I was just reading a post on marketing success. (Yes, I read a lot of other people’s posts, too.) It rang so true to the foundations I have relied on for many years, that I just had to blog about it. [Redefining Success: It's Not Just About the Money http://t.co/0LfpUBX via @talentzoo]
Here’s the jist … if you’re a good company doing good, you’ll do well.
In recent years, most companies have been focused on “what’s in it for me/us?” In other words, they prioritize and categorize their success with the following criteria.
1. Did the client make a profit?
2. Did we make a profit? (sometimes switched with #1.)
3. Did we win some big awards?
These days, your customers and your stakeholders are often more interested not in how well you’re doing, but rather in how you’re doing good. It’s become a more global, outward focus with the stakes not riding on stock worth but on the worth of what you consider worthy. Paul MacFarlane call it a Total Role in Society. It means being aware of the impact your client and your company have in society. It means paying it forward in hopes that you’ll get back more than you received. It means not minding if you don’t receive in kind. And it looks something like this:
1. Commercial Success
2. Ethical Success
3. Cultural Success
This perspective is increasingly important as companies in the new economy strive to grow and find their niche. Customers and stakeholders alike will put more emphasis on the “what have you done for the community lately?” than on the “how have you performed on the NASDAC lately?”.
Accelerant Marketing Alliance formed when it saw a need for leadership in this area. Our focus has been on start-ups, non-profits, medical companies as well as technology, travel and restaurants. Our business model also supports healthy community growth and a plan for giving back. We actively and regularly volunteer in forums that support job seekers and start-ups, and we align ourselves with those who are doing the same.
To paraphrase Paul MacFarlane again, it’s our world .. go out and redefine it!
