the traditional . Among Godin ’ s suggestions : opening a spa with an unlisted phone number so that only people who knew about it could visit the spa or giving gift certificates to your most engaged guests that can only be used by someone other than the guest themselves . The point of these kinds of unorthodox moves is that they generate conversation . If the person who uses that gift certificate has a great experience , it ’ s likely that they ’ ll talk about that experience and the spa that provided it . It ’ s also likely that , because the certificate was given to that person by someone already enrolled in the idea of spa , they are more likely to enroll in that idea themselves .
Bold steps like these may at first seem to be about differentiating your spa from the competition in an effort to stand out , but Godin drew a distinction between differentiation , which he defined as an attempt to illustrate why your business is better than others , and positioning .“ Positioning means I will send away business often if I can sense that the person I ’ m engaging with is not somebody who I am optimized to serve ,” Godin said , adding : “ What you ’ re able to do is say ,‘ For people who believe this , and for people who want that , we ’ re the only one . If you don ’ t believe this , or you don ’ t want that , here ’ s the phone numbers of five other people who can help you . And if you are not eagerly sending people to other opportunities , then you ’ re differentiating , then you ’ re hustling and you ’ re trying
to be everything to everyone . What I ’ m pushing hard for here is begging you to be specific , to be on the hook , to be really clear about who it ’ s for and what it ’ s for .”
Krulak ’ s Law
What does retired United States Marine Corps General Charles Krulak know about operating a spa ? It ’ s a fair question , but one that Seth Godin had a ready answer for . Krulak ’ s Law , as it ’ s known , states : “ The future of an organization is in the hands of the privates in the field , not the generals back home .” On his blog last year , Godin offered this translation of the law for businesses : “ The experience people have with your brand is in the hands of the person you pay the least . Act accordingly .”
No matter how well trained , well compensated , well educated or well regarded a spa ’ s leaders and executives are , the reality is , as Godin noted , that the guest experience is affected far more by the front desk staff , attendants and service providers who they interact with than
by the people at the top of the org chart . “ The receptionist is the Vice President of Marketing when I walk in ,” Godin elaborated . “ And that person who you hired last week to do pedicures ? They ’ re the Senior Vice President of Marketing for that hour they ’ ve got my feet in their hands . They ’ re the marketing department .”
Godin recognized that this view may require a shift in
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