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Topic: MProfs PRO Seminar Q&A

Enchanting Someone With Brand New Type Of Service

Posted by dacce on 6/2/2011 at 1:37 PM ET 250 Points
Many examples of Enchantment are about how someone took something with which people were already familiar and made it enchanting - for example, people understood airlines before Richard Branson started Virgin Airways.

But what if you're trying to enlist people in something they've never used before? For example, you want businesses to take your environmental advice - but they've never had someone give them environmental advice before?

(They've bought plenty of advice on IT, or marketing, but never even had someone offer them environmental advice.)

Thanks!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 6/2/2011 at 1:53 PM Moderator
    You need to do the missionary work first -- convincing your target audience that they actually need environmental advice, and that there's a clear benefit for them in dealing with environmental issues.

    And you probably have to first identify the sub-segments that are most likely to accept the environmental advice. Maybe it's a particular industry, or a small geographic region, or an area of functional expertise (or a combination of all three).

    It won't be easy, but if you narrow your focus to just the "low-hanging fruit," you may be able to convince that niche to take you up on an offer, and then you can use success with the leaders to provide social proof to the next tier.
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 6/2/2011 at 1:58 PM Member
    there are plenty of companies buying environmental advice. Follow the USGBC and LEED. The client who will invest in a LEED building is your client. In fact current editions require not only the building be built in an environmental manner, but maintained environmentally.

    The US Government is the largest customer of USGBC. They watch very closely how they maintain their buildings, etc.

    So if you are of the mind set people don't pay for this kind of service, look again and do more research. Find your niche and fine tune it.
  • Posted by michael on 6/2/2011 at 5:37 PM Member
    You really do have to explain how this would directly affect their bottom line (increase sales or reduce expenses). In each of the cases you stated, business already see them as a cost of doing business.

    Honestly, the only time I think of this is if the RFP asks for info on our "green activities". Honestly? I've never won business because of it. That said, government projects do weight this pretty heavily.

    Michael
  • Posted on 6/3/2011 at 12:43 AM Member
    Every country is tring to acheive economic prosperiety and ecological sustainability and social interaction takes a back seat.The laws have to be redefined.Its always better if industries involve by creating a forum where students of schools and colleges are asked to write papers on Bio-Diversity,Homes and other related themes on environmental protection,which leads to an award.As these students are tomorrows administrators.The organization can place a mentor for the students and the judges could be a panel of ecological sustainability experts.The companies could also build an ecological sustainability hub within the campus for the winners which leads to the organization being in constant touch on this issue.
    Achu
    CMO Axis
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 6/3/2011 at 1:04 AM Accepted
    to add-- it is now common place for companies to hire a "director of sustainability"-- if you get a chance, the director of this at Walmart does a lot of public speaking and you'll find him very insightful.

    Point is, if companies are making full time high level positions on sustainability-- what about the companies that can't hire someone on that level full time? That would be where you come in. Google what they do, research and build your model.
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