Different Drummers

Pushing into Production

We just hit a momentous milestone because we are moving the Gettington website from a test environment into a production environment this weekend.  Today was the Go/No Go decision point.  We are a Go! 

We are not quite ready to make the site public, but we are on our way.  This move into a production environment means that we can start counting down the weeks to launch versus the months. 

Here is a quick sneak peak of the home page.  The graphics are not yet final, but it is great to see the site come together.

The Brand Experience

Let me first say that I'm a huge proponent of The Experience Economy.  Simply stated, the theory is that we have moved from an agriculture based economy to a industrial based economy to a service based economy and are now in an experience based economy.  The experience economy proposes that companies must orchestrate "memorable events" for their customers.  Think Starbucks and Walt Disney.  Both deliver not only a cup of coffee or roller coaster ride but an overall brand experience.  You can read more on wikipedia or buy the book.

Just last week Andy Sernovich posted about his experience purchasing from BlueFly.  What impressed him was the bag that the product was delivered in and the ease of the return by including the shipping label.  He felt that it enhanced his upscale shopping experience with BlueFly - a perfect example of the experience economy at work. 

I'm also a fan of the Brand Autopsy series Would You Miss?  The series explores whether we would miss a brand if they went out of business through a series of evocative questions.  My favorite question is:

Does BRAND X forge such unfailing emotional connections with its customers that they would fail to find another BRAND that could forge just as strong an emotional bond?

So as I sit with the unique responsibility to develop a brand I have been thinking a lot about what would create such an unfailing emotional connection with our customers?  We will not have everything completely locked down because I want customer input to develop and guide our future.  However, I have created the brand framework for Gettington.  This brand framework is critical because it defines each one of our decisions going forward.  It sets the roadmap on how we operate. It guides the direction of our brand experience.  

So in the fashion of Brand Autopsy's "Would you miss" series, What say you?

Why I believe in miracles

Warning - Very personal information about to be shared.

We have the treatment schedule for my mom and her battle with Leukemia.  She will be at Mayo for at least the next two months.  After that we probably have another six to none months of intense treatment including more chemo and a bone marrow transplant.  This is a long road and some pretty scary stuff.

However, I do believe in miracles and we need a miracle now.  The leukemia is not an easily cured variety.  I know relocating to Minnesota so she could get the best care was divine intervention.  I've had these experiences with the divine in my past.  And in those cases, I've been awed by the greatness of the experience and also learned some very important lessons.  I don't know what the lesson to be learned is now.  There are probably many lessons with the first being to appreciate the ones we love.  However, I do believe that I've been given the opportunity to share this experience with miracles with more than those immediately around me.  So I will continue to post progress on my mother's cure for leukemia. 

My personal miracle was the birth of my daughter.  And quite frankly, every child is a miracle.  In my case, I had a few lessons to learn and some divine interaction to truly classify it as a miracle. This is a long story that I will try to make short.  

I've always known things.  At ten I knew I was going to be successful.  At seventeen I knew I would have problems having children.  At least I think it was seventeen.  It feels like I've always known that. I even told my husband when we were dating that this would be an issue.  No, I didn't have any medical reason.  Just a knowing.  So, low and behold, when the time came to start trying nothing happened.  Nothing happened for a year so we talked to the doctor.  He ran some tests, nothing significant jumped out for either myself or husband.  But since I was "older" time was working against me and we moved into treatment with Clomid pills to create more chances.  

Seven months later (still a real long time) we finally got pregnant and I lost the baby at 10 weeks.  I was terribly saddened.  Women who go through this cycle are pulled through a wringer of emotions every single month.  You question why not me?  Why do others who do not want children get pregnant so easy? How is this fair?  

After the miscarriage, my insurance company suggested I move on to the next phase of treatment which is artificial insemination.  This includes much more intense treatment and monitoring.  I would go through weeks of having my blood taken and ovaries scanned what seemed like every other day along with daily injections of hormones and then magic time.  The doctor would decide that things looked good and we would do a trigger injection and get ready for the artificial insemination.  The day would go - Okay I have four eggs all ready to go, hubby had 80 million sperm good and strong, doctor mixes them all together and let's have a party! But, instead of the outcome of a pregnancy - there was nothing.  This was the ultimate let-down.  It was hard to comprehend how you could have everything perfect and still not get pregnant.  

The second artificial insemination failed as well.  I was beginning to feel pretty low. The emotional roller coaster was getting to me.  And on top of it, my ovaries were over-stimulated and we needed to sit a cycle out.  I'm not much for patience to begin with and by this time we were going on two years of "trying".  I was beginning to think about moving to In-Vitro Fertilization.

Then I had a dream.  In my dream I had three beautiful babies, triplets (not uncommon when you are taking fertility drugs).  I was in the hospital and named the first baby Samuel.  It was strange because we had never discussed the name Samuel.  I was even arguing with myself in the dream.  No, Hudson is the first baby's name.  We can name the second baby Samuel.  When I woke up the thought of the name of Samuel was so strong that I couldn't shake it.  I mentioned it to my support group - an online group of women going through the same trials.  And one of the women reminded me of the biblical story of Samuel.  In the bible Hannah could not get pregnant.  She prayed to God and God gave her a son who she named Samuel.  Samuel means "God heard" or "asked of God".  I was stunned by the dream and the meaning of the name that was never on any list.  I also experienced a great sense of calm.  

The next cycle came and we could start again.  The magic day for "the party" happened to be Easter Sunday.  So instead of going to church that day, we went to the clinic.  It just felt right.  

By this time my mother had moved in with us after her first experience with cancer.  She knew about our challenges, but, no one else in our community knew that we were desperately trying to have a child.  My mom and I would also go to the Church on the evenings they offered Reiki.  I thought that it would be good for her and I would take any help I could get to relieve stress.  This one Reiki evening a few weeks after Easter we arrived.  Our prayer warrior was there.  She was a very remarkable lady who prayed for those in need.  She also had a special connection to the divine. She could tell that my mom had gone through medical issues prior and knew the location of the issue.  This evening she told me..

Prayer Warrior: God will answer your prayers

Me: Yes, I know He will (thinking this is pretty non-descript)

Prayer Warrior: But, you have to give thanks to God and not to the doctors.  It is because of Him.

Me: (thinking - wow, now that is not so generic)

A few days later, blood tests confirmed that I was indeed pregnant.  This pregnancy, conceived on Easter, resulted in my daughter Alexandra.  What I learned is that I don't control everything.  That was a pretty big lesson for a type A.  I also experienced the divine first hand.  I know now that miracles do happen and that a miracle can happen now for my mom.  It has also left me with a sense of seeking the Divine.  It is an incredible feeling to really experience it first hand.  

Become a VIP

Gettington Update

To say there is a lot going on in my life right now would be an understatement.  It's funny but all of the chaos in my life involves helping people.  I'm currently the cheerleader for my mom as she battles cancer.  But, I also feel like I'm the cheerleader for everyone who is trying to manage their family budget. 

Gettington is about providing choices.  Choices of great products and brands.  And choices in how to pay for your purchases so you can manage your budget.  And in today's world of credit card company woes, I'm proud to be able to offer alternatives.  Every product on the Gettington website is offered with three ways to pay.  You can pay using your own credit card (good selection for those who pay off their cards every month).  Or you can pay over time.  We will offer two extended payments.  Fast Option is a four payment option.  Easy Option is an extended payment option (up to 24 months).

I'm also proud to be creating a brand that is grounded in honesty and transparency.  There is no hiding anything at Gettington.  On every page of the Gettington site is an assistant that clearly shows your payment options.  

The goal of transparency is to ensure that customers can make the best decision for their personal situation.  This will be a journey as we listen to feedback and iterate to make the experience better.  

Let me know if you would like to be part of the Gettington VIP team.  VIP stands for Very Important Perspective.   I will be launching a community to support our feedback process.  If you leave me your name and email address here or on our FaceBookfan page, I will make sure that you are part of our initial VIP community.  The target date for the invite is early September.  I would love to have all your input as we build this brand.   

Seeking a Miracle

Yesterday my mother was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.  She had cancer before.  It was a stupid cancer that is not a big deal for most women who get regular check-ups because it is easily treated.  Unfortunately she is like many women of her generation and did not have wellness check-ups for 10 years.  So the cerivical cancer that is easily treatable grew into a pretty severe stage of cancer that required intense chemotherapy and radiation.  She moved in with me shortly after her treatment ended.  We needed a change in lifestyle to support her healing.  That was five years ago and all her check-ups were coming back clean.  We were almost in the clear!

The last winter season was a tough one for our family.  We all seemed to get sick with the worst of the stuff going on.  My mom was no exeception.  In February, she ended up in the hospital with pnemonia.  We found out that her white blood cell counts were low which meant she had no immune response to fight off the infection.  The fear of cancer came back as she underwent a series of tests including a bone marrow test.  The bone marrow test came back bad, but, the sample was from her hip which was where she had all the previous radiation.  Her blood counts were showing improvements so the doctor went into watchful waiting versus running another bone marrow test.

Fast forward a few more weeks and we relocate from Kansas City to Minneapolis.  All was going well until mom started feeling bad last Thursday.  She felt a little better on Friday, but, no better over the weekend.  She went into a doctor who immediately put her into the hospital for a blood transfusion.  From there, a bone marrow test was run from her sternum (not the hip) and the diagnosis of Acute Leukemia was confirmed.  They immediately transported her to the Methodist Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota which is part of the Mayo Clinic.  They will perform another bone marrow test today (quite painful) and most likely start chemotherapy.

I've done a little research on line about the disease.  I learned that under 60 is still classified as young, that acute leukemia is easier to treat than chronic leukemia and that without treatment her life expectancy would be counted in months.  It is all a little hard to take in.  I'm not sure what I should be feeling at this point.  The only thing I know to do is to be strong for her and try to hold everything together.  God has performed miracles in my life before.  My daughter is an example of that - but that is another story.  I'm not sure what the lesson is that we need to learn, but, I'm looking for the miracle that is going to get her through. 

Prayers and positive thoughts of recovery are welcome!

About Us - The Gettington Story

The time is flying by as we are building a new shopping experience.  We are weeks away from seeing the site come together.  It's like giving birth.  By the time you reach the ninth month, you are so excited to meet the child that has been developing.  (Ok - you moms know what I'm talking about).  Gettington is another baby that I will have the opportunity to watch grow and I can't wait to see it live. 

There are so many things to share, but first you need to meet the Gettington that I already know.  The best (but long) way is to share the Gettington story.  This is envisioned to be the About Us page on the site.  Please provide feedback.  I would love to get your thoughts.  BTW, my friends on Twitter helped with the signoff.  Thank you @lisafischer, @brenda_haines, @jfernandez and @MohitGarg_.

About Us

More great brands, more ways to pay… and a bag full of surprises!

 

We are family. 

 

Yes, that’s a Sister Sledge song from 1979 and definitely shows my age, but Gettington is all about the family and we are family just like you.  We are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives, aunts, uncles and we juggle life the same ways you do.  We work hard and manage our family budget best we can. We figure out how to get our kids to soccer, baseball and dance, and we nurse them back to health when they’re sick. We treasure our friends, plan vacations, try to save for rainy days…and never have enough time!

 

Our family at Gettington has designed this shopping experience with your family in mind.  We want to provide a little help along the way, save you some time and hassles, and maybe even simplify life a little. And that starts by providing you the choices you need, from the great brands that we carry to a huge assortment of products, over 20,000 and growing.

 

We understand that managing your budget is very important.  Every product at Gettington is offered with three ways to pay so you can decide what works best for your budget.  You can pay in full using your own credit card. Or you can pay over just four months with our FAST Option. Or give yourself more time with low monthly payments by using our EASY Option.  Every page of the website has a control panel that displays your product selections along with your payment options of Pay Now, Fast Option (4-pay) or EASY Option (extended pay).

 

We created these options so you can have choices in how to pay.  But unlike typical credit card companies, you won’t find us in the nickel and dime game or trying to create “perma-debt”.  In fact, our options help you pay off your balance much faster than typical credit cards.  We believe that transparency and honesty is the path to great decisions.  At any time you can view the total payment cost from your control panel.

 

We also believe that random acts of kindness make the world a better place.  We make random acts of kindness part of our everyday life through the Gettington Goodie Bag.  When you create your account online you will automatically receive a virtual goodie bag.  At any time there will be special items placed in your goodie bag – from secret sales, limited-edition merchandise, special discounts, and even freebies.  Check your Gettington Goodie Bag often, as the goodies do expire.

 

That’s it, from our family to yours.  Hope to see you back often.

 

Live well-Live great,

Paula Drum

General Manager, Gettington

 

PS – We want to hear from you.  Please let us know what you liked and what you don’t like so we can provide the best service for you.