So what’s really going on?
Chris Heuer, Market Catalyst

Scott Becker
Meet my best friend
photo by Kris Krug

Kristie Wells
say hello to my wife Kristie
photo by Kris Krug

Kris Krug
President of Bryght
Friend
Source of Referrals
One of my vendors
Our Wedding Photographer
photo by
Chris Heuer

Business is Personal Again

It’s nothing personal, it’s just business.
• For a very long time, we have tried to separate our emotions from our work life,
but the world is evolving towards greater and greater personal expression -
think about what the MySpace generation will do when it enters the workforce
• Have you ever tried to ‘manage’ a relationship with a spouse or loved one?
Perhaps that is why it doesn’t work with customers either
• Abstract terms like audiences and targets are designed to remove our
humanity from business, but more and more people are tiring of being called
users and audiences and are demanding their humanity be respected
• Do you want to work with anyone you personally don’t like or respect?
Me neither.

In the beginning
the baker sold directly to his customer

Then we started to organize companies
companies sold directly to customers

As the market evolved, ‘middle-men’ optimized trade
the company sold to customers and
also through intermediaries

This ‘industrialization’ grew with ‘broadcast media’
the company broadcast its messages through
media companies to reach customers

The DotCom era brought “disintermediation”
but there were still those who provided
added value and they continued

The Web lets you go direct with your story - 1 to 1
but the perspective of editors are still
very valuable, with social media
there are simply more of them

But Social Media does something more important
Social Media is tearing
down the walls that keep us
apart and changing the rules
that have kept us from being
human inside our
companies.

People, having conversations
we can connect to each other directly,
as humans talking with other humans
as it was in the beginning...

Some Rules for Human Organizations
• Start with the presumption of trust
• Make clear your intentions
• Give people a chance
• Provide power for people’s passions
• “Live the life, love the life” (as Jake McKee said earlier)
• Participate in your market’s conversations
• Personal Pronouns are ok!
• Social Media creates opportunities to be found and to connect
• Trust the conversation

How we learn and develop understanding
Experience Conversation
Media

In the beginning...
Fire is hot Grunts
Meat is good
Caves are shelter
Cave Paintings
=
Sex makes babies Storytelling

In the broadcast era...
Free Trials Sales ++
The Product Support --
Push messages at people through tv, radio and print

In the conversation era...
Relationships Matter
The Experience
Trust
Transparency
Authenticity
Intentions
Create media to connect
with your market and
serve your community

Changing the Marketing Perspective
• Help people buy, don’t sell
• Stop spending marketing dollars only to the point of sale, invest in getting to
the point of satisfaction
• “Customer service is the new marketing” Thor Muller
• “The brands with the best story tellers win” CEO of iProspect
• Participate in the community, give without expectations of getting
• 50% of all advertising doesn’t work, more often then not, the other 50%
doesn’t either
• Help people save time, make money, get more done, be happy, find meaning,
connect with others, and find greater satisfaction

Chris Heuer
Discussion http://www.chrisheuer.com/