Make Some Noise: Open The Throttle & Dominate Your Marketplace

At the 25th annual MURTEC in Las Vegas,  Ken Schmidt, former Director of Communications Strategy for Harley-Davidson Motor Co., challenged the audience to disrupt their traditional marketing plans in his keynote address. Instead, hospitality companies need to think about how to create brand advocates.

Companies should ask themselves three questions: “What do people say? What do we want them to say? And what are we doing to get them to say it?” Schmidt challenges.

Surprise & Delight Guests

“… If our business is serving and delighting people in ways that they flat out do not expect, if when they enter our store, they quickly pick up on this vibe. ‘I didn't expect this, this is kind of cool. This is different, this is neat. This kind of feels good ... When we're doing that for people and doing it consistently, we become the most bulletproof competitive weapon in the world. We become a positive ‘they.’

“When we have a positive ‘they’ story to tell about a business, price is no longer our primary criteria. They know they're going to pay more,” Schmidt explains. “They've accepted that, they welcome that. They wear it as a badge of honor.”