Use K.A.R.E.
If you’ve got an idea and are not sure what to do with it –
use K.A.R.E. Big businesses use
K.A.R.E. Any smart small business owner
will use K.A.R.E. As I write this, I
realized speakers use K.A.R.E. and, in fact, anyone and everyone should use
K.A.R.E. in their dealings with everyday life.
So exactly what is K.A.R.E.?
I’m sure you’ve already figured out K.A.R.E. is an
acronym. And for the sake of suspense,
and keeping you engaged in reading this I’ll break the letters down 1 at
a time. Bet you saw that one coming.
K. = Know
Since this blog is business and consumer oriented, unless I
say otherwise, I’ll point out first how each letter applies to the
aforementioned groups. For a business
this means know your target consumer.
On the consumer side it equals do some homework on what you are about to
buy. The bigger the company the more
research they do on knowing their target group. They know the demographics of the end
user. Big successful companies spend
beaucoup bucks on finding out information on ‘Joe and/or Josephine Consumer’.
On the consumer side, the bigger the purchase the more you
should know. For example, when I
go to the grocery store and buy a can of soup, pretty much all I really need to
know is on the label and the price.
Little research required. When I
go shopping for a car it’s entirely different.
I start looking months in advance with online information and product
reviews. For me, buying a car is usually
about a 6 month process. Buying a home
is an equally time consuming procedure.
Much like buying a car, we first need to decide the amenities we want in
the home. Things like a garage, how many
bedrooms, how many bathrooms, kitchen size, fireplace, pool (Hey, we’re in
Vegas. A pool is a MUST.), location,
etc.
My wife is a member of ‘Toastmasters’, and before she speaks
she does research so she knows her subject matter. The quickest way to look and feel foolish is
to get up in front of a group without some sort of knowledge about your
subject.
John and Jane Doe get up for the day and know they
have an agenda. Things to do, places to
go, people to see.
Wow, this know thing is everywhere!
A. = Anticipate
Consumers need to anticipate
too. Anticipate what the positives
and negatives are regarding any major purchase.
When you buy a new car, anticipate a change in your insurance
rate, maintenance, registration fees, etc.
That house comes with a certain amount of built in anticipation;
which includes upkeep and improvements, just to name a couple.
Back to my wife and ‘Toastmasters’
– before she ever speaks she anticipates audience reaction, questions and
comments. It’s all part of preparation.
If you own a smoke detector, first
aid kit, and/or fire extinguisher, you do this in anticipation that
something COULD (not will) go wrong.
Remember that John Doe I mentioned earlier. He was driving to work today and anticipated the green light ahead of him was going to turn red. He was right. Meanwhile, Jane Doe anticipated John would leave her 20 bucks on the table before he left for work. Jane anticipated incorrectly. If John anticipated sex tonight, he’s probably going to be wrong too.
Wow, just like that k thing this anticipation thing is everywhere.
R. = Reach
Businesses large and small are constantly
reaching for a bigger market share.
They do it by advertising, contests, surveys, the Web, Twitter,
Facebook, positive reviews, and the list goes on. Through the use of research, development, and
technology, they are reaching to create a better product or
service.
On the consumer side the reach
is always for the best. The best price,
the best service, the best ‘bang for the buck’ (No. Just because I live in Nevada, I am not
referring to a brothel), the best overall product. It’s a bargain hunt.
'Toastmasters’ has helped my wife improve
her reach. With each ‘Toastmasters’
project she reaches for more knowledge, better speaking skills,
while, at the same time, reaching out to keep the entire audience
interested and listening.
Right now, John Doe is reaching
for his cell phone. He read what
happened above and wants to apologize to Jane.
Jane is reaching too. She’s
reaching for a frying pan so she can smack some smarts in John as soon
as that S.O.B. (hey, another acronym) walks through the door.
E. = Engage
I’m going to give you a 2 for 1 on
this by doing a little entwining.
Smart businesses and smart
consumers are always trying to engage each other. The smart business does this to get consumer
feedback, both positive and negative.
This is known as relationship building 101. It makes the sale easier. The consumer needs to engage the
business in a dialog as an aid in getting the best deal possible. Consumers need to remember, in most cases,
the business has the edge in the engagement process. They sell their product or service everyday
while you may only need it on an occasion or two. Research has shown a smart business will
understand the customer much better than the reverse.
‘Toastmasters’ is about a person becoming
better at pubic speaking. It’s learning how to engage an audience. It’s an engagement of constructive
critiques based on performance. It’s a
positive confidence building program.
Our John Doe is now engaged
in physical therapy and, as for Jane…..she’s has a court ordered engagement
in anger management class.
If you had to exchange K.A.R.E.
with another word it would be PLAN.
Let me think a minute…..PLAN that
would be an acronym for………………… me to work on at some other time.
© Krystalco LLC 2013 Any publication or reuse of the information on
this blog, in part or whole, without express written consent is
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