A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of heading down to the Farmer’s Market on Market Square in downtown Knoxville. It’s been awhile since I’ve been and it really seemed much larger than I remembered. There are definitely more stands of all kinds to visit and now there are FOOD TRUCKS!
Enter the Old City Buskers! They set up right on the corner outside of Urban Outfitters and as we shopped, or should I say as they shopped (“they” know who “they” are), two of the OC Buskers who had the easy part of the set up started playing some warm up tunes. Instantly, the whole farmers market came alive! 
The veggies were greener, the berries fresher, the beef jerky was jerkier, the sky bluer, the delicious aromas of the food trucks and cafes were good enough to knock you over with pangs of hunger and a feeling came over me like there was no other place on the planet that I would rather be than on that square at that market. I was inspired to get to meeting vendors and purchasing their wares (which I did, about $200) and was smiling all the while. Those that know me, know that I love me a food truck and to have such an outstanding variety of farm stands along with other art, baked goods, preserved goods, beef jerky, soap (gotta stay clean), clothing and oh did I mention FOOD TRUCKS; you would have thought that I walked right into my own little heaven as I started perusing the wares of the hard working and talented vendors. But strangely I was really not that into it? And it didn’t seem like anyone else really was either? Weird right?
It wasn’t just me that noticed. No, everyone noticed and I noticed them noticing. Say that 5 times as fast as you can! It was incredible and inspiring to me what the Old City Buskers did for the farmers market. It was the last missing piece to the experience of being there and more importantly remembering.
I think many times in business you can be missing that last little piece of culture that will make the difference between the experience your customers attend vs. the experience that your customers will remember. It really doesn’t take much and every businesses pieces will be different. It’s more of delivering a feeling on a particular set at any given time. Systematizing the predictable and humanizing the experience. Focus on your front stage experience supported by your backstage crew.
So I’ll leave you with a nugget to think about: Do you have a front stage experience that your customers will be inspired to tell others about and what are you doing to differentiate yourself and your business in your market experience your customers attend vs. the experience that your customers will remember. It really doesn’t take much and every businesses pieces will be different. It’s more of delivering a feeling on a particular set at any given time. . Systematizing the predictable and humanizing the experience. Focus on your front stage experience supported by your backstage crew.
Jason Lawhorn, CPA,CITP,CVA,MAcc
marketing@lawhorncpa.com
