Even Change Seekers Are Creatures of Habit

"Mainers don't like change." I've heard some version of that in more planning meetings than I could count, and I've said it myself more than once. I’m sure you have as well. And if you’re experience is anything like mine, it usually gets a round of nods and then the conversation moves on, because it feels like one of those things we all know about our own state. Our newest deep dive into the Mindsets of Maine research, however, gave me a reason to really think about what that means when marketing to Mainers. 

Three-quarters of the Mainers we surveyed agreed at least somewhat that they're creatures of habit, and about half agreed outright. What caught my attention was how little that stronger agreement changed from one group to the next: 52% of Proud Mainers, 53% of Disparagers, and 49% of Change Seekers. I'll admit I expected the Change Seekers to come in lower. It turns out you can want things in Maine to change and still like your Saturday morning exactly the way it is.

The picture shifted even more when we asked whether people find it difficult to try new things. A third of Disparagers said yes, compared with only 14% of Proud Mainers and 6% of Change Seekers. The three groups describe themselves in almost the same terms, but they don't experience something new the same way, and that gap is where I'd look first if I were trying to earn new business from a Mainer.

It probably comes down to what someone means by 'creature of habit.' For some, it's “Hot Breakfast Friday” where you earn the reward of a breakfast sandwich from Frank’s for making it through the week, not that I’m, like, speaking from experience or anything.... For others, it's closer to how they see themselves: steady, loyal, comfortable with what they know. None of that makes someone reluctant to try something new. I suspect it just often points the other way, and that once a business earns a place in someone's routine, that person is inclined to keep it there.

That changes how I approach the planning conversation. One customer may be content with their routine and still open to a new product, location, or service. Another may find stepping into something unfamiliar hard, and a clever ad isn't going to change that. Those two people need different things from us. When we start from "Mainers don't like change," we tend to treat them as one audience, which usually means spending too much effort reassuring people who were already willing and too little thinking about what would make the first step easier for the ones who aren't.



The question I'd rather bring into the room is what would give your next new customers a reason to do something differently. That's what next month’s focus report takes on, and the answer varies quite a bit across the three Maines. Here’s the teaser for you: for one group, the biggest factor has next to nothing to do with how persuasive the marketing is. The full report comes out next week.

A good slogan is like a good wine.

Ric Tyler still hears a slogan he helped create about six years ago. For someone in advertising, that might raise a question: Is it time for something new?

But when you work with a slogan every day, it’s easy to forget that your audience doesn’t. You’ve read it, written it, and heard it hundreds of times. Your customers might encounter it once a week or once a month.

What feels tired to you may finally be becoming familiar to them. They remember the words. They connect them with your business. That’s what you wanted the slogan to do in the first place.



So before you retire a good line, consider whether it’s still doing its job. Like a good wine, it may have gotten better with age.

Leadership is taking charge in stride.

On the latest episode of The Ric and Dan show, Ric and Dan (of the Ric and Dan show) sat down with Jason Clay of Governor's Restaurant and Angler's Restaurant and talked a lot about its history, their histories, and what's changed along the way. And it's not hard to see how much things changed: Jason was actually on set to become a ball bearings salesman who would be working out of state.

On the plane ride back from the interview, though, he had one thought in his mind: Is this the way he wanted to lead his life? The answer was that there were things he was more connected to, and cared more about, closer to home. Like Governor’s.

Tool to Try: Google Trends

Check the words people actually use.

Your team may call it “residential roofing services.” A homeowner with water dripping through the ceiling may search for “roof leak repair near me.” The difference matters when that homeowner is trying to find someone who can help.

Before writing your next headline, put a few versions of your service or product into Google Trends. It’s a free tool that shows how interest in search phrases changes over time and how phrases compare with one another. Narrow the results to your region, compare the wording, and check the related searches. You might find a question people keep asking, a simpler name for what you offer, or an angle your website barely mentions.

Search data can help you hear how customers describe what they need. Use those words where they’ll help people find you, especially in page titles, FAQs, ads, and headlines. You can still call it “residential roofing services” in the meeting. The person holding a bucket under the ceiling has a different phrase in mind.

Title

Dan Cashman, Director of Public Relations.

Our rotating team feature continues with Dan Cashman, Director of Public Relations. Dan has a knack for finding a story anywhere, including halfway up a steep Pittsburgh hillside in a cable car built in 1887.

If I were to mention the name Baz Luhrmann, would it mean anything to you?

So far, most people I know say, “no.”

Baz Luhrmann had a unique hit on radio airwaves in the late ‘90s called “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen).” It stuck out because it was very different from anything else on the radio. It was a spoken word song, meaning it had a backing track, with a voice actor named Lee Perry essentially reading words intended for the graduating class of 1999.

The lyrics featured lots of advice, but came back to one simple fact: wear sunscreen.

I actually still think of this song often. The lyrics are still relevant for the most part. 

Some of the advice has stuck with me:

• “Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.”
• “Floss.”
• “Remember the compliments you receive; forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.”
• “Stretch.”

And one of my favorites: 

• “Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.” 

Truth.

But, another line from this song is one I literally think of every day, and the point of this column: “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

Really, Baz Luhrmann? 

I actually try to do this. I don’t always succeed, but I try. Some days it is low level: not shaving for a 3rd day in a row; sending an unsolicited message to a childhood idol; or eating ice cream (other lactose intolerant people will know what I mean). 

But some days, it’s things like rappelling off a building for PCHC; or skydiving on television; or climbing Katahdin solo. 

Yup, I’ve done all of those things. 

And, yup. They all scared me. 

And then there’s the category of things that will scare you and you don’t realize it until you’re there.

For Labor Day weekend, I took a trip to Pittsburgh with my dad, brother, and cousin to see a Pittsburgh Pirates game. (I have a personal goal of visiting every MLB stadium and they keep building new stadiums, so it feels like I’m a cat chasing its own tail, but I digress…)