Ep. 06: How to tap into your creativity in crisis.
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Creativity in crisis. I’ve been on a tear lately. If you guys aren’t following along on social, find me @amydraheim and @howtosharepodcast on Instagram. I’ve been talking a lot about creativity in crisis over there.
While enrolled in Marie Forleo’s B-School, I was challenged to reach out to 20 people in my life and ask them about my greatest strengths. At first I didn’t think I could do it, it felt so awkward, but eventually my own curiosity won out.
I reached out to a mix of family, friends, clients, colleagues—so I’d hopefully get a mix of answers. The idea was that I’d throw them all into an excel sheet, sort them, and see where my strengths lie.
There was a part of me that thought the whole thing was kind of silly. I thought I knew what people would say. They’d say I was smart, funny, and cute and that would be that.
It turns out I didn’t give myself enough credit, because “creativity” is my biggest strength—by a landslide. 12 out of 18 people polled listed “creative” as my first strength. The other top two strengths were that I’m dynamic and that I’m big-hearted. I was sort of taken aback.
I started thinking about my business and how that creativity and big-heartedness needed to come through more, so that I could better serve my clients, especially during this crisis.
So today I’m sharing my creativity-in-crisis train—and I’m inviting you on board. The only rule is that you can’t bring your baggage along, you’ve got to leave that at the door. This train is full of creative ideas, so there’s no room for anything else—sorry!
But hey, if you’re searching for ideas or looking to get more creative in your communications, or change the ways in which your property is responding to the crisis, then let’s keep going.
Chugga-chugga, choo-choo…
In today’s episode, we’ll ride the creativity train and talk about:
How creativity can keep your business in growth mode.
How creativity can connect you to your customers.
How to tap into your own creativity right now.
To be clear, I’m not talking about a complete 180 pivot from what you do. I’m not talking about abandoning ship at all. I’m talking about how to think outside of the box to keep doing what you’re doing in new and exciting ways.
As we talk through each of these, I’ll share some great examples along the way.
How creativity can keep your business in growth mode.
So let’s talk that first one, how creativity can keep your business in growth mode—yes, even right now. Actually, now is the perfect time to grow because business has slowed down. If that sounds like an oxymoron, let me explain. Think about all the times in the past you’ve said, “If I only had one day a week, I could do x, y, z” or “if we didn’t have guests coming in every day, we could finally finish that project.” Dust off that wish list, because right now you have the time.
Think of this as the incredible opportunity to hit pause on your daily operations. If you hadn’t been forced to close, but if you wanted to get a renovation or a revitalization project completed, guess what? You probably would’ve needed to close, and sacrifice some sales, in order to do so. Just because the pandemic is the reason behind this pause, doesn’t mean you can’t still take full advantage of this time.
I’ll give you a great example. Across the Atlantic, there’s this incredible place called the Canary Islands. You’ve probably heard of those, and if you have, you might also know about Lanzarote—an island in the Canaries. On the north eastern side of the island, there’s an eco-retreat that sits on the edge of Arrieta Beach, called Finca de Arrieta. Steven and I were lucky enough to stay at this little slice of paradise back in 2014. The property consists of this great piece of acreage including 17 alternative-energy-powered bungalow-style properties, plus resort amenities like an honor system pantry and a chicken coop for picking up eggs, some lawn games, surf and boogie boards, and solar panels. The owners have always had a goal of being self-sustainable.
But there was one thing they always wanted and didn’t have time for—and that was to start a vegetable garden. It seems small right? In doing so, they would actually become that much closer to their goal of self-sustainability. So guess what happened when guests cleared out as a result of the pandemic? They took action and put more roots into the ground. They’ve planted watermelon, sweet potatoes, beans, and more, and intend to serve their guests in a whole new way, year-round, when it’s time to reopen.
I’ll give you another example. My husband owns Barrio, a restaurant in Bend, Oregon, and when our state governor, Kate Brown, announced that all restaurants would need to close their dining services and exist doing takeout/delivery for the foreseeable future, Steven immediately went to work to figure out how to do more than just survive. He looked months into the future, when diners would be ready to return and he started asking questions. What will they want when that time comes? How will the restaurant experience change? Steven’s been not only working to beautify his restaurant for the day when customers can return, he’s also rethinking the entire dining experience as we know it. He’s doubling down on takeout by showing up on every single delivery app and seeing which ones work best, and he’s also rethinking the in-house dining experience to anticipate his future customer’s needs.
Each week, he’s testing out different menu items—he’s trying to meet the needs of customers dining at home. He’s not just going with the menu that was working when diners were coming in because that’s changed. In the first week, he put out a family meal, knowing that parents are home with their kids right now and need some relief. The family meal option is satisfying and priced right, and makes the decision of what to have for dinner so much easier.
You’re listening to the third example right here—my podcast. This was the thing that I was “waiting for a pause” to be able to start. When I finally got that pause, I had to sort of temper my excitement because I immediately saw this break from my regular work for what I’m telling you it is—to finally do that thing. It’s that paradox I mentioned at the beginning of this topic—that actually because my work in the traditional sense slowed down, I could actually use the new found time, to grow. In the first three months of the year, I was working constantly and it felt like I never had enough hours to pursue the things I knew would actually allow me to grow in the future. Suddenly, I found that time. Is this making more sense now?
So if you’re a person who’s ever said, “I want to do this, but I don’t have time” or “I wish I could just pause everything so I could focus on doing that.” Don’t miss your chance. Now is that time to grow. Live this paradox with me.
I realize that for some ideas, time isn’t the only thing you need. You may need money and probably feel like you’re running of it. For service based businesses though, this is a little easier because a lot of the stuff that we do is in our heads and we just need to get it down on paper. If you’re wanting to complete a major building or renovation project for your hotel, just consider that you may have needed to close down to complete the project in the first place, and that the pent-up demand for travel will lead to a strong rebound for hospitality.
Back on episode 4, we talked all about continuity in messaging right now, and the same is true for your physical property—there can be continuity here as well. Don’t let the cobwebs grow, don’t turn the lights out just yet. Find creative ways to continue to invest right now—it will pay off.
How creativity can connect you to your customers.
Next, let’s talk about how creativity can connect you to your customers. This is actually an incredible time for hotels. Without doing much, there’s going to be a ton of pent up demand for travel when this is all over because travelers have had their trips postponed and cancelled.
My friends have reached out to say they’ve had countless trips, conferences, stuff they’ve been waiting a year for, canceled. Stuff they’ve been saving a year for, or more. Now they’re forced to stay home, and there’s no one to be mad at. They’re not upset with the hotel or the destination, in fact, suddenly that trip has become the thing they want more than anything.
The value and meaning of vacations, and being outside of the home, has increased exponentially in recent weeks. There’s a lot at stake right now, and we all need to stay home, but the time will come to travel again, and the pent up demand will create a major rebound for hospitality.
So should you just sit back and wait for that pent up demand to bubble over when the time comes? You certainly can, but what if I told you that you can also do something right now, without inviting guests into your hotel just yet, to make sure that your hotel and destination is top of mind when the time comes to travel again? Would you invest a little more now if it meant more market share in the future? I certainly would.
I’m seeing hotels start to understand this equation more and more. You see this in the creative efforts to connect with their past guests—and future guests, don’t forget about those. Hotels who welcome local artists are creating playlists on Spotify. Hotels with restaurants, or restaurants that are stand alone, are sharing recipes to cook at home. Pet-friendly hotels are donating supplies to animal shelters. Some hotels are sending stripped down emails from their GM or owners to share highly personal stories of what they’re day-to-day looks like now, and messages of hope. I talk more about this new breed of storytelling back on episode 4 by the way.
These are just some of the ways that you can get creative to stay connected to your customers, and be the place they want to visit most, when this is all over.
How to tap into your own creativity right now.
Okay, I’ve convinced you and now you’re wondering about how to come up with ideas of your own. First of all, you know your property better than anyone. There are so many ideas inside of those walls, and just outside of those walls, too. Take some time—give yourself 20 minutes and a stack of Post-it notes, and reverse-engineer some ideas, by answering the following questions:
How would I describe my business? Maybe words like “comforting,” “quirky,” “central,” or “cerebral” come to mind. Write those down.
How do I want guests to feel when they come in? Maybe it’s “I want them to feel welcome,” “happy,” “excited,” “relieved,” or “like they have a sense of purpose.”
How do we make our guests feel this way? Maybe it’s a welcome cocktail—boom. There’s your first idea. Share that welcome cocktail recipe on social or in an email. Maybe guests feel happy because of the energy of your space—the colorful walls or the views—this is content that’s worth sharing, maybe in a photo series. Jot down those ideas you’re having. Maybe guests feel relieved when the walk in your hotel because it’s been a journey to get there, and they’ve got a spa appointment lined up. Find ways to bring what you do in the spa—to guests at home right now. Maybe that’s putting together a mani-pedi kit that can be picked up curbside or mailed. Maybe it’s a make-at-home mud mask. Anything goes. I have a feeling you’ve got a lot of ideas by now. Keep asking these three questions and see what comes.
By the way, this idea generation doesn’t stop when the pandemic is over. This is your warm-up. You need to keep finding ways to communicate what’s happening on property, and the identity of your brand across all digital marketing channels. Consistent messaging is key to creating a loyal following and repeat customers. So don’t stop. Keep thinking about the stories your hotel can tell, that come back to the brand, and come back to the emotions your guests feel when they step through those doors.
With a bit of practice being creative in crisis, you’ll start to feel less like your business is shrinking, and more like your business is growing. There’s still room to grow right now, and always. If you’re able to be creative in crisis, and continue to find ways to grow and communicate with your customers, they’ll be all but busting down your doors when the time comes to visit you again.
Leave a comment below if you found this episode helpful, or if you’ve got an idea you’d like me to help you solidify. I’d love to hear from you.
As always, keep sharing those stories—and tap into that creativity inside of you.
