Weeks ago I attended a boutique job fair event, and upon registration—located next to the sign-in forms—there was a bowl of individually wrapped mints. It seemed so obvious an addition, yet I rarely remember seeing it in that context before…social situations and mints together, maybe I’ve been online too long!? Mints, from my memory bank, have been offered at restaurants for clients to grab on the way out; certainly they would be out of place at a dentist’s office or coffee shop. Yet, entering a space where nerves would be high, mouths would be flapping, and people would again be standing rather close to one another (after years of perchance avoiding such close proximity), meant that one may be self-conscious of their breath changing, or more sensitive to the presence of others’ ‘bacteria’ around them. When you facilitate the ease of a conversation or moment, or remove a fear or discomfort—by default, you empower someone. This deed, quite literally small enough to fit in your pocket, proves to be a rather large advantage, or for those that may require it, a comfortable and travel-ready security blanket. In the end, an act of this nature provides accessibility.
My mind usually wanders how to then apply these sorts of gestures to other areas of community growth and development. Estelle Tracy and I, in an effort to create community in Well Tempered—a cacao/chocolate forum dedicated to professionals—looked for these “Easter eggs”, where added-value could come from a prompt, or serve as inspiration for others to share. Much like in real life, online communities are shy and occasionally awkward in the beginning; you have to provide ice breakers and safe harbor. For some members, you have to bring the plate of hors d’oeuvres to them, and remind them they are free and for sampling. For others, it’s necessary to take away their keys and call them a cab. But the whole benefits from healthy minty fresh dialogues, and that’s whose best interest in at play.
How might you apply the :mint-bowl-method: to your CPG brand?
Let’s go with chocolate—the original food impetus of this newsletter.
Creator: Garrett Aitken | Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
1) Sampling
I’ve been this person—”oh, try our ___ (origin) bar, it really tastes like passion fruit!” or “if you like nuts, this one tastes like hazelnut chocolate spread—but there are no nuts in it!” I know I’ve been excited to reveal how my craft-mastery and/or pure magic of the cacao I’ve used has resulted in surprising and delicious revelations, but I didn’t always see the ‘ah-ha’ moment on the taster’s (poker) face.
How about offering one, maybe two samples of your most “potent” chocolate, and rather than a juxtaposition to another chocolate (or three, or 8 more on the table—I see you!), you could offer a follow-up sample of the most prominent note they just tasted in that batch: fresh or dried fruit/nut/foodstuff (graham cracker, toasted bread—yes, allergies should be acknowledged/considered). In this quick comparative lesson you trigger a learning experience and give them the tools to feel confident—it’s memorable and stands out from peers, and you may evade 1) leaving the consumer confused, frustrated, feeling dumb, or maybe worst ambivalent if they can’t recognize tasting notes OR 2) leave you flummoxed trying to describe the endless roller coaster of flavor notes that some cacaos hold, and losing them after the first superlative. Look, I know this gets YOU amped, and there is certain appeal to witnessing passion at work, but keep in mind—especially at a chocolate festival—you are hitting up against untrained palate fatigue and brand/story saturation; so why not keep it simple and focus on the most identifiable exercise to the lower common denominator (and I don’t user this term as offensive, rather a baseline for the lowest friction to educate). If done well, it will be much easier for the customer to imagine how this exercise might play out in your entire range—you may sell even more with less? You report back to me how it goes! **Please ensure you are training yourself on tasting and calibration as well, as well as improving your craft, because we’ve graduated as an industry from copying importers’ websites’ descriptions, or “taste this, it remind us of walnut skins!” when really you’ve made an unpleasantly astringent chocolate.
2) Blogging, newsletters, and social
How do you aid brand interaction online? What is your proverbial mint bowl? What services do you put in play that allow would-be consumers to self-educate about who you are and what you do, or your loyal fans to share their enthusiasm about your products without getting tongue-tied?
In my history of buying and eating chocolate over the last 13 years, I have really seen unique ways of brands asking for my customer feedback. I can even count on one hand the number of times I’ve been approached about offering a product review for a chocolate I purchased, and those have mainly been from marketplace style websites. Why do small businesses think the customer journey ends with the client going home with a shopping bag or a shipment arriving? Consider how you can incorporate asking for social proof: are you running surveys, are you using Instagram and TikTok to gather :consented: comments about what people love about your products, or creating loyalty programs or giveaways/discounts for your most vocal consumers?
3) Live events
Considering that gathering strong, valid feedback is often most crucial, timely, and often more favorable because a human connection—live events are a great time to garner top-of-mind data. The act of engaging with another’s eyes or exchanging facial expressions, sharing an educational moment, or providing a service—these serve as pivotal occasions to establish rapport. Collecting email addresses is crucial to business growth, but how about an additional line below (or on the POS checkout screen): “how did you rate your experience today?” “help us grow—what did you find interesting about your interaction with ___ today?”.
4) Power dynamics
Now you’ve got feedback and social proof—awesome! How do you go a step further to assist in building a space where people feel at ease? I’m not saying the kind of ease that’s opening your fridge and taking what they want before you’ve given permission, but the invited guest that helps clear up the table, or separates the recycling. What can your brand do that goes beyond transaction and puts the user in a position of relatability or where they start to become a champion for you? I think this is primarily related to humanizing what you do/make with what they what—so this is where your market research, demographics, and price points, will need to align to your customer set. Eager to hear what works/has worked for you; please leave examples in the comments section!
Thank you for reading today’s newsletter. If you’ve taken a “mint” please consider a subscription, or pass it on to someone that would benefit from these concepts.