that the root of any successful customer experience begins with service. Granted, working retail is no cake walk during the holidays and many customers can be faulted for a lack of common courtesy or holiday cheer. But as is the case with the sale of any product or service, it is the responsibility of the vendor or retailer to give the customer what they want and, if circumstances warrant, take the time to learn about their needs and respond to them.
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By Leo Valiquette
Marketing, as we have repeatedly emphasized on this blog, begins with a fundamental exercise to identify a high-value pain or need that you have the potential to address, and then building the right product to meet that need.
It is by necessity a process of dialogue with that target audience to determine what features, functionalities and price points will make your solution a must have.
So I read with great interest last week’s article in the Globe and Mail titled Why your DNA is a gold mine for marketers.
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By Leo Valiquette
Monday was a snow day across the Ottawa region, or, to be more precise, an ice rain day.
That left tens of thousands of kids with a bonus day off from school and parents tasked with finding alternative care arrangements. Many no doubt conceded defeat and took the day off rather than endure a hellish morning commute.
Today is another challenging one for parents. Elementary teachers with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board are on a one-day walkout to protest the Ontario government’s Bill 115. Their action impacts almost 50,000 students.
Of the two events, the walkout should be the less disruptive. It does, after all, impact only elementary schools and only one of the Ottawa area’s school boards. Parents were also given five days advance notice.
Our fickle winter weather is seldom so accommodating.
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By Leo Valiquette
I’ve referenced before the old joke about the easy-going work-life balance that results from being an entrepreneur. “I can work for only half the day,” says the entrepreneur. “And I get to decide which 12 hours that will be.”
But long hours are certainly not reserved for the start-up of a new business. I’ve worked with clients with professional practices whose emails often bear time stamps of 3 a.m. And in many industries, there is an ebb and flow to the volume of work based on the time of year.
Take, for example, the accounting industry, where the run up to tax season can be insanely busy. I know one accountant who maintains his focus through the daily practice of martial arts. “It gives me the energy to work until midnight when I have to,” he told me. “Instead of losing steam by 8 p.m.”
But there is always the risk of allowing such extreme work patterns to become habit, endangering personal health and relationships outside of the office.
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By Leo Valiquette
Alex’s post on Monday about the economic necessity of supporting investment in more women-led startups is all the more timely as it comes the same week that we cheer the release of Startup Canada’s Action Plan to drive economic development, job creation and innovation coast to coast.
During its 40-city Canadian tour over the past year, Startup Canada confirmed what those of us involved with the startup community already know:
- Canadians in general are hyper-rational and risk averse, and view entrepreneurship with disbelief, mistrust and apathy.
- Young people are often unaware of what it means to be an entrepreneur, and are not educated in the basics of what it takes to launch and grow a business.
- Young people are often dissuaded by parents, school guidance counsellors and other influencers from pursuing entrepreneurship as a career path.
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By Leo Valiquette
