"Today we met with Nappi Distributors, got a lot of information. As I learn more about marketing this product and selling, it's about the personal touch. How can we differentiate ourselves in every way possible? Yet, still be appealing to the final customer. Our slogan may become, The Way Cider Should Be. Create a whole theme around it. Should be in cans. Should taste like apples. Should support local agriculture. Might work. I can't wait to get producing. Watch and guide our brand development. Why do all processes of a business come down to marketing and selling? That's what it's all about. Master it (and finance), be employed forever..."
I hope every six months for the rest of my life I can look back at those previous months and think, "Wow, I'm glad I have the ability to learn because if I still only knew what I knew then, I'd be in a tough spot." Yet, there are ideas here that except I still hold very close to me, such as the personal touch point. I was talking with a man who works at a place our cider is served today. He was dropping knowledge left and right. My favorite one was, it's all about the experience people have when drinking a beverage. He then went on to describe the arch of his craft beer/cider drinking career. He is currently very deep in the craft beer/cider culture and loves trying different drinks, but he said the ones he drank when his interest in craft beer/cider first started hold a special place in his heart because it was the experience he had with the beer or cider. He thought, "Wow, this tastes incredible I can't believe I've never had this stuff before. Amazing. And... there is more of this in the world!!! What a wonderful place we live in." (I paraphrased that, but that's generally what he said) The frame of mind we have before an event determines if it's a good or bad experience. Back to the personal touch point, the execution of this is all about getting around and talking to people about our cider. Giving people a positive frame of mind to drink our cider with and hoping they pass it along, that's currently how I believe a strong brand is built. Tomorrow it may be different.
The take away: Whether you are having our cider or waking up tomorrow and going to work, try it with a positive frame of mind and the experience will probably be better. If you need someone to give that to you, call me: 650 279 2417.
Typically, Ross ends a post with a story about Ben and I. The two of us are usually blissfully unaware of the blog post and the stories it contains until it's too late to protest. Consequently, I've learned to brace myself for his posts. As some may already know, I get embarrassed when stories of me are told by another person and I often finish reading the post with a slightly elevated heart rate and rosy cheeks. With that said, I'll end with a hat-trick of stories about Ross, navigation, and packaging.
One sunny April day, Ross (hereafter referred to as Fernando Magellan) was heading down to the mid-coast of Maine to visit some bars and restaurants. Unsure of himself when navigating East-West in Maine, Fernando decided to use the "Maps" app on his iPhone. He typed in where he was going, pressed Route and viola, Fernando was suddenly a blue dot on the screen tasked with simply following a lighter blue line to his destination. The voyage was going as planned until Fernando began to notice he was often taking the path less traveled (read: very slow and small side streets). Determined, Fernando dutifully followed the light blue line, until it turned onto a dirt path. Confused and feeling betrayed by the "Maps" app, Fernando fumbled with the phone to discover what was wrong. As it turned out, Fernando had accidentally left the directions on the "walking" setting instead of "driving". After fixing the problem, Fernando reached his destination only losing time and respect for the "Maps" app.
On another sunny day in April, Ross (hereafter referred to as the UPS Man) had finished setting up the Downeast Cider Facebook Store and just received the first order. Giddy, the UPS Man scurried around the apartment looking for the perfect box to ship the 10 glass mugs in. Jackpot! He found it. Beginning to stack the mugs in, the UPS Man began to realize the mugs took up more space than anticipated. Instead of looking for a larger box, the UPS Man turned it into a game; I'm going to get these 10 mugs into this box and ship the box 3,000 miles. After stretching the box well past it's limits to contain the mugs, the UPS Man had victory within reach. At which point a spectator of the game commented, "I'm not sure that looks professional." Unflinchingly, the UPS Man responded, "It's not professional, but nothing inside this box will break. This baby is sturdy." The observer thought, he's correct, all the box has to do is make it 3,000 miles without anything inside breaking, looks don't matter...
Fast forward 1 week... Dialogue transcription of phone call with customer...
Customer: Received the mugs we ordered today.
Downeast Cider Associate: How are they, sir?
Disgruntled Customer: Five of the ten didn't survive the voyage.
Downeast Cider Associate: I'm not sure I understand.
Increasingly Disgruntled Customer: Five broke.
Downeast Cider Associate: We'll replace those free of charge and toss in something extra for the kids.
Satisfied Customer: Why thank you! Downeast Cider House has the best customer service ever!!!
Now, That's Logistics.
update: replacement mugs arrived safe and sound - can't wait to fill 'em!
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