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Newsletter #923: The “Show Them You Mean It” Issue

[Welcome back to the Damn, I Wish I’d Thought of That! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]

Remarkable demonstrations can give your future customers a remarkable reason to talk about you. Here are a few great ones that no one is going to forget:

1. Let them suffer
2. Get rid of the cord
3. Surprise them
4. Check it out: Wordmark.it

1. Let them suffer

It’s hard to understand what your beneficiaries are going through when you give to a charity. Organizations try to help donors get a glimpse with videos, interviews, and sad Sarah McLachlan songs. But what if you could help potential donors really step into the shoes of the people who need their kindness? Faktum, a newspaper written and sold by homeless people, raised awareness for the 3,400 homeless in Gothenburg, Sweden, by offering the actual places where they sleep as hotel accommodations. “Booking a room” for $10 a night donates the money to their charity.

The lesson: How can you create opportunities for your donors to truly understand your cause?

Learn more: Digital Buzz Blog

2. Get rid of the cord

Most electronic stores keep their demo cameras on a leash. This means that the first impression their customers have of these gadgets is a boring shot of the other cameras tethered to the counter. Nikon set up a booth at CES with scenes that people actually want to photograph: a couple dancing salsa, a colorful mad scientist’s lab, a garden, and even a wedding scene. Their booth was packed with people trying out their product because the demonstrations were much more meaningful and exciting.

The lesson: What are you doing to keep people from interacting with your stuff naturally? How can you make their experience more authentic?

Learn more: Rohit Bhargava

3. Surprise them

Microsoft wanted to show everyone that Windows 8 is easy to use and intuitive. But if some tech guy at their store is showing you the ropes, it’s hard to understand how easily you could actually do it yourself. But if a kid can do it, you can do it too, right? That’s why when the salesperson asked if the customer would like a “small demonstration” he brought out an elementary school-aged kid to show them Windows 8’s coolest feature: simplicity. Their customers were surprised, they were bringing over their friends to watch, and they were witnessing Microsoft stay true to their message.

The lesson: How can you surprise and delight your customers by sticking to your promise?

Learn more: Adverblog

4. Check it out: Wordmark.it

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Check it out: Wordmark.it

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