“Awesome” is one of those words that teenagers overuse and abuse. So it’s a little odd to hear it so regularly from a respected business speaker and author who has guided companies such as PepsiCo, Adobe, Red Cross and Saks Fifth Avenue. But Scott Stratten has made it his business to help other businesses be awesome.
The man who brought you “UnMarketing” has followed it up with The Book of Business Awesome. But it’s really two short books in one, with opposite-sided front covers, so that when you finish one side, you flip it over and read from the other side.
From Awesome to UnAwesome
Scott is best known for being one of the top 5 most influential business people on Twitter. But rather than another social media book, Awesome/UnAwesome focuses on key business concepts and how they relate to integrated marketing, branding, human resources, public relations, and customer service. The Book of Business Awesome showcases different examples of successful businesses that have benefitted from being awesome and effective. In one humorous case, it shows how the Red Cross used social media to turn a mistake into an opportunity for awesomeness.
The opposite side, The Book of Business UnAwesome, is filled with cautionary tales of business train-wrecks illustrating what not to do, or how not to do it.
Marketing Is A Verb
What comes through in nearly every example in book is the importance of hiring good people and training them to uphold your brand’s values, because marketing is more than a logo or commercial; it’s every experience a customer has with your company. Scott emphasizes that “marketing is a verb” because it’s something that everyone in the company does (or should be doing), all the time.
The Awesome Extended Vacation
During a speaking appearance in Irvine, California, Scott began his awesome talk by recounting how a friend had recently spent a family weekend at a Ritz Carlton hotel. When the family returned home, they discovered that their seven-year-old son’s precious stuffed giraffe, Joshie, had been left behind at the hotel. In a moment of weakness, the boy’s dad fibbed that Joshie was just on an “extended vacation,” then called the hotel in a panic. Fortunately, the hotel found Joshie. Not only did the hotel staff ship Joshie back home, overnight, and at no charge, but they also included snapshots of the giraffe relaxing poolside on a lounge chair, nightclubbing it with other stuffed animals, and generally enjoying his extended vacation.
So now when Scott sees the Ritz Carlton logo, it might as well be Joshie, because that’s what the hotel reminds him of. Pretty awesome, eh?
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