We had a visit from Conner Galway of Junction last week and he has left me both depressed and excited. Depressed by how much he knows that we don’t. But excited by the possibilities of the learning curve that is before us. Apart from doing two workshops with Real Estate professionals and Travel & Tourism operators, we got to spend 4 days talking to Connor about all things Digital.
The big takeway? Cherchez votre creneau. I had heard this years ago in relation to Trout and Ries’ seminal work on “Positioning”. Connor’s version relates to how brands really need to find their one thing to own, in the sea of information on the www. He gave the story of the “spa and pool” cleaning company owner who came up with the bright idea to give everybody on his team an i-phone. The market was in recession and his budget for marketing had declined 10-fold. The i-phone gave them the ability to capture myriad experiences on the job and to tell interesting stories. Posting these became his marketing. He credits this singular act with helping him to jump out of the pack and get his phone ringing again.
Trinidad and Tobago is not famous for making data driven decisions. We still operate largely on gut. The internet will force us to embrace data or we will die. Market analytics will become a core competency of marketing people. That’s why as the supreme ruler of pepper I have legislated that we all get certified in market analytics. I’m so excited about the possibilities that I can’t sleep.
We can’t move fast enough. The most digital companies are leaving the rest behind. So we’re grateful to Connor for travelling 7,066 kilometres to come to Port of Spain to share his digital smarts with us and light some fire under us. It’s up to us to make sure it catches.
Thank you Conner.
