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Newsletter #963: The “Bring It To The People” 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.]

If the point of purchase is the only time you’re talking to your customers, you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities to make stronger connections — the kinds that turn regular customers into loyal ones.

Here’s how a design firm, a brewing company, and a dentist get up close and personal with the public:

1. Take it to the streets
2. Take them on a tour
3. Take down barriers
4. Check it out: Personalized soundscapes

1. Take it to the streets

Studio Shelf

Photo thanks to Adweek.

One day a month, design firm Studio Shelf brings their laptops and bright yellow furniture outdoors to a public space in Cape Town, South Africa to do their work on the street. That’s a powerful way for a design firm to be in touch with “real” people and to start conversations with the community about their work (conversations that wouldn’t happen if Studio Shelf spent every day in their normal office).

The lesson: It’s easy to forget how the rest of the world sees you. Sometimes the best way to get back in touch with reality is to sit out there in it.

Learn more: Adweek

2. Take them on a tour

Allagash brewery tour

Photo thanks to Small Biz Trends.

A lot of people do behind-the-scenes stuff for their customers, but Allagash Brewing Company treats beer brewing like a museum piece. A tour guide with a microphone gives you headphones so you can hear about the history of the place over the noise of the brewing, you get a chance to meet employees, and you taste their beer. These experiences turn casual visitors into experts on the company.

The lesson: It’s one thing to invite them backstage — it’s a whole different thing to give theme a mind-blowing tour, history lesson, and sensory experience.

Learn more: Small Biz Trends

3. Take down barriers

Studio Dental mobile office.

Photo thanks to Studio Dental.

People can come up with a lot of excuses to skip regular visits to the dentist, and “I’m too busy” is one of the biggest ones. But this mobile dental practice plans to eliminate that excuse by bringing their office to their customers. Studio Dental is a fully equipped dental office that fits inside a 230-square-foot trailer (and Google and Dropbox have already booked it to stop by their campuses).

The lesson: What excuse is keeping your customers from visiting your business? How can you bring it to them?

Learn more: Studio Dental

4. Check it out: Personalized soundscapes

Rain noise generator

Photo thanks to myNoise.net.

Need more than your alarm clock’s standard rain sounds and white noises? You can generate your own custom ones based on your personal hearing frequency, or you can create something completely different using color-coded sliders.

Check it out: myNoise

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