How can we change the stories we live and work by for the better?
You can’t give away everything to everyone nor can you be everything to everyone, but you can go into a community and be a part of it. When people get more value, they do more , pay more and give more in return. I think that when we figure out what a community values, show up, be present, participate, listen, and become a relevant member.
Ask sincerely for help
It’s not just about omni-channel, it’s about customisation, community, and content. Individuals with unique personal goals and achievements brought together to form global communities. I think the best way to build a community is to ask for help and only ask when you are ready to listen. For example, my cousin, Rocky released his book, “From Rock to Riches: Using the WEALTH Formula” this week. The book describes his journey from the Jamaican countryside to financial independence in the UK. With the support from family, friends and acquaintances the book is currently number one on the bestseller list in eight categories on Amazon.
We can do it better
I do not define marketing as hype, advertising, promotion, scamming with selfish, narcissistic short-term thinking. Marketing is telling true stories that spread stories that change people’s opinion or their actions. One key element is that there is a community of people that care about what you are doing and want to go where you are going. Essentially every successful community that I can think of needs people from a diverse background, experience, and a point of view. I think that if the people in your community are moving in the same direction, then everything is going to be alright.
Luck is all about the amount of work, preparation, and time you put into your craft. As a marketing professional, the more we can connect those people and amplify them, the more likely it will be that our marketing will succeed. When we are willing to take responsibility for the work we are doing, then we are bringing something to the world. If you do it better, it will work better…
Contact me via e-mail for marketing workshops.
Growth at all costs
We have seen that over the Covid pandemic consumer expectations and behaviours have fundamentally changed. Technology and innovation have moved brands into a place where relationships with individual consumers could be directly formed, nurtured and serviced. I think the greatest growth potential going forward will be differentiated retail. This will mean creating an elevated brand experience where both the brand and product are celebrated through clear and compelling storytelling.
The future is not just about omni-channel, it’s going to be about customisation, community and content. Individuals with unique personal goals brought together to form a global community. Contact me via e-mail when you are ready for an external perspective on your brand engagement.
Just Do It
NIKE is above everything else, a master storyteller that also happens to make well designed products. Products that become an emblem, declaring one’s cultural alliance with the brand. The actual things that NIKE sells are simply an outward symbolism of that cultural affiliation, thus the relationship with a brand like NIKE becomes transformational whilst the majority of their competitors have only a transactional relationship with their customers. I don’t think that NIKE could have predicted the pandemic, but the decisions it make 4 years ago have powered its performance through it and has provided a roadmap for others.
The lessons for retailers across categories are clear:
No single customer or level of sales volume is worth sacrificing your brand as In reality, the brand is all you have!
Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) sales is just a throwback to the way retail has been performed for generations. In fact, the true value of a brands rests in the power of the stories it tells - “Lose the story and you lose the brand and lose the brand and you will lose everything!”
Bricks and mortar shops have opportunity to become the most powerful media channel on earth, real life stages from which those unique brand stories can be told.
We all see things from different perspectives. Don’t be shy, contact me via e-mail when you are ready for an external perspective on your brand engagement.
We have the power to do it
I think that all marketing creates change, therefore, if you are not creating change then, you are not marketing. What change are you seeking to make and who are you trying to change?
Are you trying to change lonely people into connected people?
Are you trying to change powerful people into kinder people?
Are you trying to change people with one status into people with another status?
Be specific about the who are the people you are trying to reach and change otherwise you have no chance of succeeding. The challenge is to find the smallest viable audience of people who can support you, only serve them and only attempt to change them - “If you are like this and you want to get to to that, then I can help you get there.”
What makes a great leader?
I think you need to be passionate about what you are doing and have these three qualities:
You need to be honest with your team,
You need perseverance, and
You need to be decisive
In my experience this is what all leaders have in common:
Leaders have charisma!
You don’t need charisma to become a leader as being a leader gives you charisma.Leaders build a culture!
By using a secret language that shows whether you are in or out.Leaders have curiosity!
I mean they have curiosity about people both in and outside of the community.
Tips on Thursday
Why do you use Facebook?
Facebook’s brilliant business model is to give you this audience and then charge you if you want to reach them. I think Facebook has become a ”pay to play” platform! I doubt that you will get any form of organic interaction from your Facebook business page nowadays as it’s non-existent.
It makes more sense to take one piece of content and ”slice and dice” it across the various SoMe platforms. Observe how your end-users are consuming that content and then look for opportunities to repeat, as the playing field is continuously changing and we have to be ready for that.
Contact me via e-mail when you are ready to build a community on social media.