Sitting in a drive-thru will never feel the same to me again.
Did ya know that Chick-fil-A has an entire facility in Atlanta devoted to hatching innovation? In fact, it’s called The Hatch. (It’s terrific when names reflect the possibilities that can happen there. So much better than Building A or Building B, don’tcha think?)
The walls at the Hatch are covered with photos of some of Chick-fil-A’s best customers. What a contrast to a radio station with walls adorned with gold records and photos of artists.
At The Hatch they study what they call “Points of Pain:” things that get in the way of a great customer experience. They study anything that detracts from the Chick-fil-A experience and work to diminish or eliminate. During our visit they were studying how to minimize the pain of waiting in line for your order before finding a table, particularly inconvenient for moms with young kids. That feature is now on the Chick-fil-A app. But it started with asking the question.
“Instead of asking ‘How can I get him or her to do it?’ it starts with a question of, ‘Why isn’t she doing it already?'” Very different question. ‘Why not?’ Then you go one by one systemically, and you ask, ‘What can I so to make it easier for that person to move?'”
Daniel Kahneman, “Thinking Fast and Slow”
Seems like we can learn some things from Chick-fil-A. What are the points of pain for your listeners?
Is it the songs you play that your listeners don’t love or don’t know? Is it a deejay that blabbers on about things your listener isn’t interested in? It is lengthy spot breaks, endorsements, or fundraisers that irritate? Is it contests or events that are promoted with a list of facts instead of a connection to the heart?
Think more about releasing the handbrake rather than pushing the accelerator.
If we took a lesson from Chick-fil-A, perhaps we’d not only eat mor chikin’, but we’d have more listeners.
