When It Rains, Sell Umbrellas… and Other Winning Business Strategies

2009.02.04. Posted by under Uncategorized

I have had the privilege of traveling extensively and enjoying a variety of climates throughout the world. Without consciously realizing it I think I have always been a sun person and now happily find myself living in the arid heat of Tucson, Arizona where we get to enjoy the sun 350 days a year.

Grey clouds and rain never really appealed to me, but back when I traveled more extensively on business, I had experiences in two rainy climates that helped me to see “rain” a bit differently and taught me a valuable lesson about business. I worked for 6 months in Amsterdam and then transferred for 3 months to Seattle, Washington where I noticed a distinct difference in the “rain” cultures between the two cities.

In Amsterdam, umbrellas sprout like mushrooms when it rains. In fact, the higher-end local hotels offer umbrellas for guests to take out as they leave to go on an afternoon walk. The hotel guests stay dry and the hotel benefits from a low cost advertising and brand awareness campaign as their guests sport the hotel’s prominently logoed umbrellas. Locals use umbrellas as well. In fact, it is quite common to see Dutchmen or Dutchwomen expertly riding a bicycle in the rain with one hand perched on the handlebars and the other holding an umbrella.

In Seattle the rain culture is very different. The use of umbrellas is generally restricted to the tourists. Locals tend to embrace the rain and maintain a close physical relationship with it. In fact, while walking into a local Starbucks a barista asked me where I was from because as she put it, “no one from Seattle would be caught dead with an umbrella”. That statement immediately shifted my perspective. From, that moment on I was able to see the difference - locals generally did not carry an umbrella. I also finally understood how the “grunge” style had developed out of a culture of people wearing clothes suited to the rain without the benefit of umbrellas. A revelation of “Nirvanic” proportions!

So, this experience called into question my long held marketing philosophy of “when it’s raining sell umbrellas”. It forced me to see the little differences that either attract or repel customers. It forced me to adjust my point of view to fit a much richer and more nuanced reality - “when it’s raining sell umbrellas, unless your target customers are from Seattle, then sell them coffee.”

Even in a downturn, sales continue to happen in every industry. Those companies that manage to survive and thrive find a way to outsell their competitors by appealing to the little differences that make their target customers unique.

We say, “when it is raining, sell umbrellas”, meaning identify what customers need at the moment and then sell it to them. Maintaining a high level of sensitivity to your customers’ needs will help you see the hidden opportunity that lies beyond your own perspective. That kind of sensitivity would have you selling coffee in Seattle, and umbrellas in Amsterdam.

Grow Your Business, Live Your Dream!

Leamon Crooms

Guru of Growth

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