Hey Square Readers,
We’re reaching the end of Start with Why by Simon Sinek, and we hope you’ve enjoyed it!
Tomorrow, Tuesday May 23rd, (at 4pm Eastern US & CA) is our Live Video Chat Discussion where we’ll talk all about this book. Join in to hang out and chat with other Readers and see what they learned from this book.
If you’re not done reading yet, take your time! We’re starting the next book, The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib on Monday June 5th, but our discussion threads will stay up in this group.
And with that, let’s jump into our final discussions for Start with Why:
Sinek says that there are How people and Why people: those that gravitate more towards the practical steps or the big picture mission.
Are you more of a How or a Why person?
Do you have someone at your business who is the other to balance out? What else can you do to be able to manage both?
I’ll share mine in the comments below.
We may repost your comments into our summary post at the end of the month.
See you in the Live Chat tomorrow!
Can’t wait to read more with you,
Pesso
@Pesso Man I hope we get a “new thread posted in a subscribed group” notification, soon! Otherwise, I’m going to have to set myself a regular reminder to check this group for new stuff. I missed most of this book’s conversation! (Any progress on this, @AdamB? 😏. Yes that’s rhetorical. No need to reply.)
Anyway, How vs. Why? I am both. I’ve been both. But I’ll admit to getting bogged down in the how details and being too analytically minded, overall. The pandemic flipped a switch inside me, though. We engaged the help of a local marketing company just after the lockdowns, when we realized that we wanted to rebrand Piper’s. I’ve always been somewhat of a social media skeptic, but they actually got me excited about it. Social Media marketing is nothing if it is not focused on the “why” of Piper’s. We get to tell out story. We get to engage with our customers in a different way. Honestly, it’s been nothing short of a miracle to witness the responses — both in person and in the ether.
Before we opened for the 2023 season, I started making regular posts on our FB page — on topics such as our Loyalty Program, our “cash vs. card” philosophy, our new flavors and toppings, etc. We used this to explain why our motto has always been “It’s time for something different!” ™️. The page engagement went through the roof and we weren’t even open, yet!
A big part of my how-to-why transition and balancing came when I realized that we were trying to be everything to everybody. We had food. We had frozen treats. We had adult beverages. Honestly, we had no clear, defined messaging. Not only was our message and brand fragmented, but that lack of focus meant we were constantly playing whack-a-mole with problems/issues rather than doing what it turns out we do best, and what our guests wanted us to do most. We simplified, focused and strove to be the best we could be without all of the other “wouldn’t it be nice to have…” distractions. That laser focus on the Why of Piper’s turned out to be the solution that helped with all of the How problems. Our profits shot up. Our sales shot up. Our visibility is better than I could have ever hoped or dreamed. Sometimes, it seems, I guess I need a pandemic to remind me why I am in business. LOL
This year we started running occasional contests. Winners receive a nominal Piper’s eGift card. The response has been great, and people have had fun. Of course, free stuff is never a bad way to attract interest! Anyway, I’m asked a lot why we do this. The first time, I had to think about it. It wasn’t just because I wanted more business. Business is good enough without this. When I looked at my motivations, I realized that I started this because I love engaging with our customers like this. It helps us create that sense of community at Piper’s we’ve always strived to create. My most recently completed contest got me comments like the one in the photo below. I don’t do them to fish for compliments, but compliments like this one are reinforcement that our “Why” messages are succeeding!
Next on our list is the create some Instagram Reels. My Gen Z employees are excited about this, and not just because they will get a bonus for every reel that I decide to post. They love showing off their work. And since most of them have grown up with Piper’s over the past 12 years, to them it is just a part of the neighborhood they love. I still don’t understand Instagram and I probably don’t want to understand it. Ha. But I do understand that it is another vehicle for us to use to tell people about Why Piper’s Is. What’s not to like about that?
