andydidyk.com

My life has finally slowed down enough to be able to write again and, perhaps more important to my long term health, to be able to exercise regularly. The modest route that I run through the hills of East TN takes me the long way around the biggest public high school in our area.

An interesting thing that happens when you run a route regularly at 6:30 in the morning; you tend to notice the rhythm of everyone around you. Since most people work jobs or attend classes that have fairly consistent schedules, you tend to see the same people doing the same things. You see the same people driving the same cars, including the guy that really needs to have his exhaust system serviced. You get to know who will have their lights on, who will still be asleep, and who will have already left. You also get to know the personalities and quirks of those around you that are out doing the same thing. Some will smile and greet you enthusiastically, some will be guarded and stare at the ground, while others will be somewhere in between. Even though you only get a few seconds in their presence, you can learn a lot from them.

I find that I rarely make time for that level of immersion with my clients, or better still, with my client’s clients that I market to on their behalf. Like most agency folk that have been in the business for a number of years, I’m well versed in marketing best practices and I feel as if I do a good job of understanding my clients. But I wonder about how much more effective I could be if I were to take a walk through my client’s customer’s environment, be that a manufacturing facility, home office, or boardroom. With a few consistent visits, I’m sure that I could pick up some very, very valuable information.

It’s good to be back!