Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Good Enough isn't Good Enough

from MarketingProfs.com...

How to Enchant Your Customers and Employees

Guy Kawasaki recently spoke with Stephen Denny about his new book, Enchantment, and the themes in its subtitle: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions. "As he says, there are other ways to reach success," notes Denny at MarketingProfs. "But the rhetorical question remains: Why would we pursue avenues that don't include likability, trustworthiness, and quality?"

It's a good question. And in their conversation Kawasaki says we shouldn't underestimate the power of enchanting unlikely demographics:

Enchant the nobodies. Kawasaki questions the idea that online superstars wield influence over multitudes of followers. "My theory is that social media has inverted this pyramid," he says. "Now, nobodies are the new somebodies—if enough nobodies like your product, then the somebodies, too, have to pay attention to you. So now the A-listers don't make a product, they report on made products. The key is to get a lot of people to try your product because you don't know who will make your product tip."

Enchant your employees. Give employees the opportunity to master new skills in an autonomous environment and with a higher purpose. "Notice that I don't include monetary compensation in this recommendation," says Kawasaki. "Companies should pay people reasonably, but money is not the key to enchantment. Mastery, autonomy, and purpose, warm and fuzzy stuff, are more important."

The Po!nt: There is no single path to enchanting customers and employees; each company will facilitate mastery, autonomy and purpose in its own way. Says Kawasaki, "Enchantment is a pragmatic skill—whatever works for you, works for you."

Source: MarketingProfs.

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