Since launching this blog I have received a variety of questions via email related to my posts, and have answered each one directly. However, I thought some of them that are broader in scope might be of interest to others - whether my answers are also of interest is to be determined.
Below are just a few of the recent ones I have received.
1. How can we reach homeschoolers?
I have written about this in several of my blogs already:
Why homeschoolers are not listening to you
Marketing to homeschool moms
What is the common core to homeschoolers?
Why homeschoolers are not listening to you (Part 2)
Reaching homeschoolers in 2014
I won't rehash all of those blogs here, but the main item to keep in mind here is that this is really such a vague question. "Reaching homeschoolers" carries with it the assumption they are all the same, and they all think alike. Just because you carry the title "Mom" doesn't mean you think and act like all other women who also happen to be mothers.
So, the first thought here is to understand what homeschoolers you are wanting to talk to, because you cannot reach all of them due to their diversity of thought.
2. Are all homeschoolers conservative?
Short answer is No. There is a homeschool spectrum that exists with conservative ones on one side, and liberal ones on the other side. Between the two lies the full array of thoughts and beliefs that mirror the overall population. There are secular homeschoolers, Muslim homeschoolers, and so on that make this community a true mosaic.
Even within the "conservative" side of the spectrum lies diversity -- young-Earth Creationists and old-Earth Creationists. There are some who believe the Bible instructs them to homeschool while others homeschool by choice, not mandate.
3. Why do all homeschoolers distrust the government?
First of all, not all homeschoolers do. (see the answer to #2 above) Just because a group is loud does not mean they are a majority, it just means they are vocal.
However, for those that do distrust the government, it is a very emotional issue that cannot be addressed satisfactorily with logic or reason.
4. Do homeschoolers really perform better on standardized tests than their public school counterparts do?
Research indicates that those homeschoolers who take the standardized tests do perform better on average than their public school counterparts. However, it could have as much to do with selectivity as it does with performance because not all homeschoolers take these tests.
5. Do you believe the Common Core will lead to further growth in alternative education such as homeschooling?
Fear is a great motivator (election cycles remind us of this all the time), and change breeds fear many times. An issue as galvanizing as the Common Core could actually lead to an increase in homeschoolers because parents will move toward safety -- when homeschool becomes safer than Common Core in the minds of families, it could lead to greater movement to the former.
6. What do you mean when you say "mainstream homeschoolers"?
My use of the word "mainstream" has more to do with the reasons behind their choice and the way they interact in the world than it does with any philosophical, spiritual, or political bent. In my view you can be mainstream and Christian, mainstream and Muslim, mainstream and agnostic or atheist.
There are over 2.4 million homeschoolers in America, and growing. My contention is the majority of them are quietly educating their children at home because they believe that is best for their situation. For them, education is the primary motivator in the decision though faith and values are also important to them -- whatever their faith may be.
And, they engage with the world in manners similar to what we find across all other target markets -- they shop online; they visit local zoos/aquariums; they go to movies; they shop at Target, Macy's, or even Wal Mart; they participate in sports, activities, and clubs; they own multiple computers (even iPads) and carry Directv or DISH -- in essence they do what everyone else does, they just happen to homeschool rather than private school or public school.
More questions to come in the future. Now back to our regularly-scheduled blog post.
houston@figment-consulting.com
Monday, April 7, 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Yes, if . . .
Harrison (Buzz) Price, who led the economic feasibility and site-location studies for Walt Disney that allowed for the development of Disneyland and Walt Disney World, utilized the "Yes, if . . ." approach as a basis for reasoning when he reported his research findings to Walt.
In his book Walt's Revolution! By the Numbers (Ripley Entertainment, Inc., 2003), which I had the pleasure of reading last month, Buzz states, "Walt liked this language. 'No, because' is the language of a deal killer. 'Yes, if . . .' is the approach of a deal maker. Creative people thrive on 'Yes, if . . .'"
Try the 'Yes, if . . .' approach for this month and see what changes occur.
houston@figment-consulting.com
In his book Walt's Revolution! By the Numbers (Ripley Entertainment, Inc., 2003), which I had the pleasure of reading last month, Buzz states, "Walt liked this language. 'No, because' is the language of a deal killer. 'Yes, if . . .' is the approach of a deal maker. Creative people thrive on 'Yes, if . . .'"
Try the 'Yes, if . . .' approach for this month and see what changes occur.
houston@figment-consulting.com
Monday, March 31, 2014
The power of generosity, delight, and an abundant attitude.
One of my passions is excellent customer service. It is difficult for me to go anywhere without thinking about, paying attention to, and seeing ways in which the service being provided could be improved. Many times, it does not take a budget, instead it can be the little things that make all the difference.
The link below shares some heart-warming stories on customer service. Within each you can see the two primary ingredients (generosity and delight), and the main foundation (attitude of abundance - the more freely I give, the more I will receive) upon which excellent customer service is built.
10 Customer Service Stories that will Restore Your Faith in Humanity
by Gregory Ciotti
houston@figment-consulting.com
The link below shares some heart-warming stories on customer service. Within each you can see the two primary ingredients (generosity and delight), and the main foundation (attitude of abundance - the more freely I give, the more I will receive) upon which excellent customer service is built.
10 Customer Service Stories that will Restore Your Faith in Humanity
by Gregory Ciotti
houston@figment-consulting.com
Friday, March 28, 2014
The one thing that will not change.
By the time I finish typing this sentence, technology will have changed yet again.
Growing up, did you ever believe you would spend your day "tweeting"?
People complain that Instagram is not quick enough.
Candy Crush was actually a recent IPO -- an app maker is now a public company. How long ago was it that apps were first introduced?
When was the last time you used your fax machine?
Pay phones are now exhibits in a museum.
So, yes change is occurring rapidly and it is difficult to keep up, especially for companies that tend to move slowly.
However, through it all there is one thing that does not change, and by focusing on it first, it can actually help you navigate through all of the change.
Taking care of your customers.
Technology, social media, and the change that comes with them are only tools to allow you to take care of your customers in delightful and more personal ways.
If your attention is on the ever-changing technology and trying to keep up, then your customers will feel that. But, if your focus is on your customers, it can drive your decisions on which tools to use, and which ones to avoid.
Don't lose sight of what you are building by becoming too enamored with the shiny new tools.
houston@figment-consulting.com
Growing up, did you ever believe you would spend your day "tweeting"?
People complain that Instagram is not quick enough.
Candy Crush was actually a recent IPO -- an app maker is now a public company. How long ago was it that apps were first introduced?
When was the last time you used your fax machine?
Pay phones are now exhibits in a museum.
So, yes change is occurring rapidly and it is difficult to keep up, especially for companies that tend to move slowly.
However, through it all there is one thing that does not change, and by focusing on it first, it can actually help you navigate through all of the change.
Taking care of your customers.
Technology, social media, and the change that comes with them are only tools to allow you to take care of your customers in delightful and more personal ways.
If your attention is on the ever-changing technology and trying to keep up, then your customers will feel that. But, if your focus is on your customers, it can drive your decisions on which tools to use, and which ones to avoid.
Don't lose sight of what you are building by becoming too enamored with the shiny new tools.
houston@figment-consulting.com
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Why virtual schools will succeed . . .
. . . is the obligation I owe to you after my last blog, even though I touched on it there too.
The virtual schools that succeed are the ones that embrace the new paradigm. They will move away from the old mindset of marketing to the masses and serve the outliers, the weird. They will stop watching the daily enrollment numbers. And, they will understand that retention is not a program that launches every March.
What will they do instead? Three main things that all other activities revolve around.
1. Make retention a culture
Virtual schools that comprehend there really is no such thing as an "Enrollment Department" will begin to understand the positive impact that can have on their culture. Remember, retention begins at the point someone pays attention to what you are saying, not each March.
It then extends to each and every thing you do as a school -- in reality, even the next two items revolve around this one.
2. Be in the connection business
Successful virtual schools will be the ones who are in the connection business as much as the academic. The internet has transformed our world into a connection economy -- the old way of doing business is either over already, or quickly coming to an end. Virtual schools, by their very nature, have the ability to take advantage of this new paradigm and be an environment of connection.
3. Speak clearly and fulfill your promises
Not talking about annunciation here. No, this has more to do with communicating the expectations, responsibilities, commitments, and challenges clearly, succinctly, and authentically. Stay away from "marketing" terms, and speak with clarity.
And, when you make a promise, make sure you fulfill it. If you want to inspire loyalty, then fulfill it in an unexpected, delightful way to the student/family.
Understand though, knowing what to do is different than knowing how to do it. Implementing these three items (and all the other ones that wrap around these) will not be of help to you unless you do it the right way -- and that takes authenticity more than a strategy.
houston@figment-consulting.com
The virtual schools that succeed are the ones that embrace the new paradigm. They will move away from the old mindset of marketing to the masses and serve the outliers, the weird. They will stop watching the daily enrollment numbers. And, they will understand that retention is not a program that launches every March.
What will they do instead? Three main things that all other activities revolve around.
1. Make retention a culture
Virtual schools that comprehend there really is no such thing as an "Enrollment Department" will begin to understand the positive impact that can have on their culture. Remember, retention begins at the point someone pays attention to what you are saying, not each March.
It then extends to each and every thing you do as a school -- in reality, even the next two items revolve around this one.
2. Be in the connection business
Successful virtual schools will be the ones who are in the connection business as much as the academic. The internet has transformed our world into a connection economy -- the old way of doing business is either over already, or quickly coming to an end. Virtual schools, by their very nature, have the ability to take advantage of this new paradigm and be an environment of connection.
3. Speak clearly and fulfill your promises
Not talking about annunciation here. No, this has more to do with communicating the expectations, responsibilities, commitments, and challenges clearly, succinctly, and authentically. Stay away from "marketing" terms, and speak with clarity.
And, when you make a promise, make sure you fulfill it. If you want to inspire loyalty, then fulfill it in an unexpected, delightful way to the student/family.
Understand though, knowing what to do is different than knowing how to do it. Implementing these three items (and all the other ones that wrap around these) will not be of help to you unless you do it the right way -- and that takes authenticity more than a strategy.
houston@figment-consulting.com
Monday, March 24, 2014
Why virtual schools will fail . . .
. . . has everything to do with trying to be all things to all people. It rarely works. Companies that try to serve the masses end up offering mediocre products (Proctor & Gamble comes to mind). And, virtual schools that attempt to serve every kind of student end up offering a mediocre experience, wrapped in a mediocre education.
One of the reasons virtual schools came into existence was due to the fact that many traditional public schools were not effective. And yet over the past decade so many of these same virtual schools have begun to mirror their ineffective brick-and-mortar counterparts.
Companies that excel, that stand out, are ones that know who they want to serve, and they center their attention on them - these people are the outliers (as Malcolm Gladwell calls them), the weird (as Seth Godin calls them), those that live on the edge, not in the middle. The days of successful companies catering to the masses are over. The same is true for virtual schools.
A virtual school that takes the time to identify who will benefit the most from their educational offerings, and cater to them will be the school that stands out, that grabs attention, and the one who leads the next wave of online learning.
Where you look for these students matters. Why? Most of them are not in the mass, they are on the edge. Is a school willing to go there in order to serve them? For many, the answer is "no." However, for those who are, the opportunity to be excellent awaits.
Rather than be a mediocre school for all kinds of students, be an excellent school for a select group of students, and serve them well.
Note: "Select" does not equal "Less"
houston@figment-consulting.com
One of the reasons virtual schools came into existence was due to the fact that many traditional public schools were not effective. And yet over the past decade so many of these same virtual schools have begun to mirror their ineffective brick-and-mortar counterparts.
Companies that excel, that stand out, are ones that know who they want to serve, and they center their attention on them - these people are the outliers (as Malcolm Gladwell calls them), the weird (as Seth Godin calls them), those that live on the edge, not in the middle. The days of successful companies catering to the masses are over. The same is true for virtual schools.
A virtual school that takes the time to identify who will benefit the most from their educational offerings, and cater to them will be the school that stands out, that grabs attention, and the one who leads the next wave of online learning.
Where you look for these students matters. Why? Most of them are not in the mass, they are on the edge. Is a school willing to go there in order to serve them? For many, the answer is "no." However, for those who are, the opportunity to be excellent awaits.
Rather than be a mediocre school for all kinds of students, be an excellent school for a select group of students, and serve them well.
Note: "Select" does not equal "Less"
houston@figment-consulting.com
Thursday, March 20, 2014
We all make mistakes . . .
Hello,
We apologize for the inconvenience. For some reason one of our employees did not fulfill the orders for this date so a lot of our customers did not receive their items, Thank you for your time.
We are very sorry about this issue, the best we can do is refund our customers and let them know about the mistake then hope that they can work with us because everyone makes mistakes but only some with go the extra mile to fix the problem. So again, we apologize.
Would you like us to resend out your order?
This was the reply I received last evening after waiting over two weeks for an order to arrive. And, after the order did not arrive by the due date yesterday, I reached out to the seller to find out the issue, and also find out why the FedEx number they provided me was inaccurate. So, let's journey through this reply, and the email thread that followed. It was definitely an intriguing experience.
"We apologize for the inconvenience" -- it was a nice start, even though they did know my name yet failed to use it in the opening line.
The next line is very interesting to me -- let's blame it on some employee who for some reason failed to fulfill the orders, yet did not fail to send out an incorrect FedEx number and show online that the item had indeed shipped.
Then, "Thank you for your time." -- not even sure what to say about this one.
Next, they move back into apology mode with "We are very sorry about this issue, . . ." but then proceed to tell me the best they can do is to refund "our customers" (notice they do not even address it as an issue for me, instead they speak about all of their customers during that time frame).
So, after they refund the orders, they are then going to let the customers know about their mistake, and hope that the customers will continue to work with them because "everyone makes mistakes."
Now, I was fine so far, slightly confused, but fine. Then, I came to the next line that states, "but only some (will) go the extra mile to fix the problem."
Extra mile? Before someone can go the extra mile, they must go the first mile. Extra mile? Ok, let's see what that extra mile will be.
My request was simple -- "Can you ship my product overnight so it will arrive to me tomorrow?"
Below is the answer I received moments later:
That is fine, and sorry but fedex does not let us expedite our shipping since we ship out hundreds of items at once however we could try but we will not promise you overnight shipping.
FedEx does not allow them to ship overnight? So, the extra mile does not include someone grabbing the product off of the shelf, printing out an overnight label from FedEx, placing the label on the box, and then ensuring that it is part of the lot when FedEx arrives to pick up all of the other "hundreds of items." No, that would be too much to ask, because for them, that is far beyond the extra mile.
What was the extra mile?
I can promise you that the order will be process and shipped tonight and should be there no later than 3 days.
FedEx will evidently allow them to ship products within 3 days, but not overnight. And, I was originally promised the item would arrive yesterday, two weeks after my original order was placed.
They were correct when they said "we all make mistakes." We all do make them. And, it is a time when we can go the extra mile. In fact, when mistakes are made, sometimes they allow you to actually build more trust with your customers by the way you handle, correct, and solve those mistakes.
Most of the time though, those efforts fall short, and trust is eroded. The difference sometimes between building trust and eroding trust is a FedEx label.
houston@figment-consulting.com
We apologize for the inconvenience. For some reason one of our employees did not fulfill the orders for this date so a lot of our customers did not receive their items, Thank you for your time.
We are very sorry about this issue, the best we can do is refund our customers and let them know about the mistake then hope that they can work with us because everyone makes mistakes but only some with go the extra mile to fix the problem. So again, we apologize.
Would you like us to resend out your order?
This was the reply I received last evening after waiting over two weeks for an order to arrive. And, after the order did not arrive by the due date yesterday, I reached out to the seller to find out the issue, and also find out why the FedEx number they provided me was inaccurate. So, let's journey through this reply, and the email thread that followed. It was definitely an intriguing experience.
"We apologize for the inconvenience" -- it was a nice start, even though they did know my name yet failed to use it in the opening line.
The next line is very interesting to me -- let's blame it on some employee who for some reason failed to fulfill the orders, yet did not fail to send out an incorrect FedEx number and show online that the item had indeed shipped.
Then, "Thank you for your time." -- not even sure what to say about this one.
Next, they move back into apology mode with "We are very sorry about this issue, . . ." but then proceed to tell me the best they can do is to refund "our customers" (notice they do not even address it as an issue for me, instead they speak about all of their customers during that time frame).
So, after they refund the orders, they are then going to let the customers know about their mistake, and hope that the customers will continue to work with them because "everyone makes mistakes."
Now, I was fine so far, slightly confused, but fine. Then, I came to the next line that states, "but only some (will) go the extra mile to fix the problem."
Extra mile? Before someone can go the extra mile, they must go the first mile. Extra mile? Ok, let's see what that extra mile will be.
My request was simple -- "Can you ship my product overnight so it will arrive to me tomorrow?"
Below is the answer I received moments later:
That is fine, and sorry but fedex does not let us expedite our shipping since we ship out hundreds of items at once however we could try but we will not promise you overnight shipping.
FedEx does not allow them to ship overnight? So, the extra mile does not include someone grabbing the product off of the shelf, printing out an overnight label from FedEx, placing the label on the box, and then ensuring that it is part of the lot when FedEx arrives to pick up all of the other "hundreds of items." No, that would be too much to ask, because for them, that is far beyond the extra mile.
What was the extra mile?
I can promise you that the order will be process and shipped tonight and should be there no later than 3 days.
FedEx will evidently allow them to ship products within 3 days, but not overnight. And, I was originally promised the item would arrive yesterday, two weeks after my original order was placed.
They were correct when they said "we all make mistakes." We all do make them. And, it is a time when we can go the extra mile. In fact, when mistakes are made, sometimes they allow you to actually build more trust with your customers by the way you handle, correct, and solve those mistakes.
Most of the time though, those efforts fall short, and trust is eroded. The difference sometimes between building trust and eroding trust is a FedEx label.
houston@figment-consulting.com
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