One of my best friends and my grad school roomie, Page Andrews, taught me the beauty of the open-ended question. Every time one of us would come home from a date, the other one would be sitting at the kitchen table with Nay, my dog, and two cups of coffee. “Well…?” we would trade off asking.
We never asked “Did he kiss you?” We never asked if he was hot, smart, or sweet (which was pointless since had dissected his car choice, clothes and height before he hit the front step). We stopped at “Well?”
Here’s why. Answering any of the usual questions would not necessarily get the asker the best information. One time, for example, one of us came home from a “nice” date with a decent looking guy who was pretty smart and mostly treated us with respect.
“Well?” asked to roomie who shall remain nameless to protect the completely not innocent.
“It went great. He is smart, and loves his mom. But…..well…..he um….bent me over the chair in the living room at the end and bit me on the ass. Hard.”
“Oh my God! Didn’t I tell you he had abonormally sharp front teeth! You could see them from the street!”
That little nugget would never have come out from a direct question. That is why I love social media. You listen for answers to open-ended questions. Raw, unfiltered opinions and delightful experiences with all sorts of things. Including vampires.
Project. Go to www.search.twitter.com and do a search for your brand. How are people experiencing your brand? You will be surprised with what you find.
Tags: Marketing, social media, twitter
