Reframing Marketing

While sitting in one of my favorite spots, Intelligentsia Coffee in Venice, CA, my thoughts turned to what, exactly, makes this place a favorite. The coffee is good, but expensive, at least as compared with most alternatives. The seating less comfortable than other places nearby. And the crowd can make service maddeningly slow. Wifi is virtually nonexistent, unless you pick up an errant signal from elsewhere on Abbot Kinney.

Except that nobody seems mad. On the contrary, part of the fun is standing in line, watching everyone else, and thinking about the Americano or pour-over that lies ahead.

One factor is that the surroundings are cool beyond belief, in a stark, industrial way characteristic of LA's Westside. Another is that interesting (or interesting looking) people hang out here. But maybe the most important is that the very accomplished baristas do coffee, and Intelligent offers very little more, with panache and quality that is simply unmatched elsewhere. In short, this isn't a drive-by, it's a destination.

And isn't that what we all want our businesses to be? Intelligentsia in Venice got me out of a 9-hour layover at LAX on the way to Sydney. Don't we want our schools or associations to be places where people go out of their way to be our customers? Maybe the essential marketing question isn't about how best to sell what we've got, but about how best to be so cool that people will rent a car during layovers just to visit.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad.