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Welcome to podcast #89! Today we are talking more about building a community and why it is so important for your business.
What did Andrew McCauley & Heather Porter learn this week?
Heather learnt about a new app that Google has released which sits on your desktop. It allows you to join hangouts from your desktop rather than going through logging into Google Plus to get there. It makes it a more seamless experience for users.
Andrew learned that in France this week, Twitter users have been allowed to transfer money using tweets. Why? Well, we’ll see…
Building a community…
Today we had a chat with an old friend of ours on Make It Simple TV who talked about how much more difficult it has become for speakers now to get people at their events. One of the factors behind this is that speakers were often using the events to introduce themselves to people on the assumption that their audience would then like them and buy their stuff. The thing is that people are now more wary of being “sold” to and are more likely to want to come to the event of someone who they already know and trust.
The same principle applies to any business. People are much more likely to want to do business with you if they already know and trust you, and don’t feel like they’re getting a ‘hard sell’.
From Andrew’s experience in hospitality, almost every negative review went back to something to do with the team who were working in the business and the service experience that the customer had. He noticed that the more team-oriented staff were, the more people wanted to come because it developed a community where people knew who they were. It meant that an atmosphere was created where people felt that they belonged.
An example from Heather was the sense of community she experienced when working for Tony Robbins. It was such a tight-knit community that volunteer staff would fly themselves around the world to be there! We’re talking about people paying $1000s to fly a long distance, work long days and have nothing paid for! It’s about the value that people feel from belonging to a great community.
How can you build a community that uplifts people from their “dreary normal life”?
This is usually the key to success of these communities.
Other points…
- JVs are like staff and you should think of them that way – how can you make it easier for them so they want to do more?
- Treat staff and JV partners with respect – what can you offer them that is not available to everyone else?
- Education – how can you help your staff, customers and partners?
- Community for staff – for example appreciation sessions where people leave their desk and just get to know each other.
- Surprise people – Australia’s No. 1 Mercedes Benz salesperson built a community around her by knowing people’s likes and important anniversaries and sending cards, gifts or acknowledgement.
- How can you create a platform for your movement rather than just focusing on sales?
How do you build the right atmosphere for your community? Let us know below!
