Tips From the Tops #6 —Ted Rubin and Return on Relationship ~via @tal62

What it all boils down to is that in the new world of content marketing, the Content “IS” the Marketing. Sharing, conversation, and emotionally connected content will be the ads of the future. Instead of thinking in terms of “Convince and Convert,” start thinking in terms of “Converse and Convert.” Helpful content gives your customers reasons to stay engaged—not just react—and also increases brand advocacy.

So start thinking like a publisher because the more relevant, helpful content you create, the better you can drive engagement.

People respond to people best in one-on-one, face-to-face situations—that’s just the way we are. So when you try to automate that process and remove the personal connection, immediately there’s a wall between you and your audience.

People gravitate toward social communities to talk to each other, find out what’s going on, ask for recommendations for things or services we need or want, etc. So social engagement isn’t just about posting stuff; it’s about communicating with real people.

Social conversation is a fluid thing, so you need to plan ahead, but be flexible enough to view some things you may consider bad as opportunities. You can’t control the conversation, so don’t try—the important thing is to be involved in the conversation and work with it; have a plan for moderating and don’t let fear hold you back. People who don’t fly because they’re afraid of what might happen don’t get anywhere fast. So lose the fear! Embrace the possibilities instead!

Make a conscious effort to re-evaluate the word friend as you currently think of it the next time you’re on social channels. Look at your own online self and ask, “Would I want to be my friend?” Are you doing what it takes to be a real friend, or have most of your online relationships gone on autopilot or faded into the crowd?

Remember, the success and impact of your product is not about how much you love it, but about how much your customers love it. What they love, they purchase – you can’t get much better measure of ROI than that!

Whether your business is selling widgets or services, success depends on thinking more in terms of delivering stories about those widgets or services and how people use them than about pumping out feature-rich fact sheets or ads. Your customers want to hear those stories, so find more ways to tell them! Reach out to your brand advocates and collaborate with them, and don’t forget to include quality of engagement in your metrics for a better overall view of how you’re doing. In other words, think like a publisher—you’ll get better results.

It’s the uncharted experiences, not the guided tours, which truly help us “create” ourselves. When we listen to the inner nudge to do something different and go in a way that intuition leads us—follow our dreams and desires rather than in someone else’s footsteps—those are the moments that define who we are and give us insight into how we can participate in the world around us. We shouldn’t lose sight of that.

The new pattern of engagement bears striking resemblance to the grocery of 1900, but in some ways, it is better. The reach of a retailer is global, 24×7, and has a perfect memory for preferences and past transactions, and the ability to create relevant emotionally connected content at scale. The new retailer can manage a virtually unlimited number of conversations in exactly the same moment and offer something completely customized, individualized and relevant, in a voice appreciated and valued by their consumers.

This is the corner grocer’s personal touch with far greater differentiation, choice, flexibility, channels, convenience, content, and ultimately, value. We’ve come full circle, but to an even better place.

Take a look at how you view your product or service, and how your prospects, and the marketplace, view you. Try to avoid falling into the commodity trap by understanding your customer’s wants, needs and desires precisely. Use that knowledge to position your product or service as a unique value, and make it your mission to educate and build relationships rather than close a sale. When you make it a point NOT to compete on price, but on how well you develop relationships, sales come much more easily and naturally. Isn’t that the ultimate Return on Relationship.

If you want to be successful, then always be challenging your assumptions—break out of the narrow view and be willing to look at things through a different lens. That’s what innovators do. Companies like Apple and Netflix, for example, took ideas that some might have thought were stupid at the time and stepped out of the mainstream. Their leaders took a chance and acted on an idea, and that idea developed wings and took off because they understood their customers’ map of the world. They made it their business to find out what problems, wants, needs and desires their customers have—and developed something that filled those needs.

In other words, they got themselves out of the picture and concentrated on looking at things from their customers’ point of view.