The Baer Facts Issue 66: Transcend the Transaction to Trigger Word of Mouth

❓ Today's Burning Question 

So many delicious (and deliciously intriguing) answers to last issue's question on favorite sandwich. 

Winner is Bill Bergh regarding the Shrimp BLT from Royer’s Round Top Café in Round Top, Texas. Loved how he tied it back to word of mouth. Congrats Bill!

This week's question: Who is the most famous person you've met, and what were the circumstances? Most interesting answer wins tequila + a book.

Transcend the Transaction to Trigger Word of Mouth

Three things I know to be true:

1.

Word of mouth remains the best way to succeed in business, especially in categories that don't have a lot of baked-in differentiation.

2.

Competency doesn't create conversations. We don't talk about "good" we talk about things that happen we did NOT expect.

3.

One of the ways to turn your customers into word of mouth-spewing advocates is to transcend the transaction. Be helpful in a lane that is outside your core business.

In my 3+ day drive cross-country for my annual San Diego wintertime relocation, I experienced a fantastic example of a company LIVING those three principles.

After a 10-hour drive from Oklahoma, we wearily arrived at Homewood Suites by Hilton Albuquerque Uptown. 

We'd paid the $50 pet fee for our cavachon, Marigold, when we made the reservation a couple weeks prior, so the fact we were traveling with a tiny hound was not a mystery.

At check-in, there was a colorful gift bag behind the registration desk that read "Baer. Woof."

The bag was presented to me at check-in, along with our keys to the room. 

And what was inside that bag was a big surprise.

• A stuffed bone to chew-on (Marigold, not me)
• Milkbones to snack on 
• Clean-up bags 
• And most remarkably, a lovely letter welcoming us with resources noted for closest dog park, vet, pet store, and beyond.

Did I need a vet or a pet store? Not at that moment, no. 

But traveling with pets creates anxiety, and just the knowledge of the nearby resources was a comfort.  

What I love about this gesture is that it truly does transcend the transaction.

This is a hotel, not a pet groomer or doggy day care facility. Yet, they put real effort into providing information and entertainment outside their core value proposition.

The cost of this Woof bag of goodies and info is easily covered by the pet fee. And now, Homewood Suites has a word of mouth-generating gambit. 

How can you transcend the transaction and create conversation just by being unexpectedly helpful? 

See the "Jay's Faves" section of this newsletter? 

It's one of the ways that I transcend the transaction and try to help you in ways beyond delivering presentations and consulting. 

📗 The Books Report

If you know a child between 4-8 years old, add to cart.

Be the Buffalo is a fun story, beautifully illustrated, about how buffalo run into storms (and escape them quickly as a result).

It's an important lesson about confronting difficulties in life by meeting them head-on. 

Written by one of my closest friends, the best-selling author and speaker Rory Vaden, this is my new go-to gift for kids. You'll adore this book! 

✅ Jay's Faves

We arrived in California at the start of the "atmospheric river" (fancy name for torrential and dangerous amount of rain). 

Handily, we packed two Blunt Metro umbrellas. Compact but not tiny, these umbrellas are incredibly sturdy, stylish, and well-made. 

I gave out 150 of these to clients and colleagues 7+ years ago, and still get comments about how great these umbrellas are. 

If you're not that into getting wet, get a Blunt.  

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