In light of recent discussions about how to bring commerce and activities to quiet areas, I offer this nudge (generic customer feedback)
I run I'm Bored Facebook/Twitter/Blogger-Blogspot. I list activities and businesses that can serve as answers to the complaint, "I'm Bored".
I have concerns that there are engagement issues that are being overlooked and can undermine any/all other efforts to elicit engagement from the public. It can basically be summarized as "not as advertised". And more than anything else I've encountered, leads to the claim, "I'm Bored".
Without using names, here are some examples.
a) An invitation to participate is posted for an event that lasts from 8am to 10am, but when I drive past at 9am there is no one there (not even event staff). Either someone started late or left early or had an emergency arise. I don't know what happened, I just know I rearranged my schedule to participate or support the event and I feel dissed.
b) An invitation for everyone to participate/shop is posted. I walk in and am treated not only like a stranger but like someone who is untrustworthy and despicable while the few others who are present are known by name and treated like family. Again, I feel dissed.
c) An invitation to an event that seems nearly impossible for our area is posted. Curious about how this is being pulled off, I research the activity only to see that the event used photos from a stock photo site (or worse) someone else's event. So, I drive by to see what the real deal is and discover that the activity (that if advertised properly probably would have been fine) has been way over sold. I feel disappointed again.
When people feel dissed and disappointed, they are less likely to try again. Worse yet, they're going to vent to someone (on the phone, in social media, whatever) and in doing so you may lose more than one participant. You'll lose a group. Now you not only have challenges related to business-sense, you have challenges related to social issues.
For those who didn't realize this was happening and want folks to give them a second chance, here's the tough part - many people won't even tell you that the situation occurred much less let you have a do-over. They'll just start complaining that they're bored and that there's nothing to do (because when they tried, the groups/events/businesses in the area failed to implement "protect word of mouth" systems. The customer isn't always right, but a good group admin/business leader/event coordinator knows how to turn most win-lose situations into compromise/collaborate situations (and usually the process begins with an apology that the previous experience left the member/participant/customer with a bad feeling and a sincere request to be given a chance to improve the situation).
I've seen reference to this type of problem addressed nicely in "Lunchmeat and Life Lessons" by Mary B. Lucas. As she explains in the book, her dad was a butcher. His advice to her was to lay on the comeback sauce (always leave someone with the desire to comeback). Often when they comeback they bring others. Positive word of mouth does wonders for a community resource. Negative word of mouth can shut an otherwise good community resource down.
As the owner of I'm Bored, I list activity/business options in our area and around the world; however, (at this time and for the foreseeable future) I am not paid to do this nor do I want to be. I am purely independent, trying to encourage community engagement while accurately representing the consumer perspective. I am not a promoter. I am not affiliated with a Chamber of Commerce or anybody else.
I post resources I find in-person and online. I go (unannounced) to places and events so I can leave with a genuine desire to brag about how friendly a place/event is and how much potential it has. If I, instead, feel dissed or disappointed, I won't blow smoke and pretend something was good when it wasn't. I won't badmouth it and I might still list it as an option, but I can't promote or dream about your potential if you have destroyed the illusion of potential. I can only list you as one of many options in the area and let others draw their own conclusions. How they discuss their experiences with you/about you is beyond my control.
No matter how good the quality or how reasonable the prices or how luxuriously displayed or how well marketed/designed or how rare the opportunity, if the in-person invitation to do something doesn't match the online invitation that got me there, you're going to have problems.
Now that everyone's online invitation game is improving and buzz is occurring, please be conscience of the comeback sauce. It makes all the difference.
