WSU alumna Jocelyn K. Allen, aka @TheExecuDiva, shares career advice at PRSSA awards luncheon

The large Gothic window of St. Andrew's Hall casts a welcoming light
over the PR Alumni and Student Recognition Luncheon. (Photo by Denise Vultee)

The Customer Journey Map: A GPS system for lean branding

As a former writing teacher, I'm well aware that the process of creating is every bit as important as the final product.  So when I read books aimed at helping fledgling entrepreneurs--which I've been doing a lot lately--I'm often drawn to the parts where the authors talk about processes that unfold over time. Recently, I ran across a process-oriented tool, the Customer Journey Map, that struck me as a useful way for entrepreneurs to think about their relationship with customers.

In her book Lean Branding: Creating Dynamic Brands to Generate Conversion, Laura Busche writes, "We are in the business of taking customers from A to B, where A is who they are today and B is who they want to be tomorrow" (p. 25). The Customer Journey Map is Busche's model of that process.

She points out the obvious but sometimes overlooked fact that a customer's product experience goes through three stages: pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase.

• Pre-purchase: During the pre-purchase stage, when consumers are deciding whether or not to buy a product, a company has two important tasks: first, making consumers aware that it exists; and second, showing customers how it differs from the competition.

• Purchase: In the purchase stage, a company needs to make the consumer's decision to buy its product as simple and rewarding as possible.

• Post-purchase: In the post-purchase stage, a company must be responsive to consumers' need to communicate about the product. It's important to deliver on pre-purchase promises and help consumers integrate the product smoothly into their lives, in order to reinforce their conviction that they made the right decision and to avoid cognitive dissonance in the form of buyer remorse.

These three stages are "brand touchpoints" that entrepreneurs can use to their advantage. Throughout all three stages, brand message (story), brand visualization (symbol), and brand communication strategies (channels) are critical; but they play different roles in each stage.

The Customer Journey Map is just one piece in Busch's thorough treatment of what she calls the "Build-Measure-Learn" process of branding.  Her pithy advice resonates with me, partly because it tends to emphasize not only process but story, and I'm a big believer in the narrative paradigm.

At this writing I am still in the process of reading Busch's book.  I've learned a lot from it so far, and I recommend it for anyone who is starting a new business (or trying to rebrand an existing one).

Emerging WSU arts entrepreneurs pitch their business plans

There were plenty of sweaty palms in our FPC 5010 class yesterday, and not just because of the sunny, 70-degree weather.

It was Shark Tank day.

As the final project of the special topics course on Entrepreneurship and Art, students from the College of Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts pitched their business plans to a panel of three judges: Gary Shields, an instructor in the School of Business Administration; and Rula Aoun and Chris Banarian, attorneys with the Wayne Law Group.

The students' ideas ran the gamut of creative ventures, including a graphic design service, a nonprofit photography camp for children with cancer, a theatrical set design service, a Web-hosting tech startup, a music venue, an after-school program, and a photographic studio specializing in cloning.

And then there was my own idea for Ovenbird, LLC, a multimedia company focusing on publications and products that support the handmade lifestyle.  I described my plans for launching "Garnished with Pixels," a food blog with a focus on traditional Midwestern comfort food and midcentury vintage kitchenware.

The takeaway

I learned a lot from the experience. For starters, the cute aqua and coral SignPainter HouseScript font I used in my PowerPoint failed to show up on the classroom computer, reminding me that I face a steep learning curve in the design and tech pieces of my business.

And it turns out I'm not very good at following my own advice as a public speaking teacher: My presentation ran over the time limit, and I missed the opportunity to spike my slide show with photos of yummy comfort food--something that might have tipped the balance in a real-life Shark Tank scenario.

There was a lot of synergy in the room:  In more than one case, one startup's strengths offered a potential solution to another's weakness.

The judges offered valuable advice--not only feedback on our individual plans, but also warnings about potential pitfalls for businesses of all types. Shields, who teaches entrepreneurship in the Department of Management, emphasized the importance of doing a break-even analysis. Both Shields and Banarian encouraged us to take advantage of Blackstone Launchpad.

By the way, for classmates who are still working on the engagement log, BLP is hosting one more networking event this semester: 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, at Traffic Jam & Snug.

I've got the horse right here: Ponyride gives Detroit businesses room to grow

Emily of Anthology coffee shop, one of Ponyride's many tenants. The power outage kept us from sampling the coffee, but the beans smelled great. (Photo by Denise Vultee)

"The power is out."

Emily, the barista, called out the warning as we walked through the doors of Anthology, a coffee shop on the first floor of Ponyride. Our Entrepreneurship and Art class was meeting there to tour the 30,000-square-foot industrial building in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood that serves as an incubator for local artisans and entrepreneurs.

Minding/mining the gap

But although the building's electricity was not working today, another kind of power was evident. As our guide led us through the maze of workshops, studios, and office spaces that make up Ponyride, we heard story after story about chance encounters between tenants that sparked new ideas, which in turn led to bigger things.

This larger-than-life mural decorates a wall of the dance studio.  For an idea of the scale, notice the bench in the corner. (Photo by Denise Vultee)

This is the kind of synergy that can happen when people with highly diverse backgrounds and training find themselves working shoulder to shoulder.

Social network analysts point to the advantages of being the one person positioned to serve as a bridge across the knowledge gap between two "clusters." In her recent book The Creator's Code, Amy Wilkinson calls people who transport ideas in this way "Sunbirds," and she counts their ability to identify such gaps as one of "the six essential skills of extraordinary entrepreneurs."

At Ponyride, it happens every day.

Clothing designers, metalsmiths, woodworkers, dancers, and other creative entrepreneurs share both space and ideas. The nominal rent of 50 cents a square foot keeps the building completely occupied.

Meet the artisans

At one point in the tour, our guide, who sported an impressive red beard, produced a tin of Beardbalm from his pocket--then showed us the Harry-Potter-sized cubbyhole under the stairs where it's made.

Metal utensils forged in the Smithshop. The studio is also restoring the iron balcony of a historic Detroit building. (Photo by Denise Vultee)

At the other end of the scale, we toured the Smithshop metalworking studio, where artisans create products ranging from delicate jewelry and kitchen utensils to massive architectural pieces.


We had an opportunity to chat with some of the entrepreneurs along the way, including Chris Morris of The Dirt Label, which now has a brick-and-mortar store in Royal Oak.

Others talked about more recently launched ventures, such as Belrauch Handy Oil, an eco-friendly household lubricant. Everyone we spoke with was clearly passionate about their work.

Despite the loss of electricity, the large windows in many of the studios allowed us document our trip in photos. Beyond those windows, in stark contrast to the creative energy inside, loomed a vacant eight-story concrete warehouse surrounded by concertina wire: the kind of building many who don't live in the city still associate with Detroit, and a silent reminder of the challenges facing projects like Ponyride and other revitalization efforts.