Diamond or Square?
Which do you prefer? If you are like most Canadians, you know exactly what I’m referring to and, perhaps more astonishingly, you may even know that most people prefer Diamond Shreddies (62%) over Square Shreddies (38%). What many of you may not know, however, is that the incredibly simple and yet incredibly innovative Diamond Shreddies strategy managed to drive radical growth for what, just a short time ago, was a seriously struggling brand.
If you have ever heard me speak, you have heard me refer to the Five S’s of Unexpected Encounters™, Unexpected Encounters™ being those strategically innovative Customer Touchpoint Experiences that provide us with the opportunity to influence what our customers will think, feel and do next so that we can attract, keep and engage more customers. Over the last few months, many of you have asked me to review the Five S’s and the success of the Diamond Shreddies campaign is a great opportunity for me to do just that. Read more…
Tags: business strategies, customer experience, customer experience innovation, innovation, innovation expert, innovative business strategies, strategic innovation
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Would you like to double your revenue?
Better still, what if you could double your revenue simply by optimizing pre-existing customer behavior? Would that be of value to you and your business?
Canada Post recently released a promotional campaign called Picture Postage™. It’s so simple it’s scary. Picture Postage™ allows you to personalize your mail by creating customized stamps using your favorite digital photos. As their website says , “Picture Postage™ is a unique and creative way to capture special moments in your life – whether it’s to mark an occasion, celebrate a loved one or commemorate a pet – and share it with friends and family”.
What it really is, however, is an incredibly innovative business strategy for seriously increasing the revenue generated by the sale of stamps. Read more…
Tags: Canada Post, ideas, innovation, innovation expert, innovative business strategies, revenu generation, strategic innovation
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Recently Ger and I found ourselves staying at the same hotel as a unique group of people who build and fly their own Ultralight planes. You know, those tiny little two seater planes with the propeller in the back just behind the very small cockpit? Ouf. I get nervous just thinking about it.
Well, one evening we had the privilege of meeting Larry and his wife Janet. The conversation would have been interesting enough even if we had just stayed focused on the fact that the plane that Larry flies had been delivered to him in pieces with instructions – something like a model car – and that he had then proceeded to assemble it in his garage. Imagine the looks on his neighbors’ faces when they looked out their windows one day to see Larry removing the entire front of his garage so that he could take off for the day in his new plane! Read more…
Tags: courage, dreams, life, Why Not!
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Okay – I admit it – I’ve been missing in action. The last Innovation Insights Newsletter went out many months ago. And although I may not have a good excuse for my absence, I do have a good reason.
It all started well over a year ago. There I was, doing my own thing, settling into my life as a single mom with two amazing children and a business that I adore when Boom! Love walked into my life. And not just any love. The love of a lifetime. The kind of love that we all want to believe in, but we’re never really sure that we do.
Well, all of a sudden, there it was, staring me right in the heart. So I did what any reasonable and rational person would have done in the same set of circumstances. I ran. I ran far and I ran fast.
But love ran faster and before I knew it, I was surrounded. Resistance was futile. (Thank goodness!)
Read more…
Tags: ideas, innovation, innovation expert, strategic innovation
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It’s an early Sunday morning at Starbucks and I’m here to catch a few quiet moments and to organize my thoughts for the week. There’s something about the Sunday morning mood at Starbucks. It’s peaceful, reflective and a good place to be.
There’s an older gentleman sitting to my right. I’ve walked past him a couple of times as I picked up my coffee. Caught his eye … smiled… got a small but hesitant smile in return. Not sure how to describe him. Fragile maybe. Yes, fragile would be the right word.
Read more…
Tags: ideas, innovation, innovation expert, opportunities, Starbucks, strategic innovation
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Are you the curious type?
I know I am. Like surfing on the web, I love the adrenalin rush I get when I allow my mind to surf from one idea to another. I often don’t know where I’ll end up but I am always amazed that I usually end up somewhere that I actually need to be.
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Have you heard this?
Raise your hand if you have ever heard someone say, “We don’t have an idea problem. We have an execution problem.”
Perhaps you’ve even heard someone within your own organization say that.
Perhaps you have said that. (You can put your hand down now.)
Well, if you haven’t heard it, I have. Over and over and over again. “We have so many ideas that we don’t know what to do with them. The problem is not ideas. The problem is execution.”
Read more…
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What are you doing right now?
Whatever you are doing, please take a few minutes and go and turn on your TV. History is in the making. I was sitting here getting ready to send you my newsletter when a good friend reminded me to turn on the TV. And I realized that talking about anything else today other than Barack Obama’s journey into our future would be remiss.
Read more…
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It’s a steamy July day – with just enough of a breeze billowing through the car window to transform the weather in the south of France from “hot” to “heavenly”. As I make my way along small country roads, well off the beaten track, an insistent rumble in my stomach reminds me that my quaint continental breakfast is now several hours behind me and that it is time for a midday meal.
After miles of absolutely no sightings of food service whatever, I finally spot a small hut that seems to be doing double duty as the local take out joint for the summer months. Not exactly what I had in mind but it will have to do.
Read more…
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On the first visit, I was stuck in my truth.
On the second visit, my truth wavered.
On the third visit, I discovered the truth.My stepmother, the woman who married my father when I was 10 years old, is in the final stages of Alzheimer’s. Her mind shut down long ago and now her body is following suit.
I visited my stepmother in Halifax three times over the last few months. Read more…
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