If you’re like most entrepreneurs and small business owners,
you’re feeling the new shift in branding. You’ve got a great product or
service, but it’s getting harder and harder to be seen and heard, and
to keep your customers coming back for more.
The new truth: your brand is now fueled by social media,
and the future of your business isn’t in your hands anymore.
It’s is in the hand of your customers.
Your customers are now the boss. They’re real people with hopes, dreams and needs, and they’re looking for more. Not more “things” to consume. They’re looking for growth and fulfillment. They seeking meaning, and want to BE more.
The critical question for you becomes: How do you make the shift to give them the control they want and make money at the same time?
Marty Neumeier answers this in his new book, “The Brand Flip.” He states that today customers run our businesses. Whether you’re an entrepreneur with a startup, or you are running an established business, the key message is the same: Each business has a simple choice to make: flip or be flipped.
Here’s the 10 new realities Marty shares that show you how to flip your brand into a mini-movement – one that customers will eagerly join in to grow and nourish with profits.
- Power has shifted from companies to customers.
Your brand is not what you say it is. It’s what they say it is. - People are not focused on products, but meaning.
Today’s customers don’t consume “things.”
They’re more interested in how to “be” more. - Customers buy products to build their identities.
Instead of focusing on features and benefits, they will ask themselves, “If I buy this product, what does it make me?”
Help them become the people they want to be. - They hate being sold but they love to buy.
Your customers want to make an informed decision on their own, in their own way and timing. They want to be part of the story. - They buy in tribes to feel safe and successful.
Research shows customers interact socially with other customers in a community and develop an intense loyalty to
each other. - The battle is not longer between companies but between the people who buy from you.
The business with the best customer wins. - The company with the strongest tribe wins.
The trick isn’t finding the biggest possible market. It’s seeking out the truest possible fans - Tribes are connected through technology.
An explosion of connectivity, and the power it gives customers, is turning businesses upside down. - Brands needs to flow through multiple technologies.
Empower and grow your tribe. Be where they are. They will move heaven and earth to ensure your success, happily attracting others to the tribe with their magnetic sense of commitment. - The most successful brands are not static, but fluid.
They need to grow, spread, and flow into new areas.
And guess what?
Your customers will do this for you. When they join your tribe they are excited to be a part of forming and sharing your mission.
The questions isn’t whether your company will be disrupted, but when.
Your key take-away: Focus on your customer first through your products and services, by designing the customer experience. Design your culture around them, and empower them with what they want that gives them the meaning they are looking for.
Need help breaking this down, step-by-step?
Join others just like you over on our Facebook page for tips, inspiration and support – you’ll find me there to answer any questions you have.