Will I see you in Vegas?
CCW in June is the world's biggest customer experience event. 250 speakers (including me). 5,000 attendees. And an exhibit hall that's a must-see, filled with all kinds of AI-powered customer contact tools.
Save 20% on registration when you use this link (code already applied).
The truth about me
Amazing conversation on The Oven Light podcast where I talked about how I became a speaker, why I wear plaid suits, how I started in tequila, my experiences giving landfill tours, and a lot more. It's like a biography in podcast format!
How to Solve Your Customers Information Anxiety
As you read this, I'm on my way with my wife to Salt Lake City to visit friends and attend Kilby Block Party, a 4-day music festival for indie rock.
I co-founded the college radio station at University of Arizona, so I've been an indie music devotee since the term was coined.
I used to go to Coachella every year, when it was much less of a THING than it is these days. But it's been a while since I've been to a proper music festival.
This was made VERY clear when I stumbled across the subReddit for the Kilby festival.
The post read:
"I'm 35 years old and going to Kilby. Anyone else as old as me attending? How are you preparing? Are you training for it?"
WTF!
I am.....quite......a.......bit.......older........than.......35
THIRTY-FIVE is now the cutoff for people that need to, evidently, get a doctor's note or pre-game with hydration IVs before a music festival?
OMG. If this is the last edition of The Baer Facts, I guess you'll know why.
I grew up in age of uncertainty. When "I don't know" was an acceptable answer. And when you don't have access to all the world's info on your phone at all times, not having complete answers is just the way you live.
But now, uncertainty creates Information Anxiety.
It's a nagging feeling of fear + unease.
It's like FOMO, but for facts.
In a different Reddit post, Kilby ticket holders were FREAKING OUT that the map of the festival had not yet been posted to the mobile app, 30 days out.
It wasn't THAT long ago that we figured out the layout of the festival grounds when our own feet touched the grass. You spent your first 30 minutes reconnoitering beer, water, merch, toilets, shade.
Now, there is an entire online sub-discussion about how wide the VIP+ section might be in front of the Mountain Stage! A month ahead of time!
You may have heard me talk on stage about The Uncertainty Gap, and how you need to answer your customers' question BEFORE they ask.
It's true, and it's important. Information Anxiety costs you money, and you might never even know it.
And the need to push all the information/facts/details/specs way up in the customer journey funnel is more crucial than ever, for two reasons.
First, the patience level of your customers is - unsurprisingly - going down, not up. Needing a festival map 30 days out is a perfect example of this.
Second, conversely, your customers' comfort with getting complete answers from an AI tool is going up, not down. And if they ask an AI tool, will they ever even have the opportunity to buy from you?
Will you lose them to the tractor beam of AI?
(here's a snippet of a Perplexity search for Kilby Block Party map, complete with images, links, and instructions. This took me 3 seconds to create).
Here's what you need to do:
Figure out EVERYTHING your customers may need to know about you, your business, your products, your policies.
Push that knowledge UP as far as possible in the customer journey so that they do not need to query you for it. Provide the answers before they ask.
All of your customers have Information Anxiety, and only YOU have the remedy.
Assuming I survive the crucible of Kilby Block Party, I'm going to add a bunch more detail to all my websites, and create more FAQ content in social media.
The Books Report
With my business partner, Maddie Jager, I recently published this first-of-its-kind, comprehensive national research on tequila drinkers in the United States.
It looks at who's drinking tequila, where they buy it, how they get their recommendations, what they care about, how much they'd pay, and a LOT more.
Super interesting data here, and a high-quality project of which we're very proud.
Jay's Faves
I love the new-ish Netflix series The Residence.
It's a cheeky whodunnit in the style of Knives Out, but a little funnier, raunchier, and stretched out to 8 episodes.
Uzo Aduba (Crazy Eyes from Orange is the New Black) leads a spectacular cast that goes all out in every scene.
And, it'll keep you guessing all the way along!
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