Years ago, I did a bit of free consulting ("Hey Dave, let me bounce a few ideas off of you.") for a heavy equipment operator's school. My advice was to close the school and open an adult sandbox. Seriously. Let grown-ups play on the equipment and charge through the nose. He thought that all he needed was better recruiting. Here's a picture of me on his bulldozer taken with a crappy PDA of the era. Do you think I can remember anything about his boring school except for the fact that he let me drive a bulldozer?
When I went on a press trip to learn about some new Goodyear tires, they let me drive a mine haul truck. That's me on the right. You can't help but grin when you're standing on this truck.
Do you think I remember anything about the trip besides the haul truck? (OK, maybe the flight in Mark Cuban's 757 on the way to the haul truck.)
Now, my partner Mike Dandridge dredges up (yes that was a heavy equipment joke) a story about a company in Colorado that has come through on the sandbox dream! I love it.
How would you change your business if the only thing you could offer your customers was the experience?