Meeting Marvelous Levenger Customers

I just greeted two summer interns at our headquarters here in Delray, and after listening to them tell me about their backgrounds I said the usual thing I say to new staff members: “One perk not mentioned in our employment manual is our customers—they are amazing, and if you get a chance to interact with them, you’ll be the better for it.”

They probably think this gray-haired co-founder drank too much Levenger Kool-Aid, but I know I speak the truth. Over the last 22 years, I’ve had the pleasure of talking with thousands of our customers. They are the Who’s Who of America.

They are professionals of all types— biologists, engineers, teachers, attorneys, CEOs, doctors, analysts, actors, artists, CFOs, writers, psychologists, governors and publishers. Demographically, Levenger customers have much in common with other buyers of high-quality products: they tend to be older, 45 to 65, homeowners, married, and 60% female.

In one demographic factor they are (to borrow Malcolm Gladwell’s excellent term) outliers, and that is: formal education. Eighty percent of Levenger households contain a college graduate, and 50% of Levenger households have at least one master’s or doctoral-level degree. That’s off the charts demographically, according to our survey people.

Truly serious readers (and doers)

Having interacted with so many customers on almost a daily basis for all these years, I can report another common factor: Levenger customers read. This shouldn’t be surprising given the Levenger tagline, “Tools for Serious Readers.” But our customers read a lot.

They read for their livings, and they also read for pleasure. They exhibit a thirst for what these days is called lifelong learning, and what Cicero, in his golden book of advice for a life well-lived, called the “pursuit of useful knowledge.” This means Levenger customers are interested people, and hence, interesting.

I owe more than I can say to these interested, interesting people. Having received our very first checks back in our Boston townhouse in October 1987 from two customers who trusted us enough to pay in advance for our reading lights, I’ll never forget the deep sense of gratitude and obligation I felt then. I feel it still. Levenger customers have provided a livelihood for Lori and me and hundreds of Levenger staff members over the years. They’ve helped us all provide for loved ones and put children through school.

What customers expect from Levenger

I fully realize that our customers have choices. Both cheaper and more expensive alternatives to what we design are available. Our customers buy Levenger products because they judge them to be useful and well-made and worth the price. And they tell us right away when this isn’t the case.

They like Levenger gear because it helps them in some way do what is truly important to them. They are the people in America reading and thinking, writing and communicating, building and healing, instructing, learning, mentoring, and setting things right.

Can we meet?

All of this is a long way of saying that I look forward to meeting you at two of our stores this month.

On Saturday, June 6th, I’ll be at our Tysons Corner store outside of D.C.

On Thursday, June 25th, I’ll be at our Prudential Center store in Boston.

At both stores I’ll be there from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to shake your hand and listen. I like to hear your feedback on our designs, your new product suggestions, and your stories about helpful reading experiences that I can share with others on this Well-Read Life forum.

I hope you know from reading the paragraphs above that it’s the truth when I say it will be my pleasure to meet you in person.

For those of you who can’t make it to the stores, let me hear from you here. Just click on the Comments link below. (If you’re reading this as an email, click here and you’ll connect to Comments).

Also, if you use Twitter, I find it increasingly useful for having a dialog, and invite you to follow me here: http://twitter.com/SteveLeveen

Comments

[John Rainwater]

Levenger is the best find I have ever made. Top Quality and First Class!
If you looked at my briefcases and bookbag and desk and bookshelves you would think my name was Levenger.
Thanks,
John Rainwater

[Lynnell]

Here's a book recommendation: "A Whole New Mind" by Daniel Pink. He contends the future belongs to "creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers. These people - artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers - will now reap society's richest rewards and share its greatest joys."

As an entrepreneur/artist type yourself, I'm sure you can appreciate this. In the 'Conceptual Age' (as he calls it) function is still necessary but no long sufficient.

e.g. Writing tools are necessary, n'est ce pas? But why not also be beautiful?

(But then, y'all at Levenger already know that!)