I was in Germany this week with friends and we planned two stops in Rüdesheim, the heart of the country’s wine region: the famous Drösselgasse and Siegfried’s Musikkabinet. Normally, the town is teeming with wine enthusiasts from around the world, with the streets so thick of tourists that you overhear conversations in German, French, English and Chinese within one minute of the walk. This week, the street was a ghost town. Icy cobblestone streets, bitter cold wind and not a tourist in sight…except for the three of us. Not one light was on in any restaurant along the Drösselgasse.
After finally finding a small restaurant in town, catching the eye of every local German (notably by being in the wrong place during the wrong season) and several glasses of wine and Rüdesheimers, we chatted with one of the locals, Susana. She expressed genuine curiosity for why we would want to visit the wine town in the dead of winter, and told us that the famed Musikkabinet was closed until April. Seeing the drop of our expressions, she turned and motioned to her dinner companion, Jens Wendel, who was sitting at the next table. Susana smiled to us and said “here is the man you need to talk to. He owns the Musikkabinet. And there,” she said turning around, “is his father Siegfried, the founder of the museum. I’ll bet if you buy Jens a beer, he’ll open the museum for you”.
Long story short, not only did we get a midnight tour of Jen’s museum, we met Adolph Störzel, a local vintner, who gave us a private tour of his winery the next day.
Susana explained why she, Jens and Adolph were so willing to be hospitable to us: she said, “When you represent something, it’s all about the heart. You can’t forget the reason behind why you are doing things. We represent our country and this is the way that we can show people our passion for the country we love”.
There is so much wisdom in Susanna’s statement. How true this is for anything we are doing in life, especially in business. The heart is the vital core that sustains a business.
It’s the reason people want Wegman’s to be their local grocer; it’s the reason people wait for hours in the summer heat and bitter cold of Oklahoma to have a Meers Burger, it’s what propels the Harley Davidson community of riders, and it’s what keeps Patagonia true to their founding principles. It’s the reason cities like Rüdesheim keep their quaint, original, endearing, old-world, authentic appeal. There is a pervasive and authentic passion encompassing the product, and it keeps customers close to the heart of why you exist.
People want to be involved in something bigger than who they are, something unique, exciting and one-of-a-kind. When you represent a brand with heart and passion, you take your customers along for the ride. Passion is what keeps people coming back, and keeps customers talking about what you do. It’s not the easy path. At times, it is inconvenient and can be more expensive. But it’s what makes you unique. It is what makes you memorable, and it is what keeps people committed to your business in the long term.
If you want a competitive advantage that cannot be replicated, that will keep people talking for years, give your customers an experience or a product like none other; give them one from the heart.
Business: What the Doctor Ordered 