 a little candy for you. I figured you all might be a little hungover this morning. Don't get in their van. Thank you guys for coming, especially this early on Sunday morning. It feels a little bit like type church. So today we're going to talk about business, about the type business specifically. The bad news is that we've only got 20 minutes together, the great news is that most of you guys already know the secrets to getting head in your bones. I'm just standing up here on the stage today to help wiggle the ideas back up into your consciousness. Before we get woke together, I probably should share a little bit of my street cred with you guys. So I currently manage three active foundries, magpie paperwork, rare bird fonts, and section type. Each foundry targets a different section of the display market. And I've worked with a lot of incredible clients over the years. If we had more time together, I would love to introduce you to all of them. We've got 20 minutes though, so I'm going to introduce you to an incredible salesman instead. This is Sam Taylor. He's the waving man of East St. Louis. I don't know if you guys know anything about East St. Louis, but it has a lot of problems. Drugs, gangs, violence, poverty, corruption. It also has a four-lane highway that connects nearby suburbs to downtown St. Louis. And every morning for the last 20 years, Sam here has come out of his house and waved at every single car that goes by. This is thousands of people. He makes eye contact with each one. He points, he waves, and he smiles. Somehow he can tell when you've had a terrible day at the office, and he'll always go out of his way to share a little something extra. Maybe he'll blow you a kiss, yes, even to the guys. Or he'll give you the Nixon salute seen here. Sometimes he'll even bellow out, you know, hang in there. You've got this. I know it sounds super cheesy, but it really does work because the people wave back. How do I know all this? Well, I was one of Sam's commuters. For six years, I drove by Sam on my way to and from a job that was filled with uncertainty. But Sam was like the postal service. Rain, sleet, snow, it didn't matter. I could always count on Sam to be outside waiting for me and waving. You might be wondering, who the heck does this? I did too. So one day I got brave enough, I stopped and I asked him. And it turns out that Sam had developed congestive heart failure and he could no longer work. But instead of sitting around feeling sorry for himself, Sam saw opportunity and he started what he calls his holy ministry of kindness. Now, Sam isn't selling a product. You could argue he is selling East St. Louis, but that is not his ultimate goal. In the end, what Sam wants to do more than anything is to build human relationships. He knows that the people who are driving by would rather be anywhere but there and that most of them have no idea who he is or what he stands for. But he shows up for them anyway. I can tell you this. Sam may not be a businessman, but I think about East St. Louis completely differently because of him. And if I heard that Sam was going to be opening up a factory tomorrow that sold empty cardboard boxes for $1,000, you can bet I would be the first person in line to support him. And there would be thousands of people jockeying for positions behind me because what Sam does every day is connect authentically with people. And that, my friends, is something in pretty short supply in our industry right now. Maybe you've experienced this yourself, not just as a maker but as a buyer. People aren't buying things. Do you find yourself shopping for tangible goods as much as you did 10 years ago or like me? Are you longing for a little more meaning in the clutter? If so, you're not alone. 78% of adults aged 18 to 34 would rather spend their money on an experience than a product. They want to see and make and do things. They want to build relationships with the people behind the brands that they admire. They want companies to wave at them like Sam waves at his commuters. And they want to wave back at us. They are driving a new economic reality, transactions that are centered around connection. The actual product, it's not the end goal. It's part of the process. Big business is taking note. Steve Howard, Ikea's chief sustainability officer recently said in the west we've hit peak stuff. And Apple CEO, Tim Cook, describes their recent dismal performance. He says we're seeing extreme conditions unlike anything we've ever experienced before everywhere. And Lord Wolfson, head of next, a major fashion retailer in Europe, describes the future. He says retailing is going to feel like walking up a down escalator. This is really heady stuff. People don't just want things. They want meaning. Huge global brands are noting this major shift in consumer behavior. And we should be too. Because how we relate to our customers is going to have a direct bearing on our success in the coming years, both as individuals and as an industry. Sorry, guys. But just you say, my customers, they don't need to be, I don't need to be worrying about this. They're professional art directors and designers. They have to buy type for projects. And I would reply, oh, contrary. If you're only selling to professional designers and art directors, you're passing up 3 billion potential customers. That's the number of people on the planet right now who can read, who have a computer and who did not go to a fancy design school. Second, your pro users, they do care about this stuff because they're people. And people will always remember how we made them feel. Lastly, and this will be a statistic that will wake you guys up, 80% of businesses believe they are providing customer service that's excellent. Just 8% of their customers agree. I bet we all think we're connecting really effectively with our customers, don't we? But we might not be. You know what I see in this statistic? I see market opportunity. It's a really great time to be a type designer who can relate to people because apparently there's not a lot of competition. Don't believe me? I didn't want to believe it either. But a few months ago, I asked actual industry shoppers to tell us what they thought of type designers and the industry as a whole. I'm going to share a few of their responses with you today. I'm at a few too many type designers who basically put up some version of you need to be this tall to use my work. Designers can be intimidating to the general public sometimes, but within the industry, the type of files are often intimidating to the average designer, double whammy. Many times, junior designers don't know how to access the alternate glyphs and they're too afraid to ask so they invent time consuming workarounds or find another font altogether. It breaks my heart and this next one is my favorite. Type designers cast themselves, excellent pun, as aloof, holier than thou geniuses. They forget they're in the service industry. I'm not cherry picking these answers guys. We didn't receive a single positive response. Let's extrapolate this vibe out into other industries. Would you buy groceries from a store where the cashier criticized your buying choices? What would you think about a car dealership who sold you a lemon and then told you it was your responsibility now? Would you go back to a doctor who told you you were a total idiot for not knowing all about the latest research? Do you think any of them would be in business for very long? It's clear something has got to give. How can we start reconnecting with our customers in a way that resonates with them authentically and positively and how can we ensure our own long-term survival? We stop thinking like type designers and we start thinking like Sam. We aren't just selling type. We're selling an experience and right now that experience is driving customers away but we have the power to hang on to these guys to get them excited about our industry. I suggest we do this by committing to six fundamental shifts in the way that we do business and I'm going to get into the weeds guys so break out your notebooks. The first shift, we need to ask questions. Think about your favorite brands. Why do you keep going back? Why do you like them so much? How do they make you feel? Now think about your customers. What is it that they are really seeking from you? It's never just the product. So look deeper. Maybe they're trying to get professional recognition. Maybe they want more money from their clients. Maybe they're designing wedding invitations and they're reveling in joy. Whatever their need is, ask yourself how you can help connect with them around that need. How can you help them achieve their goals? How can you make them feel cherished? We assume nothing. Just because somebody's a prototype user doesn't mean they know it all and just because someone has never purchased a font before doesn't mean they lack intelligence. If you start approaching all of your customers with an open mind and an open heart, I guarantee you they will surprise you. We need to start waving. We need to be somebody's Sam. Let's surprise and delight our customers. Let's exceed their expectations. We're really creative guys. We're good at this. Let's offer exciting and memorable ways for them to connect with our brands. We can create valuable extras that they can use and share. Things like free companion fonts or printable artwork about heck even beautiful blank invoice templates. I know when I was starting out I would have killed for resources like that. Don't advertise the freebies you provide. Just deliver them. You could note and congratulate their moments of success. Send a card on the one-year anniversaries of the biggies. You could create a special bank account and you could use it to wow your special customers. The special customers define them however you want. Maybe they have purchased an extended license from you or maybe they're your repeat customers. Maybe their story resonates with you. Maybe you are absolutely wonderfully bonkers and you want to do something special for every single one of your clients. I know for a fact that there are a handful of people in this room right now who do exactly that. Don't worry I'm not going to out you guys but the rest of you all try and imagine on your way home who it might be. The fourth shift is smiling. How do we do that? We answer every message within 24 hours on weekends and holidays. We get a pass but please do not ignore an email or a direct message ever. When your customers have a question they need to reach you at that exact moment not next Tuesday. If you can't respond right away set up an auto reply so that they know when you will. We say you not I. Use the word you twice as many times as you say I in every single point of communication. Give your customers your full attention. But is a downer word and is opportunity. Please don't say some apps are buggy but we can get around that. Try saying some apps are buggy and we can get around that together. Do you hear the difference? We use team language. This can be done so easily. Show your customers that you're on their side. Just use words like we together and let's. This goes a tremendous way towards reducing friction. Anytime a customer asks us a question we need to be building up their confidence. This is so easy. We can say things like is there anything else I can help you with. That's a great question or you can do this. Here's how. And this is a big one guys. Sometimes it's really hard but I want you to try anyway. Always respond to public criticism publicly. And with humility and promptly. Pretend that your grandmother is watching. First of course fix the problem then fess up to your customer and apologize. And thank them for letting you know about the issue. Invite them to shop with you again. A do over on you. This time ask them for their feedback. Let them know if the experience was improved. Even if your customer did you wrong and sometimes they will. Explain what happened in neutral language and explain how you tried to help. I hope you did right. Consider offering those customers a do over opportunity too. I know it's crazy even if you were right all along but everybody who reads that exchange will know exactly what went down and who was the bigger person. Don't let being right talk you out of being kind. The next shift. Our customers see us as experts so we should seize on this opportunity to deeply connect with them. Ask your customers to sign up for a mailing list so that you can give them exclusive high quality content. And be egalitarian about it. Don't just aim your marketing at fancy pants designers. New customers are blank slates. They don't have any bad habits except the ones we teach them. You have an incredible opportunity to connect with these people and welcome them into our industry on behalf of everyone sitting in this room. So be gentle. Help them believe in their own ability and show them who they can become. Lastly we need to practice gratitude. Our customers pay us with money they work pretty darn hard to earn because we write the alphabet nicely. What we do is wonderful and it's important but we aren't splitting atoms and we need to stop acting like it and we especially need to stop acting like it in front of our customers. We should be listening and learning from them. Their feedback especially those critical comments helps us to shape our next product. Their support means we get to spend our days in climate control buildings and ergonomic chairs. We're not digging ditches in the blazing sun and if that still doesn't convince you gratitude is the cheapest form of advertising. So say thank you and say it often. Here's the takeaway today. When you start implementing these steps into your business you will deepen your connection with your customers. When you're connecting with your customers you are creating meaningful experiences for them and meaningful customer experiences cultivate loyal brand evangelists. Instead of walking away from a degrading interaction that reinforced a negative perception of designers your customer now walks away invested. They're excited and they're part of our industry. By genuinely connecting you have gained a walking talking billboard for the life of your foundry. You've not paid them anything they paid you but every time they have an opportunity to recommend you to a friend they will. They will send you screenshots of their work as though you were a favorite professor. They will notify you of piracy that you never would have seen without their assistance. I am not exaggerating about any of this I've been doing it for 10 years if anything I am underselling the loyalty and potential in your customers. A few simple changes multiplied across all of them can change your world and it can change the world. Someday with enough really awesome customer experiences we will have elevated the entire typographic discourse. Maybe we'll have even solved some market problems along the way just by taking the opportunity to choose connection. If you want to learn more I've created a microsite to go along with today's talk. It's got links and resources and actual email templates everybody loves those I know I do frankly it's got everything I couldn't cram into today's 20 minutes it's a lot and I curated it especially for you guys you can find it here as you head home this afternoon I want to leave you with this simple message remember to look after your commuters be someone's waiver connect we are in this together thank you guys