From Product Offering to A-Ha!| Martha Orellana | 515

How do you take an insight and turn it into an experience for your target audience? More difficult, how do you switch from an established target audience to a new audience? And finally, how do you elevate your offerings from a product to an aha? These are 3 of the questions that I want to explore today. And with me is Martha Orellana. She's the VP of Sales and Marketing at Mr. Steam, which provides in-home steam shower solutions. And I wanna talk with Martha about the multi-decade journey of Mr. Steam from the time that they were selling parts to plumbers to the present day where they are creating high-end experiences and sharing their perspective. I'm Bill Sherman, and you're listening to Leveraging Thought Leadership. Ready? Let's begin. Welcome to the show, Martha.

Great to be here, Bill.

So I want to explore with you the concept of taking a tangible product and turning it into not only an experience, but a new way of thinking. But to do that, I have to ask you the first question. What is Mr. Steam, and what is it? How does it work?

Well, that's— I guess that's a really good question. The first question is, what is Mr. Steam? Mr. Steam is a company that's been around for several decades and we are in the business of making people sweat. So some people ask me whether I work for the Internal Revenue Service or an ex— an exercise trainer, but actually we take steam showers and we make sure that they can convert a regular shower into a steam shower in someone's private home or in a gym or a spa.

Now you've said that the product has been around for multiple decades. Let's go to the origin story of this in terms of who was this originally marketed to and how was this idea communicated to them?

It was interesting 'cause steam bathing obviously has been around for thousands of years, right? Going back to Hamam, Turkish baths, the, the, the, the Romans had their baths. Everybody.

Everybody. Yeah.

Yeah. So, but, Back in the '60s and '70s, plumbers were the first ones who actually said, hey, you know what, we can get this shower that we're doing. And I know that we have a heating something box of some sort that we can make it into a steam shower. So really our first customers turned out to be plumbers because they are the ones that were doing the installation. And if you can imagine a hot water heater you can imagine the installation requirements for a steam generator, which you can put anywhere near the shower and create that environment.

Which makes sense. I mean, obviously, from an experience perspective, if you have the water, you have some heat, off you go. But that's not thought leadership and that's not an experience. And we're on a thought leadership podcast. So I want to say and ask the question, how did this evolve and what is the journey that you went on as an organization?

Well, it really starts with education, right? It really starts with letting people know that this is available, number one. That's been the biggest challenge that we had. People don't realize that they can actually have a steam shower in their home. They can have a whole spa experience. So how do you do that? How do you get the message out to millions of people without having millions of dollars in your budget, right? That's the struggle that we all have. And you really have to be targeted. And the way we really targeted the education is we went to the designers because the people that are creating or remodeling or building a new home, they're going to be working with a designer. They're going to be working with an architect. So you develop CEU courses, you reach out to the different groups, the ASIDs, the ISDs, the A, all the different letters that you can, and you, and you develop training programs for them that will allow them to get them. But more importantly, I think you have to take the mindset of the designer and the architect and say, hey, have you ever done a steam shower? Have you ever been in a steam room? And do you know how simple it is to get that to your customer? So the idea really is experiential. Get them to try it, get them to see the benefits, and then get them to be our champions in the process.

So that process of targeting people differently, right, and going from the plumber who would be doing the install to looking and saying, who's talking to the end user? Who needs to make this idea visible and available to them? You moved along the value chain, but you also moved along the experience chain as well.

Absolutely. And if you look at it, I don't even see it as a chain. I see it as a pyramid because then you have so many people involved in this. You have the showroom people that are selling the product, right? Then you have the designers and you have the architects putting the plans together and you have the plumber, the contractor, and it really becomes a journey that you go through. And at each of these touchpoints, you have to identify, all right, who's going to not know about this and how do I get information to them in the best possible manner, right? So that, that we, we've done, uh, uh, in the last few years we've done tons of videos, we've done a lot of PowerPoints, we've done actual camps and we, we call it, uh, Camp Feel Goods, right? So we actually take people into a nice high-end spa and we do a training for a couple of hours in, in their, one of the boardrooms. And then we actually take them in to experience what steam is like. And then we discuss the various possibilities, like what do you need this? Why is this? Why is the ceiling high? Why is the steam located on the floor? What exactly, what you need to do to make this happen, but not just in a commercial setting, but in a residential setting. So at each point in time, you actually have to have a contact that you go through and hit that, hit that plumber, hit that designer, hit that showroom person, and leave them with that experience.

So I wanna stay on this concept of education. And from a marketing perspective, a lot of people will say, hey, we need to make people aware that we exist as a brand or as an organization, as a company. You're moving one step beforehand and saying, hey, let's talk about category. Let's talk about this as an experience available in a home build or home remodel, right?

And I, I remember being in the '90s and maybe 1% of people were even aware or would even put a steam in there. And that category has significantly— the needle has really shifted. And, uh, you'll see a lot more people are aware, maybe 20, 30% of people are aware that they can have this in their home, maybe even 40%. If you've had a steam, steam shower in your home, you will definitely want it for the second home or third or fourth home that you're building.

Right. And so with that, you've got to step back a little bit and say, okay, we've got to play the long game and we've got to do education first rather than try to sell something that people aren't buying.

Well, unless you actually have the pockets, the deep pockets to make a— right, a total out there, I'm gonna hit every market, everything with ads, with everything else. But you have to be targeted. Like you said, you have to have your personas. You have to have tools to be reactive when people are interested. You have to have a great website that you lead people to and it provides the answers. You have to have videos, you have to have a great email chain, you have to have the right people. Also, let's not forget that you ultimately— someone who's designing or a designer who goes into a showroom, they want to have someone who is knowledgeable. So ultimately, the first point of contact for us is the showroom, because you're going to wind up at a showroom deciding, okay, what vanities, what fixtures do I want? And is this person going to help me with my steam as well? So we got to be able to train them. And that's where the, the, the local reps come in handy. The, the training, the educations, the, the PowerPoint presentations that we do, the events that we, we, we do come in handy. And, uh, you start with that and everywhere along the line, every year, like, okay, where are we going to expand? How can we get this? To more of the masses, if you will.

Absolutely. And let's now turn to the experience. And you've talked about that. And I think in previous conversations, you and I have talked about the difference of education without experience versus education with the experience of it. And so let's talk about that hybrid there because I think there's something magical going on.

So, Bill, I'm going to tell you the ABCs of XYZ. And he goes on to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay. Uh, and I'm gonna give you a test, blah, blah, blah. Okay, wonderful. What did you get out of it? I gotta get outta here. That's what I got out of it. Right.

So this wasn't worth the rubber chicken lunch that I signed up for.

Not at all. So if we are talking about an experience where, and I call it edutainment, cuz I think someone's standing there with a PowerPoint is just, everybody's doing that.

Exactly.

I start out most of my trainings with asking people, okay, has anybody here ever experienced headaches? Has anybody experienced not sleeping? Has anybody here had acne or kids that have acne? Or can't— are you stressed out? Did you have a bad day? Did you have traffic today? And I ask them to stand up. And then people stand up and say, okay, they're committed. Once you get them physically to do something, I think they're like, okay, where is this leading? So you're sort of leading them in a way that's like, okay, so can you, anybody here, give me an answer as to what kind of therapies would help be beneficial to really fix all of these things or enhance all of these things? And they come up with the answer, usually the right answer. And we take them into what I call the wheel of steam. And they spin for a prize. So now I got their attention. We all want prizes, so they're going to pay attention to what we do for the rest of the hour, 2 hours.

But you're also—

yeah, yeah, go ahead, go ahead. Yeah, that's part A. And what you're talking about, I'm mixing it with part B, right? Part B comes in that we all go into the spa, we all get the robes, and we all go into the steam room together. And I'm usually talking about anywhere from 6 to 10 people that we do this at a time. And then we're actually sitting in the steam room and we're, and the only thing I tell them at first is just breathe. Just breathe. So now you're sitting in the steam room with some colleagues and you actually, and I tell them, close your eyes and just breathe. So for the first few minutes, they're actually experiencing steam and they actually, wow, they get it. And then we talk about, see how the ceiling is set up, see how the seat, but the first few moments, I just want them to experience. And if we get aromatherapy, we get nice eucalyptus or some nice music playing. My God, they like, wow, I can have this at home. And the light and the rings and the bell rings and the light goes on and they go and say, wow. So I always go for the wow.

And let's talk about that moment of recognition because you've gone through this experience with many groups of people at the same time. And thought leadership I describe as making the invisible visible, helping someone see an aha that they haven't had before. What I would ask you is, sitting in that steam room watching people breathe, what signals are you looking for that they're getting, either verbally or physically? How do you read the aha?

Most of the times I read the aha when they come out of the steam room, because usually there's steam in the room and they're putting on the robes and the faces. We actually have thought of coming up with a book called Faces of Steam. As they're coming out of the steam room, it's like a glow that they have that they haven't had for who knows how long. And they will always come back to you and say, wow, that was amazing. Thank you so much. Because they took time for themselves. They took time to take care of their own wellness. And then they really like, okay, how does this work? Why does this work? But the moment they come out of that steam room, And they go, wow. I'm like, okay, that's my, my reward because they can now understand it.

Well, and it would be interesting, and I don't know if you do do this, but to take a picture of them beforehand and then the photo afterwards, right? So they can see the visible physical change.

It's funny, Bill, we've been talking about this Faces of STEAM, and you're right, the beginning of that has to be like, All right, let's get this done with. And then that is like, oh, wow, thank you.

Or you've got someone who's buried in their phone and they're hardly looking up for a photo versus they're present, they're engaged, they're focused, they're relaxed. All of those things transform— transformative.

So it is about the aha moment for me, right? And when they do that, I'm like, okay, my job here is done. It is so rewarding.

If you're enjoying this episode of Leveraging Thought Leadership, please make sure to subscribe. If you'd like to help spread the word about our podcast, please leave a 5-star review at ratethispodcast.com/LTL and share it with your friends. We're available on Apple Podcasts and on all major listening apps, as well as thoughtleadershipleverage.com/podcast. Let's now explore a little bit. I want to talk about the process of putting the spotlight on the idea, right? So you've had to elevate this conversation. And I suppose if you say, hey, do you want a spa day? That's better than inviting people to a lecture and lunch sort of thing. But how do you put the spotlight on the idea? And bring the hook in so that people say, I'm curious, I'm willing to take time out of my day to learn, to investigate?

Well, I think it starts with the presentation, right? How do you describe this? Oh, you know, we're just going to take you, we're going to have a training and then we're going to just go STEAM. Well, you do it in a way that is, is you provide an invitation. And here's an invitation to a camp feel-good, right? And then we're gonna, you're gonna be invited to the St. Regis Hotel, or you're gonna be in a spa, or you're gonna get to the Ritz-Carlton Mandarin Oriental. Okay, now I got your attention, right? You have this beautiful invite, you have this actual top-of-the-line hotel or spa, and then you're saying, this is interesting. And then you tell them, well, this is going to be really life-changing for some people. It could be help your respiratory, right, health. It could help you with your skincare. It could help you with your physical overall wellness, your well-being. And why wouldn't you want to take— and I've never had anybody say no, by the way.

Well, and there's a theatrical component, as you just described this, going to sending an invitation and really treating someone as a guest rather than, okay, we're making a presentation and you're going to learn about this and we're going to try and sell you along the way.

Yes. So, you know, we are a niche product and that's what I— we're not— everybody has to have, you know, a faucet or a toilet, right? Everybody yet has to have a steam bath unless they've been through this. Can't feel good. And then they understand the symbolism as to what it is. What, what is your health? What is your family's health worth? So if you make that switch, if you start thinking about it, of course you have to have it. You know what? It's not going to cost you millions of dollars. What is your health worth? You know, how much money do we spend in products throughout the year for your skin, right? For your allergies, right? So it goes on and on and on. Actually, we have one of our partners, He is Dr. Feelgood. So he comes in dressed as a doctor and he's a steam therapist. So on his lab coat and then he has the medicine bag and he actually says, okay, I have all these products. And he starts putting the allergies medicines, he starts throwing the skincare products out there. This costs probably a few thousand, a couple of thousand dollars a year. How about if I tell you that for less than that, you can start for a basic steam bath and you can have this in the privacy of home every day. And people like go crazy with that. So I think it's also theatrics. I think that helps. Visuals help. So whatever products that you do have or whatever service you have, if you can just differentiate yourself from the pack by doing something interesting, dramatic, and meaningful. You know, you can just bring a clown and that's not gonna do it, but you have to be something that is, that pertains to what your product or your services are, and it's significant and it actually carries the right message.

So I wanna ask you a question. How did you come into the world of telling these stories and sharing ideas? What's your journey and what are the threads that you pull on that help make you more effective at what you do?

Well, that's interesting. I was working through— well, I was going to college and I started working for this company that was making steam things, steam irons, steam boilers. And they had this little thing called Mr. Steam on the side, and I never left. So I just stayed there. And I guess it started with a customer service journey. I was customer service manager for a little bit, and that put me in touch with customers and what their journey and their pain points were. And then I started working. I was in charge of developing Mr. Steam, and then I started working with reps and designers, and each one of my understanding of their needs, of their plight. And I think it's just about understanding where they're at. And just putting the pieces together and saying, okay, so if we do this right, then this will happen. And then if this one needs that, if I can make this. So it's really, it's like building a puzzle. And ultimately it's like, okay, that's why Feel Good Inc. is a secondary name to the company because everything that we do, I really imbued with feeling good. Is the packaging right? Does it feel good to look at it? Right? I mean, we can all learn from Apple. They're magnificent. And the packaging, you look at it and you just want to look at it and you want to open it because it's so much fun. So I really wanted us to have that kind of input throughout everything that we did and talking to designers. And, you know, I was just learning and inquiring and talking to people and just being curious as to what makes you tick, what, and asking them, what can I do to make it better? How would I help you? If you were in my shoes, what would you do? So there's a lot of intelligent people out there who are living it, and you just have to get the information from them. So my journey began from customer service to sales to marketing, and that's where we are.

And really, as I hear that journey as well, this has become as much a passion for you as you said, you've spent an entire career here, right?

Yeah.

And I hear it in your voice, and we're recording this on video. I see it in your eyes that you could talk about this not only today, but tomorrow and the next day, and you're not gonna be tired. Right.

And, and you know what? It's because I truly believe it. And when I first started doing this, one of the things I had to do was to fly to Mexico for a trade show. Mm-hmm. And I got off the plane in Mexico, and guess what? My throat was sore. And I'm like, oh, I'm gonna be— I'm sick. I'm gonna be really sick. I have 3 days of this. And that hotel happened to have steam bath. And I went down there. And I stayed there for like an hour. And you know what, the next day I was fine. I had a great show. And I said, damn, this thing really works. So I want to bring this to everybody. And honestly, I think that that's what really just sort of gave me the passion to say, wow, this is really good stuff. You know, I could sell you a nice, wonderful cup, right? And it is what it is. But I can walk into any showroom and ask people, and I have, I said, I always say, listen, here's $100. If you can name any other product in this showroom that can give you 25 benefits. We've actually come up on our website with over 40 benefits associated with steam bathing. But, and I said, 25, 100, I haven't given that $100 away yet.

So, so as we begin to wrap up, and I've loved the stories and the examples, I want you to pause and think back to the time of when you were just starting with Mr. Steve and Martha. And I want to ask you this question. What advice would you give your younger self in being able to share ideas, to tell stories, and really open people's eyes to something they may not be thinking about? And the reason I ask that is because a number of our listeners are probably earlier in their career. So I'm asking you what advice you'd tell your younger self with a lot of people eavesdropping in.

I would say, ask a lot of questions. I think— People are intimidated. Sometimes they think they should know stuff and they hear something, but they're not quite sure what it is. Just ask, you know what? Because most people in the room will probably feel the same way, but someone's got to raise their hand and say, no, I really don't fully understand that. Tell me about that. And there's nothing wrong with that. I think there's no such thing as dumb questions. I think just dumb answers that people are trying to make up. But if you start asking questions, and I think that was part of my journey, is ask questions and people will be happy to tell you and explain things to you. Most people. Don't be afraid because no one knows everything, right? You just have to go on and keep saying, yeah, why? And challenge, challenge the status quo. God knows I have. And anytime people say, well, we don't do it like that. You know that? You're probably doing the right thing by asking. This is the way we've always done it. You probably need to change the way things are being done. Shake it up a little bit. Ask questions. Be the change.

Fantastic. Martha, I wanna thank you for joining us for this conversation today and sharing your journey and experience with Mr. Team as well as thought leadership.

Well, it's been a pleasure, Bill. Thank you so much.

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