Little Bat - my pug - hates walking in the snow. But with her “super boots” she literally dives into the snow banks. It’s a pretty simple solution that makes all the difference to her.

I think this is a good client service lesson. In creative agencies we can get tied to a “process”, a way of doing things or an “our way or the highway” creative philosophy. But sometimes a simple change in approach can be all it takes to get a client to dive into a new idea. So, every so often, consider giving clients some boots. It just might change their whole outlook.

I think this is what I’ve learned: if I were to try to hire people who thought like Walter (my cat), my company would be f***ed! :)

Walter:

- also really hates to change his routine
- will almost go through a window screaming and hissing at the cat he hates the most
- won’t come out with me for beers
- has smelly feet
- has zero work ethic

How’s she doing after her trip to the ER?

For example, one of my pooches decided she couldn’t get up on the bed anymore (she can, but is being a diva). We put a step stool beside the bed, taught her how to use it, whining stopped.

Last night, she whined again from the moment we got home, even when snuggling in a lap. When she finally got her nose out of of her butt (she sleeps curled up that way), we noticed her eye was red and puffy. Trip to the emergency vet resulted in eye drops for an infection.

Lessons learned? She was whining each time to tell us something, the first time we solved it by not just giving her a tool, but showing her how to use it. The second time it was by paying attention to the fact that she was trying to tell us something but obviously can’t communicate it to us in “our” language. Once we finally stopped to take stock of the situation and investigate, we found the problem and solved it.

If Marketers can learn to follow these same principles, there will be a lot more happy consumers out there..

See you can learn a lot from a dog - thanks for the inspiration Tamera!