A small business hired us to promote their grand opening. They had us write a commercial that stated they would exceed customer expectations, great at serving people, had many years of experience and were very knowledgeable about business. The problem was on the day of their grand opening they were 15 minutes late to open their doors and 10 people were standing in the cold waiting for them to open, the place was a mess, boxes in the aisles, and they were oblivious to the whole thing!
Instead of pointing out everything they did wrong I decided to tell them a story about another business that had poor customer service and did not match the message with the experience. I was hoping that by doing this they would see the light. Not only did they not SEE what I was telling them but they went on to tell me how THEY were DIFFERENT from other businesses in that they were exceptional at serving people!
At that point I gave up! By the way that business lasted 6 months before they closed their doors. Unfortunately this happens all too often in business but even more concerning is how much this is happening with EVERYONE!
Like a business our Message must match the experience or to put it another way what we advertise (tell others about ourselves) must match our Actions and Attitude.
When a restaurant advertises about how good their food is people will come in to “Taste & See”. They will TRY it to see if you are telling the truth or are you photo shopping your Advertisement!
When you promote yourself to others as a friend, worker, opportunity, for a date, for a job or to hire others what do you say and more importantly will your Message match their experience? Or are you doing what most businesses are doing in their commercials: promising a lot and delivering a little!
Do you follow through with what you say?
Are you on time or late?
How do you treat others?
When working are you efficient and productive or watching the clock and praying for 5pm?
Do you do more than what is asked or just enough to keep what you have?
Do you take initiative and get things done at work or do you wait to be told?
If everyone one who hears your words would Taste & SEE what would their experience be?
Do you “Photo Shop” your resume, accomplishments and past history the way some do on dating sites?
If you want balance and success in your life then make sure your words (Advertisement) matches your Actions & Attitude!
Find Your Passion and You Will Find Your Life!