Everything in the world is connected.
They say that everything can be broken down into links, nodes, hubs and clusters. That the quality and number of links are key. It is a networked world.
We get all that and definitely embrace it. And because we like to think different, we tossed things about a bit, looked at them through another set of lenses and came up with this:
Connections + Conversations + Partnerships = Growth.
We think that it is a very apt distillation of the new marketing framework and strategy necessary to drive profitability, growth and sustainability in today’s flat, customer-driven, socially and universally networked, 24/7/365, one-to-one world.
Yet, there’s got to be more. What’s the juice, we wondered?
Well, call it competitive advantage, a critical success factor or just the right thing to do. Whether you’re a business, not-for-profit organization or community group, we think the writing is on the wall – in flashing neon:
Social Currency. It’s the juice.
You have to have it, or eventually, you’ll be dropped from the conversation and totally fade from view.
Social Currency is a term we borrowed because we think it really says a mouthful. In its initial usage, Social Currency described the ability to get people to talk about you, but we thought it held much more potential. We stated earlier that we like to think different, so we thought about the sand-shifting, culture-altering, technology–fueled changes taking place today in how people communicate. And we thought about the impact such changes will have on how people will make and keep meaningful connections in the days, months and years ahead. And we crafted this definition:
Social Currency is what you earn when you successfully develop and manage a connection continuum that results in the creation of real value and meaning for all customers/stakeholders. Such builds the level of trust necessary to move customers/stakeholders from disinterested prospects, to passionate advocates to partners for growth and sustainability.
To start, it means you:
- •Develop and strengthen strategic 360-degree connections among customers and internal and external stakeholders.
- •Stay relevant and provide meaningful, life-enhancing solutions.
- •Become a customer-centric organization that consistently provides a positive experience across all touchpoints.
- •Be honest and welcome transparency. A Trust Economy is evolving.
- •Engage in sincere conversations in preferred, permission-based channels.
- •Actively listen for understanding.
- •Observe.
- •Converse in a timely, tailored manner.
- •Invite involvement.
- •Encourage collective collaboration.
- •Innovate.
- •Grow partnerships that create value for all.
- •Be a good community patron, global citizen and steward of the planet.
The goal is to do all of this. Continuously. If you don’t, it’s getting insanely easy for your customers and stakeholders to find someone who will.
Beyond transactions. Beyond relationships.
Ultimately, it’s really about partnerships. And that is why the forest & the trees helps you earn social currency, not just implement marketing tactics. Yesterday’s one-way, gatekeeper models often resort to a mixed bag of disparate, irrelevant, and often egoistical tactics that get aggressively pushed — without permission — into unwilling customers’ faces. Such behavior erodes connections and eventually zeroes out relationships.
We never bought that book. And as customers ourselves, we despise such tactics and are insulted by ever-more condescending and invasive strategies.
Thus, that is why our mission and our mantra is: Connect. Converse. Partner. Grow. And we believe that earning Social Currency is how you get there.
We strive to help you identify and connect all of the dots and build partnerships for growth and sustainability with customers, members, donors or supporters — all stakeholders.
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