Think of Your Customer's Emergencies and Strike Now (UPDATED NEWS)
-Dave Lawson
Content Operations Director
We are wrapping up a particularly stressful week here at my home just outside of Minneapolis.
My son's hamster, Mustard, escaped his enclosure and, four days out, is still missing.
My son, Kellen, is 9 and all of his heart is wrapped around this hamster.
Before adopting Mustard he watched hours of YouTube videos on the proper care of hamsters. I quickly learned that everything I did when I was a kid with a hamster was...well, wrong. This hamster got the best bedding, best food, and a huge enclosure.
Kellen wanted to avoid the big box stores and adopt a hamster from a breeder.
Do hamster breeder's exist?
The answer is yes, and I found one online located just 10 minutes from my house.
He handpicked his hamster, gave the breeder $10, and named him Mustard.
Mustard escaped once, but we found him just hours later.
This time, there is NO sign of the little guy.
No traces of droppings or chewed up paper... nothing.
This $10 dollar rodent has my family torn up. I have to admit, he was/is a cute little thing.
So...what does this have to do with you?
During the past week, we have watched dozens of YouTube videos and read a dozen blog posts about finding lost hamsters. They described how to set up traps and the foods that bring them in.
Hamster content that has sat there for years just waiting for our desperate plea for help.
This is where I thought of you, a business owner that can easily create the same type of content.
Not hamster content, but helpful emergency content that falls into your world of expertise.
Plant this content early and let it slowly grow.
What type of content can you create?
If you're a realtor, how about a video (or two) on what to do if a deal is about to fall through because of (fill in the blank). You could give tips on how to save the deal!
If you're a running store owner you could create a series of videos that focus on pains related to running, and what to do (always include a disclaimer to see your doctor!)
If you run an auto-service center, you could create a series of videos that teach people how to change a flat tire, how to jumpstart a dead battery, and funny smells coming out of your engine.
If you're a chiropractor, you have about 70,000 emergency topics you could produce.
Action items: Make a list of the give biggest stresses your customers may encounter and record a video with helpful tips.
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Being there in someone's desperate time of need, like finding a hamster, will lead to creating a friend for life.
Now if you'll excuse me, a blog told me to put peanut butter in every corner of the house.
UPDATE: After 5 days, we FOUND HIM alive and safe in one of the traps we learned to make from a YouTube video! Most blog posts said he had around 3 days to live without food and water. My wife and I pretty much lost hope and realized we had to have a pretty tough conversation with my son. Then I heard her scream from the basement: “Dave … he’s… BACK!”
I love a happy ending.
