Trent365

We don’t search online...we Google it.

We don’t book a ride-hailing service...we call an Uber.

Just like Kleenex & Xerox before them, these brands have become generic trademarks (or proprietary eponyms).

They have come to define the category.

So what happened to YouTube?

Surely, the brand that has owned video for more than a decade should also have become the proprietary eponym?

#branding #product #category #brandstrategy

Help People Do X At Home.

That's a basic template for a potentially infinite number of new startup businesses, according to Paul Graham, Founder of YCombinator.

YCombinator is one of the most famous startup accelerators of our time, having created such great businesses as AirBnB, Dropbox, Reddit and many more.

The Founder, Paul Graham, was recently lamenting how his kids never seem to leave the house anymore because everything they need comes to them in some way or another.

Whilst Graham doesn't love the fact that his kids don't leave the house, he does realise that this is a great template for any business in the future, for a very long time to come.

#startupideas #businessidea #futuretrends

More customers. More sales. More revenue.

More is usually what we strive for.

But it's important to remember that at some point, the Law of Diminishing Returns will probably come in to play.

If you add more items to your menu, your customers might get confused by the choices and give up.

When you drive too many more customers into your store with one day specials, the shopping experience for your regular customers will probably be negatively effected. So they shop there less.

There is always a trade-off with More. You just need to decide is it trade you're prepared to make.

#more #balance #tradeoff #diminishingreturns

Can you imagine a world where Hotels did not have Spas?

Many can't. But the fact is, just 25 years ago, most Hotels did not have a Spa.

But if we are to be able to effectively imagine the Hotel Spa of Tomorrow, I would suggest what we need to do is forget everything we know today about the Hotel Spa and start again. Begin with a completely blank canvas.

So, if the Hotel Spa did not exist today...

- what would we put in its place?

- where would it be located?

- what services would it offer?

- what would be the price point?

Lots of questions. Time to start coming up with some answers.

What are your thoughts...?

#hotelspa #tomorrowspa #hotels

One man's inconvenience is another man's value.

After-Sales Service is an inconvenience to the Seller...but potentially invaluable to the Buyer.

Amazon's return policy is a massive inconvenience to the organisation...yet, for many customers, it's a key factor in them making the purchase in the first place.

So next time you're thinking about all those little inconveniences in your business, just remember, they might actually being exactly what is providing your customers so much of the value that they seek.

#convenience #inconvenience #perspective #value #customerservice

Not so long ago we often found ourselves asking 'When's the best time to call?'

But that was a different time. A different world. A world without the mobile phone.

Today, we're in a mobile-first world. We're always on. Always connected.

And with that comes the flexibility for us to take and make calls whenever we want.

So in actual fact, the best time to call me is 'My Time'. 

The problem is, you have no way of knowing when exactly 'My Time' is for me. 

'My Time' is different for everyone and also varies from day-to-day.

Today, I might want to take a call in my car on the way home from work.

Tomorrow, I might have someone with me in the car, so that's not a good time.

So, if you're the caller, don't worry about. Call whenever you want. But just understand that I too will answer &/or respond whenever I want.

The critical thing is not the time that you call, but making sure that whatever message you have for me is compelling to me. If it is, I can guarantee I'll be calling you back soon.

#mytime #phonecall #callme #communication

Author Joseph Pine is credited with coining the phrase The Experience Economy.

What's it's all about is the shift, over time, from a Commodities-based Economy, to a Goods-based Economy, to a Services-based Economy and now, heading into an Experience-based Economy.

In short, our customers, guests & clients are looking for something more. Something experiential.

Today's focus is on Time Well Spent, rather than Time Well Saved.

What can you do in your business to make give your customers and more immersive experience. A more experiential offering?

Here's the book - The Experience Economy - https://www.amazon.com/Experience-Economy-New-Preface-Authors/dp/1633697975

#experiential #immersiveexperience #customerexperience #guestexperience

If you're looking for a new customer, a new product innovation, a new market opportunity or even a new job, it's time to STOP LOOKING and START LISTENING!

The problem with Actively Looking is that your bias kicks in. You're looking for a result and so you might just end up seeing one that isn't really there.

When you're Actively Listening, you're responding and reacting to what you're hearing. To what the market is telling you. 

With this mindset you are far more likely to find what it is that you are seeking.

#listening #looking #bias #perspective #mindset

The Aged Care industry is looking to Hospitality and Wellness for fresh ideas and ways of doing things.

But I believe it won't be too long before it's the Hotel Industry looking to Aged Care to find better ways to integrate Wellness.

And there's a very simple reason for that.

Wellness in Aged Care is a NEED. Wellness in Hotels is, and will largely continue to be, a WANT.

There's a great article here by Nancy Griffin on the Aged Care - Hospitality - Wellness intersection...

https://www.insidersguidetospas.com/features/wellness-hospitality-in-senior-care/

PS: Thanks to Nicole Hagestad for sharing it.

#wellness #agedcare #hospitality #hotels #hotelspa

"The only thing you change by moving, is your address."

A great quote for the show The River on Netflix.

The point they're making is that running away won't necessarily solve your problems.

I don't totally agree.

Especially if your problem is being in a bit of a rut.

In that case, moving is possibly the best thing you can do.

#problems #newlife #freshstart #newbeginnings