How to CO-CREATE with Your Customers

We are able to co-create with our customers when we work with them to make what they really need...

Yuruu, Mongolia

If business is about solving a problem for our customers, why are we guessing at the solution that they want?

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“You don’t want a huge list. You want an engaged list. The gold isn’t in the list anymore, it’s in the engagement. Marketing is not a task. Marketing is not a department. Marketing is not a job. Marketing happens every time you engage (or not) with your past, present, and potential customers.” – Scott Stratten (@unmarketing) ~ Distinguished speaker and co-author of “Unmarketing” with his wife Alison Kramer

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A bridge is not constructed from only one end, it meets in the middle because it has a solid foundation on either side. We need to bridge the gap between us and our customers by engaging continuously with those for whom we are solving a problem.

We are able to co-create with our customers when we work with them to make what they really need. We finally have the ability to ask them what they want (the type of product or service, the price, and even the type of content they want to consume), test it with a minimum viable product, and then produce they need.

It is then that our customers are actually creating the product, and we are just manufacturing it for them. Marketing is no longer just a part of our company; it must be embodied in everything we do. It is not only the most efficient way to build a business, it is the best thing for our customers.

When we co-create, we show others that what we care about most, and what is at the heart of everything we do, is not us, it’s them.

Want to learn more? Schedule your Brand Meeting today to build a better brand!

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Every Company is a Marketing Company

"Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department...

Glacier National Park, Montana

“Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.” – David Packard ~ Co-founder and former CEO of Hewlett-Packard

Every company is a marketing company. But rather than define ourselves by what we produce, we must realize that what we are selling is increased demand. The services we provide will change and evolve, so too must we adapt to the ever-changing business landscape in order to expand the ways in which we draw attention to our brand. We need to be at the forefront of the marketing revolution so that we can adapt our product to what the customer really wants.

The best part about marketing efficiently is that not only do we increase our outreach, we bring everyone in our organization closer together by incorporating them into the process. Far gone are the days where a specific department handled how we connect to, and build relationships with, our customers. It is in the best interest of our consumers that we leverage our best assets, our people, by incorporating them into how we tell our story.

Good companies focus on how they can increase demand for their products while great companies focus on how they can increase demand for themselves. Our customers don’t buy what we do, they buy why we do it. They want to know what drives us, what propels us forward, and how we are utilizing that ambition to help improve their community.

People don’t care about the features of a product as much as they care about how it benefits them. This means that when we market, we not only need to highlight the functionality of our product, we need to focus on the macro benefits that we provide to the well-being of society. Because then our customers are buying for themselves, the one thing for which they will always be willing to pay.

Branding social good is what’s best for our company because it’s also what’s best for our community. When we focus on the bigger picture of why we come to work each day, we set an example for other businesses while allowing us to develop long-term relationships with our customers. And the best part about a getting a lifelong customer is you get a lifelong referrer thrown in the deal.

It is when we are able to combine a fully integrated organization in the branding and marketing process with a powerfully focused mission statement, that we increase demand for ourselves. People want to buy from companies that make them feel good after the purchase is complete, so much so that they will keep coming back and they also will to tell their friends about it.

We are all marketing companies; we just need to ensure that we use the data our customers are providing us in order to manufacture a product they are willing to buy. We need to engage our employees like we do our customers, by building everything we do collectively around our bigger purpose, our why.

It is much easier to paint a mural when everyone has a brush.

Want to learn more? Schedule your Brand Meeting today to build a better brand!

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How to Build a Better Personal Brand (2019)

We are all CEO's of our own company... we need our differentiating factor to be the way we market ourselves...

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

“It’s important to build a personal brand because it’s the only thing you’re going to have. Your reputation online, and in the new business world is pretty much the game, so you’ve got to be a good person. You can’t hide anything, and more importantly, you’ve got to be out there at some level.” – Gary Vaynerchuk ~ CEO of VaynerMedia

Every interaction we make on a day-to-day basis, every connection, everything we do, is branding. We are all CEO’s of our own company, and because of this, we need our differentiating factor to be the way we market ourselves. No longer are the days of representing ourselves by what’s written on a paper-made resume. What defines us is how we treat others, both in person, as well as through the digital footprint that we create.

While at work we are provided a great platform to build our personal brand, especially within our specific industry. We have access to individuals who have knowledge that we can benefit from and connections that we need. We must tap into the intellectual capital of those we work alongside to ensure that we absorb as much solid information and positive business practices as possible.

We also have access to customers, who by buying from us, have shown they have a need we know how to fill. We need to use each opportunity that we have to get to know our specific customer base so that we can better create demand for ourselves. The consumers are providing us endless amounts of data for which we can use to further our personal brands, and later down the line, bring a product or service to market that we know they need.

Branding ourselves while at work is about standing out from the crowd. We have an opportunity each day to build our personal brands by differentiating ourselves through what we do, and by how we build up those around us. It is integral to build solid relationships with those we come in contact with on a daily basis because every co-worker we interact with may one day become a future business partner or employee of ours.

There are many different ways in which you can provide a value proposition to those around you in the workplace. Every time you meet a new co-worker or an executive, follow-up with a correspondence via email or a handwritten card. Show people that you enjoyed your first interaction with them and that you would like to build a mutually-beneficial relationship.

You can also benefit greatly from maintaining in close contact with your customers throughout the buying process. Make them feel like they are the center of your attention so that you not only strengthen the bond for possible future purchases, but so that if one day you branch off, they will want to follow wherever you are newly planted.

Great value can also be provided by helping to solve a problem for your company without being asked. Take the initiative to look outside your current role into an area of opportunity from which your organization can greatly benefit. By doing so, you not only put yourself on the radar of top executives, you prove to yourself that there is no challenge you cannot overcome.

Just as, if not more importantly, we need to be continually growing our personal brands by the content that we create online coupled with the way that we engage our followers. It appears at times that there is a shortage of those who truly care about making a difference in the lives of others. This provides us a key opportunity to build a brand encircled around helping one another, it’s not just the right thing to do, it’s the best business decision you will ever make.

Astonish people by what they find when they search for you on Google or Facebook. Show them that you are the type of individual that they want to do business with, that they want representing their company. If you can market your personal brand well enough, you show others that they should want you to do the same for them as well. There will always be a need for those who can build brands and market companies, so show others that you got this in spades by starting with your own.

The personal brand that you develop will determine how far you will go and the overall impact you are able to make. Brand yourself socially good so that others can’t help but want to do business with you now and into the future. The best way to lead by example is to build something of which others want to be a part.

We stand out from the crowd when we are not afraid to stand alone.

Want to learn more? Schedule your Brand Meeting today to build a better brand!

#BrandBetter

#BrandIdentity

#BrandStrategy

#ContentMarketing

#SEOContentMarketing

#DigitalMarketing

#MarketingSolutions

#SocialMediaMarketing

#SEO