Put a sandbox in your roundabout

Sandbox

On the other hand, roundabouts shouldn't be so efficient. Especially when you drop a sandbox in the middle of it.

No worries. I woke up early today, so let me explain.

There's a traffic roundabout in Santa Cruz just up the street from the wharf and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk that used to be a four-way stop. When it was a four-way stop, it had with heavy pedestrian congestion and on the busiest beach days would be extremely backed up.

But now that there is a roundabout in its place, which more and more studies have shown globally can actually relieve traffic and create traffic efficiencies, there's still heavy pedestrian congestion and on the busiest beach days is extremely backed up.

On the street, not so good, but online?

We do everything we can to get "passive" marketing prospects and job applicants to stop by our sites. We now know with marketing software automation who's stopping by and for how long and what they looked at and/or did. We make it so easy for them to get in and around quickly and efficiently, otherwise we know they'd bounce.

We talk a lot about talent and lead-nurturing "communities" these days, but yet it's no different that if was over a decade ago. We funnel them through our roundabouts and then harass them non-stop on the other side with phone calls and emails. Then at some point we stop when they never respond.

However, if you watch kids play in sandboxes (which I do a lot when I'm at the park with my daughters), someone always brings toys and tools to play with. One kid starts playing, then another, then another, and soon kids and sharing and playing and their parents are meeting and talking and sharing.

Other kids may be running around and around the sandbox, but for those who are in it, for whatever time that is, it becomes an impromptu community where folks aggregate again and again. They're not coming to the sandbox because you put it there. They're coming because they want to play with the other kids and parents.

They come for community.

What you fill it with will vary, but if you truly want talent/lead communities, you've got to put a sandbox in your roundabout.

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