Using a snowstorm to build your brand

One of the oddest lessons I’ve ever learned in business is the joy of adversity. Most of us spend our time trying to avoid failure, minimize mistakes, and maintain a good front. I’ve done the same many times myself. What I’ve come to realize, though, is adversity can be the best thing that ever happens to your business. I’ll use my recent experience being snowed in at a hotel to help make my point.

This past week I was staying at the Sheraton Hotel in West Des Moines, Iowa. A two-day stay there quickly turned into four as a storm marked by wind gusts of up to 50 mph dumped over 14 inches of snow on the city. My appointments for the trip dried up almost as quickly as the snow piled up on my car. As my attention turned to visions of food shortages and empty newspaper racks I noticed something: the hotel staff kept smiling and the hotel kept working.

What happened
They proactively notified every room of their plan to move to a buffet menu for the evening meal. The next morning breakfast was on the house. Staff who were already at the hotel slept there overnight to ensure service the next morning. Two staff with a Bobcat and a brush-mounted snowblower worked through most of the day and night keeping the entrances and sidewalks cleared. The newspaper rack never ran out. The front desk and restaurant staff kept smiling. One of them commented, “hey, it’s a bonding experience for us.” Another posted a sign “It’s Iowa in December. You either love it or leave it and we’re not leaving!”

What they did that made the difference
What they did was simple: they saw the joy in adversity and the opportunity to make a difference through service that mattered. To take it down a level to the more practical they did a few other things right as well:

1. They focused on what they could do.
2. They were clear about what they couldn’t do.
3. They communicated proactively and succinctly.
4. They didn’t make the situation any more than it was or any less than it was.
5. They went the extra mile in ways that mattered to their customers.

Lessons learned and next steps
Companies can spend millions on advertising, marketing, and public relations but the actual user experience and word of mouth are the king and queen of success. So how to move forward?

• Take the opportunity to find joy in adversity in your business.
• Take the time for “the experience audit” as David Avrin talks about in his book “It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who Knows You.” 

Test out your business just like a real customer would. Call your own number, read and fill out your own forms, use each product you offer, do it on at least a quarterly basis, and require that every leader in your organization do it as well. You won’t always like what you learn. Do it anyway and do it consistently. When you do fail—heck, even when you don’t “fail”—focus on creating joy out of adversity. Put it all together and you’ll have your own way to build your brand through a snowstorm.