Insights With Trent Munday

We don’t search online...we Google it. We don’t book a ride-hailing service...we call an Uber. Just like Kleenex & Xerox before them, these brands have become generic trademarks (or proprietary eponyms). They have come to define the category. So what happened to YouTube? Surely, the brand that has owned video for more than a decade should also have become the proprietary eponym? #branding #product #category #brandstrategy 

Help People Do X At Home. That's a basic template for a potentially infinite number of new startup businesses, according to Paul Graham, Founder of YCombinator. YCombinator is one of the most famous startup accelerators of our time, having created such great businesses as AirBnB, Dropbox, Reddit and many more. The Founder, Paul Graham, was recently lamenting how his kids never seem to leave the house anymore because everything they need comes to them in some way or another. Whilst Graham doesn't love the fact that his kids don't leave the house, he does realise that this is a great template for any business in the future, for a very long time to come. #startupideas #businessidea #futuretrends 

More customers. More sales. More revenue. More is usually what we strive for. But it's important to remember that at some point, the Law of Diminishing Returns will probably come in to play. If you add more items to your menu, your customers might get confused by the choices and give up. When you drive too many more customers into your store with one day specials, the shopping experience for your regular customers will probably be negatively effected. So they shop there less. There is always a trade-off with More. You just need to decide is it trade you're prepared to make. #more #balance #tradeoff #diminishingreturns

Can you imagine a world where Hotels did not have Spas? Many can't. But the fact is, just 25 years ago, most Hotels did not have a Spa. But if we are to be able to effectively imagine the Hotel Spa of Tomorrow, I would suggest what we need to do is forget everything we know today about the Hotel Spa and start again. Begin with a completely blank canvas. So, if the Hotel Spa did not exist today... - what would we put in its place? - where would it be located? - what services would it offer? - what would be the price point? Lots of questions. Time to start coming up with some answers. What are your thoughts...? #hotelspa #tomorrowspa #hotels 

One man's inconvenience is another man's value. After-Sales Service is an inconvenience to the Seller...but potentially invaluable to the Buyer. Amazon's return policy is a massive inconvenience to the organisation...yet, for many customers, it's a key factor in them making the purchase in the first place. So next time you're thinking about all those little inconveniences in your business, just remember, they might actually being exactly what is providing your customers so much of the value that they seek. #convenience #inconvenience #perspective #value #customerservice

Not so long ago we often found ourselves asking 'When's the best time to call?' But that was a different time. A different world. A world without the mobile phone. Today, we're in a mobile-first world. We're always on. Always connected. And with that comes the flexibility for us to take and make calls whenever we want. So in actual fact, the best time to call me is 'My Time'.  The problem is, you have no way of knowing when exactly 'My Time' is for me.  'My Time' is different for everyone and also varies from day-to-day. Today, I might want to take a call in my car on the way home from work. Tomorrow, I might have someone with me in the car, so that's not a good time. So, if you're the caller, don't worry about. Call whenever you want. But just understand that I too will answer &/or respond whenever I want. The critical thing is not the time that you call, but making sure that whatever message you have for me is compelling to me. If it is, I can guarantee I'll be calling you back soon. #mytime

Author Joseph Pine is credited with coining the phrase The Experience Economy. What's it's all about is the shift, over time, from a Commodities-based Economy, to a Goods-based Economy, to a Services-based Economy and now, heading into an Experience-based Economy. In short, our customers, guests & clients are looking for something more. Something experiential. Today's focus is on Time Well Spent, rather than Time Well Saved. What can you do in your business to make give your customers and more immersive experience. A more experiential offering? Here's the book - The Experience Economy - https://www.amazon.com/Experience-Economy-New-Preface-Authors/dp/1633697975 #experiential #immersiveexperience #customerexperience #guestexperience

If you're looking for a new customer, a new product innovation, a new market opportunity or even a new job, it's time to STOP LOOKING and START LISTENING! The problem with Actively Looking is that your bias kicks in. You're looking for a result and so you might just end up seeing one that isn't really there. When you're Actively Listening, you're responding and reacting to what you're hearing. To what the market is telling you.  With this mindset you are far more likely to find what it is that you are seeking. #listening #looking #bias #perspective #mindset

The Aged Care industry is looking to Hospitality and Wellness for fresh ideas and ways of doing things. But I believe it won't be too long before it's the Hotel Industry looking to Aged Care to find better ways to integrate Wellness. And there's a very simple reason for that. Wellness in Aged Care is a NEED. Wellness in Hotels is, and will largely continue to be, a WANT. There's a great article here by Nancy Griffin on the Aged Care - Hospitality - Wellness intersection... https://www.insidersguidetospas.com/features/wellness-hospitality-in-senior-care/ PS: Thanks to Nicole Hagestad for sharing it. #wellness #agedcare #hospitality #hotels #hotelspa

"The only thing you change by moving, is your address." A great quote for the show The River on Netflix. The point they're making is that running away won't necessarily solve your problems. I don't totally agree. Especially if your problem is being in a bit of a rut. In that case, moving is possibly the best thing you can do. #problems #newlife #freshstart #newbeginnings

Routines are great thing in business. In many ways, they're critical in achieving operational efficiencies. But they also can inhibit our ability to see what is right in front of us and to identify new opportunities. By breaking your routine and doing something a little bit differently from how you would normally do it, you then see things from a different angle, a different perspective. And that can open your eyes to amazing new opportunities. FYI - If you want to access the Full Archive of the Trent365 Show, you can do so here - http://bit.ly/trent365 #opportunities #freshperspective #routines #change  

Let me pitch you a new cuisine concept... We're going to take a slab of raw fish, stick it on a slab of cold rice. And you're going to eat it! Doesn't sound very appetising, does it? And yet, Sushi is one of those global phenomenons in the world of food. You can get it all over the world. And, you're willing to pay a premium for it too. But why? #sushi #cuisines #food #why

When it comes to Wellness Trends for 2020, many have said that Veganism is right up there. And whilst I'm often skeptical about whether or not many of these so-called Trends are little more than fleeting Fads, I'm thinking Veganism may well be having it's moment. Case in Point - this week's Golden Globe Awards in the Us opted for a Vegan Only menu for the first time ever. To be clear, they positioned this as a move to combat Climate Change rather than to increase Wellness. Still, I think it was a big step in the right direction for those touting the benefits of going Vegan - which, like it or not, are pretty hard to deny. #vegan #veganlifestyle #wellness #wellnesstrends

Brain Heater over at TechCrunch reckon CES 2020 might just go down in history as The Year of Sleep Tech. But he also ponders the irony of why we seek out technology to solve our sleep problems when in fact it's technology that's largely to blame? Great question. If technology is indeed contributing so much to our sleeping issues, surely just putting that technology down and switching it off should go a long way to solving the problem, right? What say you? Do you rely on technology to try to optimise your sleep? If so, tell me what works for you. #sleep #sleeptips #technology #CES2020

What Value Do You Bring? This is really what every potential employer is trying to work out when considering candidates. But it's amazing how many candidates don't have a good answer to the question. So I'd like to propose that you start your own Value Journal. What's that?  Simply a daily, weekly or even monthly journal of exactly what you did to create value today. It can be Revenue Value, if you made a sale. It could be a Management Value, if you helped a team member with an issue. The possibilities are limited only by the value you create. Now, next time someone asks you about the value you bring, you will have no shortage of examples. PS: If you want to access the entire Trent365 Back Catalogue, here it is - https://www.audio.trentmunday.com/ #bringvalue #interviewtips #value #interviewskills

Do you have a Surprise and Delight Strategy in place for 2020? If not, you really should. Malaysia's KLIA Airport had a great one in place. On two incoming flights, just a few days before Christmas, while the passengers were waiting for their luggage, the carousel filled up with individual presents for each and every passenger. Brilliant. Stuff like this makes a great impact because it isn't expected. The amplification factor is also significant as people will talk about it. You can even do a barter deal for giveaway.  Here's more about the Malaysia Airport story.. https://says.com/my/news/klia-passengers-waiting-to-collect-their-luggage-surprised-with-lavish-gifts-instead #surprise #delight #impact #customercare

Academics want to Collaborate. Business people want to Compete. I spoke about this a bit back in Ep. #253 of this show... Competition or Collaboration But a recent discussion with my buddy Lee Duke made me realise that if you re-frame the discussion slightly, and talk about Joint Ventures or Partnerships, you can probably get the business person on board. In reality, of course, Collaboration, Joint Venture, Partnership are basically the same thing. But depending on the context and perspective of the person you're working with, one or the other might be more attractive. Context is everything. #competition #collaboration #jointventure #partnership

Transparency is a good thing. Right? Well, brand guru Martin Lindstrom isn't so sure. He reckons the cost of transparency is that we're always comparing ourselves to others...and often coming up short. As a result, as transparency increases, our self-esteem takes a beating. One data point that might suggest this is true is the 75% increase in teenage suicides in the US between 2010-2017.  Hmmm? Food for thought. Here's a link to Lindstrom's article... https://www.martinlindstrom.com/martin-lindstroms-top-5-predictions-for-2020/ #selfesteem #selfworth #transparency

It's not the destination, it's the journey. Famed American essayist, poet, philosopher and leading transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson introduced the world to this concept back in the 1800's. In more modern times, it has become something of a catch cry for those desperately seeking more meaning from life. But for many of us, it's the destination that motivates us. The joy of striving towards some end goal is just as rewarding as any joy we get from stopping to smell the roses. So, if you want to enjoy the journey, great. Go ahead. However, if you're driven by the destination, that's ok too. #lifejourney #destination #quoteoftheday #motivation

Let's kick of 2020 with the ultimate motivational quote from Gary Vaynerchuk... You Are Going To Die! It's a fact. We all know it. But if you're really looking for a reason to take a little risk, to try something new, to strive for a more complete and fulfilled life...that has to be it. You don't want to live with the regret of not having at least tried. Of course, there are realities that come in to play too. You still need money to survive and provide for your family.  However, don't let those realities shield you from the truth. Maybe you can still try that new thing, on the side. As your side hustle. Work a little harder. Sacrifice a little more comfort. Give it a go. Have a crack.  #motivationoftheday #thoughtoftheday #noexcuses