If there is one thing that makes us tick at T3, it’s listening to our clients’ customers.
I had a remarkable opportunity last week to sit down over breakfast with some farmers in upstate New York and talk. The coffee was pouring, plates clanking, eggs and pancakes flying everywhere. About as far as you can get from your traditional focus group.
But these people were totally comfortable talking about a brand they loved. They told stories, pulled out pictures and laughed with each other. We heard about their gardens, pets, kids and grandkids.
They told us what we were doing right (a lot!) and what we were doing wrong.
You could almost touch the work ethic in the room.
And when it was over, most of them came up to us and shook our hands and told us how much they appreciated us coming out and asking their opinion. And they said they enjoyed visiting with each other and hoped we would ask them to come back sometime.
We have all the high-tech listening platforms you would expect. But there is nothing better than talking face to face over a plate of chopped ham and eggs.
We got real insight. And we made some friends.
Listening is good.
Couldn’t agree with you more, Lee. I run a small PR and design firm and am always surprised by folks in our industry that avoid face-to-face interaction. We’re letting email, Twitter, etc. replace the importance of those face-to-face meetings where real relationships are developed. Those meetings are where we build brand loyalists … and in this economy, that loyalty is more important than ever.
I agree Jenna. While e-mail, Twitter, etc., as you mention, are invaluable and exciting new tools, I also worry about the decline of face-to-face interactions and am excited about brands willing to invest in developing relationships this way.