Every Business is a “Relationship Business”

As knowledge is becoming nearly completely commoditized, the most valuable people today are increasingly “relationship workers.” It just makes sense that when a company also creates systems, operations and a culture that also supports those relationships they more often succeed. Furthermore, the employees then follow that lead in their relationships with each other, and most importantly, reflect that back to their clients. It’s a win, win, win.

We are all leaders. We are all leading a life that impacts those around us whether we realize it or not. With that leadership comes great responsibility. Sometimes it takes a conscious effort to remember what great leadership is and to emulate it. I challenge you to consider your leadership habits and make sure your foundation is strong.

Santa Claus could arguably be the most influential brand on consumer behavior. Brand managers strive to have the kind of incredible brand recognition, emotional connection, steadfast consistency and measurable results that Santa Claus has.

Use your words. We are an increasingly visual society with an ever decreasing attention span. The words you use and how you use them are more vital than ever to provide clarity in your communications.

Despite what our culture values, scientific findings validate our true human need to “catch a break,” and not just on the weekends or holidays, but throughout our day.

Brand consistency has become even more essential in this era of constant connectivity, especially for companies executing across multiple divisions, locations, languages and marketing mediums. Whether it’s reading, writing, talking or listening, communication has fused into a single experience. We watch TV shows on our laptops and surf the Web on our TVs. We “speak” to Siri to write texts, notes or e-mails for us. Our brand experience must make sense in this omni-channel environment.

The challenge for those with compulsory attendance in 2021 is that talent today has now all experienced working from home. Some don’t prefer it, but many do. Those companies need to brace themselves for the cost that I believe will come along with compulsory attendance, higher employee turnover and higher demands on salary. Employers will pay for the high value employees place on “freedom” of when and where they work.

Today, more than ever, a focused and measured strategic and tactical plan are needed to navigate the abyss of communication options out there today. About half of all companies have a formal marketing plan, attaining 10% faster growth, according to a study by Sagefrog Marketing Group. The study also revealed that the real magic happened for those that combined a plan with measuring the plan’s effectiveness, achieving up to 60% faster growth!

In our social media dominant world, everyone is a publisher. Your clients and prospects have a voice that can travel quite fast. You need to be prepared when those messages don’t support your brand image.