1 00:00:00,198 --> 00:00:02,417 Hi, everyone, and welcome back to things out 2 00:00:02,417 --> 00:00:04,241 loud. I'm Tim Peter. 3 00:00:05,589 --> 00:00:08,063 I had the pleasure earlier this week. Of 4 00:00:08,063 --> 00:00:10,475 speaking to a group of hotel marketers 5 00:00:11,170 --> 00:00:14,140 about how they could improve their customer acquisition 6 00:00:14,437 --> 00:00:17,465 and the role that things like social media. 7 00:00:17,798 --> 00:00:19,629 Play in that process. 8 00:00:20,663 --> 00:00:22,493 And it reminded me of a discussion we 9 00:00:22,493 --> 00:00:24,903 had here on the podcast earlier this year 10 00:00:25,295 --> 00:00:28,335 all around how you can bundle and un 11 00:00:28,335 --> 00:00:29,794 bundle the various offerings 12 00:00:30,175 --> 00:00:32,174 that are available to your customers, 13 00:00:32,749 --> 00:00:35,386 how you can bundle and un bundle the 14 00:00:35,386 --> 00:00:38,683 channels that worked together to reach your customers 15 00:00:39,222 --> 00:00:42,373 and use that to acquire customers more effectively 16 00:00:42,671 --> 00:00:43,787 and more efficiently. 17 00:00:44,505 --> 00:00:46,499 So I hope you'll enjoy this repo of 18 00:00:46,499 --> 00:00:49,371 a prior episode that looks at bundling un 19 00:00:49,371 --> 00:00:53,131 bundling in customer acquisition. Headed your way right 20 00:00:53,131 --> 00:00:53,370 now. 21 00:01:00,215 --> 00:01:03,198 Welcome. Think so. Cloud, more sourced from 22 00:01:09,084 --> 00:01:11,548 Well, hello again, everyone and welcome back to 23 00:01:11,548 --> 00:01:14,329 things out loud. Your source for all the 24 00:01:14,329 --> 00:01:16,634 digital expertise, your business needs. 25 00:01:17,683 --> 00:01:20,253 My name is Tim Peter. This is episode 26 00:01:20,390 --> 00:01:21,744 410 27 00:01:21,744 --> 00:01:23,735 of the big show, and I think we've 28 00:01:23,735 --> 00:01:25,646 got a really cool episode for you today. 29 00:01:27,019 --> 00:01:28,560 You know, 1 of the things 30 00:01:29,420 --> 00:01:30,619 that I think about a lot. 31 00:01:31,420 --> 00:01:33,832 What we do here, what what my firm 32 00:01:33,832 --> 00:01:35,423 does what I try to do what my 33 00:01:35,423 --> 00:01:38,208 team tries to do is we try to 34 00:01:38,208 --> 00:01:41,788 help our clients lower the cost of acquiring 35 00:01:41,788 --> 00:01:42,266 customers. 36 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:43,100 Fundamentally, 37 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:45,640 that's what we do. 38 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,120 It's so important to me that I'm writing 39 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:49,240 a book about it. 40 00:01:50,694 --> 00:01:53,086 But we try to help clients get more 41 00:01:53,086 --> 00:01:53,586 customers 42 00:01:53,964 --> 00:01:56,356 for less money. That could be by helping 43 00:01:56,356 --> 00:01:58,668 with marketing. It could be by helping with 44 00:01:58,668 --> 00:01:59,545 customer experience, 45 00:02:00,039 --> 00:02:02,200 it could be by helping with their tech 46 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:02,439 stack, 47 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,560 and we do this for companies in hospitality 48 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:07,819 or travel or Saas or 49 00:02:08,451 --> 00:02:08,951 technology 50 00:02:09,326 --> 00:02:11,393 or financial services, what have you? You know 51 00:02:11,393 --> 00:02:12,188 lots of different things. 52 00:02:13,540 --> 00:02:16,028 When I talk about e commerce 53 00:02:16,576 --> 00:02:17,076 or 54 00:02:17,450 --> 00:02:19,436 Ai, which we've done in lots of recent 55 00:02:19,436 --> 00:02:21,979 shows or email like last week's show Or 56 00:02:21,979 --> 00:02:22,535 what have you? 57 00:02:23,250 --> 00:02:24,147 It's always 58 00:02:25,251 --> 00:02:28,191 coming from a place of lowering that cost 59 00:02:28,191 --> 00:02:31,233 of finding and connecting with customers, fundamentally 60 00:02:32,179 --> 00:02:33,616 you've heard me say this a lot. You 61 00:02:33,616 --> 00:02:36,989 know this Peter Dr quote that the first 62 00:02:37,048 --> 00:02:40,400 job of business is to create a customer. 63 00:02:40,734 --> 00:02:42,484 And if we're not doing that, if we're 64 00:02:42,484 --> 00:02:44,154 not helping our clients do that if we're 65 00:02:44,154 --> 00:02:45,768 not helping you do that 66 00:02:46,143 --> 00:02:47,257 on this show, 67 00:02:48,145 --> 00:02:50,683 then we're not doing our jobs. 68 00:02:51,397 --> 00:02:53,380 Now of course, what are my favorite ways 69 00:02:53,380 --> 00:02:54,887 to do that is by keeping an eye 70 00:02:54,887 --> 00:02:55,601 on various, 71 00:02:56,093 --> 00:02:58,952 trends that matter that are either going to 72 00:02:58,952 --> 00:03:01,812 raise the cost of acquiring customers for you 73 00:03:01,812 --> 00:03:03,480 or going to lower your costs if you 74 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:05,162 put them to work the right way. I 75 00:03:05,162 --> 00:03:06,828 mean, that's why I'm so hot on the 76 00:03:06,987 --> 00:03:07,939 Ai lately. 77 00:03:09,525 --> 00:03:11,295 And there is a big trend 78 00:03:11,842 --> 00:03:13,692 that's going on right at the moment 79 00:03:14,543 --> 00:03:17,801 that gets overlooked a lot. By me as 80 00:03:17,801 --> 00:03:19,231 much as anyone, I should add. 81 00:03:20,518 --> 00:03:21,497 And my 82 00:03:21,954 --> 00:03:24,585 epiphany on this. My realization on this came 83 00:03:24,585 --> 00:03:26,419 from a conversation. I was having with my 84 00:03:26,419 --> 00:03:28,333 friend Mark Sc for last week. Mark is 85 00:03:28,333 --> 00:03:31,928 a great guy big thinker, super super smart 86 00:03:31,928 --> 00:03:35,187 dude has written... I don't know. 787 87 00:03:35,187 --> 00:03:37,069 books or something like that 88 00:03:37,588 --> 00:03:39,741 He's just the the best guy and a 89 00:03:39,741 --> 00:03:40,858 really, really smart dude. 90 00:03:41,735 --> 00:03:42,953 And he is 91 00:03:43,490 --> 00:03:43,990 rightly 92 00:03:44,367 --> 00:03:46,600 a big proponent of community. 93 00:03:47,092 --> 00:03:50,451 Of user generated content and of creators 94 00:03:50,825 --> 00:03:52,039 and influencers 95 00:03:52,730 --> 00:03:55,112 in terms of their ability to help you 96 00:03:55,112 --> 00:03:56,168 reach your customers 97 00:03:56,559 --> 00:03:59,057 and in the case of community of having 98 00:03:59,116 --> 00:03:59,616 customers 99 00:04:00,635 --> 00:04:04,491 help you reach more customers, help customers help 100 00:04:04,710 --> 00:04:05,110 themselves. 101 00:04:05,683 --> 00:04:07,194 And create greater experience. 102 00:04:09,103 --> 00:04:10,853 His new book called belonging to the brand. 103 00:04:11,092 --> 00:04:11,967 His most recent book. 104 00:04:12,857 --> 00:04:15,242 Is well worth the read of that very 105 00:04:15,242 --> 00:04:15,640 topic. 106 00:04:16,196 --> 00:04:17,809 And as much as he loves 107 00:04:18,184 --> 00:04:20,092 creators and influencers, and I do too. I 108 00:04:20,092 --> 00:04:22,492 think they're tremendous tremendous source. For you. 109 00:04:23,367 --> 00:04:26,708 He mentioned a limitation that exists among them, 110 00:04:27,504 --> 00:04:28,640 which is burnout 111 00:04:29,095 --> 00:04:32,069 for I've seen a bunch of folks I 112 00:04:32,069 --> 00:04:34,069 follow on Youtube in just the last few 113 00:04:34,069 --> 00:04:34,889 weeks, dedicate 114 00:04:35,269 --> 00:04:37,763 entire episodes to the topic. He's talked he 115 00:04:37,763 --> 00:04:41,024 was talking about in our conversation about people 116 00:04:41,024 --> 00:04:43,172 who just get set up and can't do 117 00:04:43,172 --> 00:04:43,888 it anymore. 118 00:04:44,619 --> 00:04:45,976 And if you think about it, how many 119 00:04:45,976 --> 00:04:49,488 television shows had amazing runs for their entire 120 00:04:49,488 --> 00:04:52,122 history? How many film sequels were as good 121 00:04:52,122 --> 00:04:52,841 as the original? 122 00:04:54,051 --> 00:04:58,132 Not many. Right? It's tough to sustained creativity. 123 00:04:59,541 --> 00:05:01,929 And what you're starting to see more of, 124 00:05:02,167 --> 00:05:04,173 and I think somebody like mister Beast would 125 00:05:04,173 --> 00:05:05,845 be a good example of this, though there 126 00:05:05,845 --> 00:05:07,199 are countless others, 127 00:05:08,075 --> 00:05:11,394 are creators who are becoming production companies. Somebody 128 00:05:11,673 --> 00:05:12,811 these aren't solo 129 00:05:13,187 --> 00:05:16,374 operators or solo. They have an entire crew 130 00:05:16,374 --> 00:05:17,192 and company 131 00:05:17,569 --> 00:05:20,676 where they're consolidating efforts. They're bringing people together, 132 00:05:21,250 --> 00:05:23,509 to, you know, make the work 133 00:05:23,889 --> 00:05:24,389 easier. 134 00:05:25,729 --> 00:05:28,864 And that really is the larger trend that 135 00:05:29,023 --> 00:05:32,453 I wanna talk about. This idea of bringing 136 00:05:32,453 --> 00:05:33,251 things together. 137 00:05:34,128 --> 00:05:35,803 And the weird part is I'm not gonna 138 00:05:35,803 --> 00:05:37,318 just talk about bringing them together. I'm gonna 139 00:05:37,318 --> 00:05:39,965 talk about bringing them together and splitting them 140 00:05:39,965 --> 00:05:40,284 apart. 141 00:05:41,799 --> 00:05:44,213 Jim Bark who was 1 of the founders 142 00:05:44,271 --> 00:05:46,026 of Nets scape back in the day with 143 00:05:46,105 --> 00:05:47,541 Mark and Theresa and and Jim Clark, 144 00:05:48,991 --> 00:05:52,102 Famously said there are only 2 business models, 145 00:05:52,979 --> 00:05:53,479 bundling 146 00:05:53,936 --> 00:05:54,676 the un 147 00:05:55,213 --> 00:05:56,111 and un 148 00:05:56,887 --> 00:05:57,685 the bundles. 149 00:05:58,575 --> 00:06:01,753 Right? If you think about the number of 150 00:06:01,753 --> 00:06:04,852 businesses out there that have been the successful. 151 00:06:05,743 --> 00:06:10,050 They're always either splitting off some feature or 152 00:06:10,050 --> 00:06:12,363 function from another business or they're taking a 153 00:06:12,363 --> 00:06:14,756 bunch of features and functions and putting them 154 00:06:14,756 --> 00:06:14,995 together. 155 00:06:16,047 --> 00:06:16,286 You know, 156 00:06:17,163 --> 00:06:21,310 Craigslist un bundle classified ads from newspapers. And 157 00:06:21,310 --> 00:06:23,862 in fact, if you think about lots of 158 00:06:23,862 --> 00:06:24,340 services, 159 00:06:24,753 --> 00:06:26,818 they're just, like little things that used to 160 00:06:26,818 --> 00:06:28,248 be in newspapers. Right? 161 00:06:29,757 --> 00:06:32,537 Instagram un unbelievable the photo sharing. 162 00:06:33,108 --> 00:06:33,608 Functionality 163 00:06:33,983 --> 00:06:35,335 from Facebook originally. 164 00:06:36,210 --> 00:06:39,574 On the bundling side Youtube bundled videos 165 00:06:39,964 --> 00:06:42,354 from everywhere. They became the place where you 166 00:06:42,354 --> 00:06:43,151 could get everything. 167 00:06:44,027 --> 00:06:45,005 Amazon bundled 168 00:06:45,940 --> 00:06:48,501 purchasing instead of going 12 different stores. You 169 00:06:48,501 --> 00:06:50,351 can just go to Amazon and get everything. 170 00:06:51,282 --> 00:06:54,484 Linkedin sort of un bundled your business contacts 171 00:06:54,714 --> 00:06:56,472 from, you know, wherever else you might have 172 00:06:56,472 --> 00:06:59,269 had them. Right? They're just different ideas of 173 00:06:59,269 --> 00:07:02,386 this idea of bundling or un bundling. Or 174 00:07:02,386 --> 00:07:03,365 if you prefer 175 00:07:04,556 --> 00:07:05,933 integration and d 176 00:07:06,389 --> 00:07:06,628 integration. 177 00:07:07,822 --> 00:07:11,425 We're talking about ways you split apart the, 178 00:07:11,504 --> 00:07:13,824 you know, the place that you go or 179 00:07:13,824 --> 00:07:16,625 you you bring different places you go into 180 00:07:16,625 --> 00:07:16,944 1. 181 00:07:18,639 --> 00:07:20,477 And the reason I bring this up is 182 00:07:20,477 --> 00:07:21,936 because this has a lot of 183 00:07:22,395 --> 00:07:24,313 effect on what's gonna to happen with your 184 00:07:24,313 --> 00:07:25,992 marketing and what's going to happen on the 185 00:07:25,992 --> 00:07:27,964 way you use digital to reach your cusp 186 00:07:28,084 --> 00:07:29,912 numbers, see bringing this back around to where 187 00:07:29,992 --> 00:07:30,628 I started today. 188 00:07:32,297 --> 00:07:34,443 I believe I have long belief, and I 189 00:07:34,443 --> 00:07:36,845 think most people would agree numbers the best 190 00:07:36,845 --> 00:07:40,528 form of marketing is was and always healthy 191 00:07:40,824 --> 00:07:41,563 word of. 192 00:07:42,576 --> 00:07:45,064 It's why I all the way to say 193 00:07:45,064 --> 00:07:47,064 that customer experience is queen. 194 00:07:48,105 --> 00:07:51,004 Your customers are your secret Salesforce 195 00:07:51,879 --> 00:07:55,420 every single person who you interact with has 196 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:57,180 roughly 200 197 00:07:57,240 --> 00:07:59,580 friends and family and fans and followers 198 00:08:00,294 --> 00:08:03,194 on various social networks on various social 199 00:08:03,574 --> 00:08:03,894 connections. 200 00:08:05,014 --> 00:08:08,535 They they tell your bells friends and family 201 00:08:08,535 --> 00:08:10,862 and fans and followers, all about your products 202 00:08:10,862 --> 00:08:11,579 and services. 203 00:08:12,613 --> 00:08:14,762 They sometimes do this when they have a 204 00:08:14,762 --> 00:08:15,557 good experience, 205 00:08:16,353 --> 00:08:19,309 and they always do this or pretty much 206 00:08:19,309 --> 00:08:21,478 always do this when they have a bad 207 00:08:21,693 --> 00:08:22,170 experience. 208 00:08:23,521 --> 00:08:26,040 That's kind of how people are wired, they 209 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,000 talk to what's going on in their lives 210 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:29,520 with their social network. 211 00:08:30,879 --> 00:08:32,559 And 1 of the things you have to 212 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:34,100 remember is that social networks 213 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:35,379 are not 214 00:08:35,773 --> 00:08:36,592 a technology 215 00:08:37,046 --> 00:08:37,546 platform. 216 00:08:38,478 --> 00:08:40,705 Social networks are people. 217 00:08:41,342 --> 00:08:41,842 Social 218 00:08:42,217 --> 00:08:43,106 is people. 219 00:08:43,742 --> 00:08:44,719 We call 220 00:08:45,331 --> 00:08:48,351 Meta and Facebook and threads and 221 00:08:48,828 --> 00:08:51,942 Instagram and Tiktok and Linkedin and dis cord 222 00:08:51,942 --> 00:08:52,578 and snap, 223 00:08:53,453 --> 00:08:54,486 social networks, 224 00:08:54,963 --> 00:08:55,940 but they're not 225 00:08:56,791 --> 00:08:57,848 they're platforms 226 00:08:58,461 --> 00:08:59,470 that connect 227 00:08:59,829 --> 00:09:03,265 people with their actual social network with the 228 00:09:03,265 --> 00:09:05,183 people they care about. 229 00:09:06,302 --> 00:09:08,700 They're still incredibly important as platforms, 230 00:09:09,274 --> 00:09:11,134 because their where word of 231 00:09:11,434 --> 00:09:11,934 happens 232 00:09:13,034 --> 00:09:14,475 a ton of the time. 233 00:09:15,834 --> 00:09:17,765 Not much maybe as when you're talking to 234 00:09:17,765 --> 00:09:19,440 people at dinner or you're talking to people 235 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:21,116 at a club or you're talking to people 236 00:09:21,116 --> 00:09:23,485 at a company meeting, but they talk as 237 00:09:23,684 --> 00:09:25,678 to all their friends and family and fans 238 00:09:25,678 --> 00:09:27,933 and followers of those platforms. 239 00:09:29,028 --> 00:09:31,283 And, of course, influencers and creators 240 00:09:31,660 --> 00:09:33,827 are a form of word at least to 241 00:09:33,827 --> 00:09:35,021 a point. Obviously, 242 00:09:35,498 --> 00:09:37,805 most of what they're talking about is not 243 00:09:37,805 --> 00:09:40,271 your business or not the companies they partner 244 00:09:40,271 --> 00:09:40,485 with 245 00:09:41,084 --> 00:09:42,764 but some of the time they do, so 246 00:09:42,764 --> 00:09:45,004 they're providing word mouth opportunities for you. 247 00:09:46,445 --> 00:09:48,605 Community is a form of word math. You 248 00:09:48,605 --> 00:09:50,065 know, my friend Mark Sc 249 00:09:50,620 --> 00:09:52,620 thing that he's beating the drum about so 250 00:09:52,620 --> 00:09:54,139 so rightly lately. 251 00:09:55,019 --> 00:09:57,100 It's also if you think about it, a 252 00:09:57,100 --> 00:09:58,320 form of un. 253 00:09:59,593 --> 00:10:02,298 And this gets really important when we talk 254 00:10:02,298 --> 00:10:04,525 about, you know, burnout among creators and the 255 00:10:04,525 --> 00:10:04,684 like. 256 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:07,866 Because what community is doing is it's moving 257 00:10:07,866 --> 00:10:11,171 the creation from a bundled point, the creator 258 00:10:11,309 --> 00:10:13,244 or the influencer or the brand 259 00:10:13,701 --> 00:10:14,679 to an un 260 00:10:15,056 --> 00:10:15,295 group. 261 00:10:15,933 --> 00:10:16,650 The community, 262 00:10:18,098 --> 00:10:21,598 its user generated content at scale where the 263 00:10:21,598 --> 00:10:24,579 content may just be the conversation that's happening 264 00:10:25,111 --> 00:10:27,175 among the people in that community. 265 00:10:29,081 --> 00:10:31,995 The point is that we see this 266 00:10:32,433 --> 00:10:33,731 continual pendulum 267 00:10:34,349 --> 00:10:37,243 of bundling and un of 268 00:10:37,620 --> 00:10:38,998 integration and dis 269 00:10:39,456 --> 00:10:39,615 integration, 270 00:10:40,266 --> 00:10:42,827 and we're kind of going through a period 271 00:10:42,881 --> 00:10:45,997 right now where that's occurring. We're moving 272 00:10:46,686 --> 00:10:49,797 from what's seemed to be more of a 273 00:10:49,797 --> 00:10:50,297 centralized 274 00:10:51,227 --> 00:10:54,484 activity where the brand or the influencer or 275 00:10:54,484 --> 00:10:55,222 the creator 276 00:10:55,676 --> 00:10:56,732 was the centralized 277 00:10:57,360 --> 00:10:57,860 point 278 00:10:59,279 --> 00:11:00,500 it's starting to 279 00:11:00,959 --> 00:11:03,379 un bundle it starting to disintegrate 280 00:11:03,759 --> 00:11:04,480 a little bit. 281 00:11:05,134 --> 00:11:07,049 I think we are in the early days 282 00:11:07,049 --> 00:11:07,789 of an un 283 00:11:08,725 --> 00:11:09,225 period. 284 00:11:10,481 --> 00:11:13,275 People want to engage with their social networks. 285 00:11:14,087 --> 00:11:14,587 Privately 286 00:11:15,124 --> 00:11:17,993 more than they did. They don't want 1 287 00:11:17,993 --> 00:11:20,008 place where people can go and see everything 288 00:11:20,145 --> 00:11:21,602 about them. They're trying to 289 00:11:21,994 --> 00:11:24,727 they're trying to keep different groups of people 290 00:11:24,945 --> 00:11:26,301 separate from 1 another. 291 00:11:27,338 --> 00:11:30,231 Jeff Jarvis once referred to the difference between 292 00:11:30,289 --> 00:11:31,347 the public 293 00:11:31,979 --> 00:11:35,882 and a public. They're okay with sharing information 294 00:11:35,882 --> 00:11:38,271 with a select group of people, but maybe 295 00:11:38,271 --> 00:11:40,285 they don't want it shared with the world 296 00:11:41,154 --> 00:11:43,335 And if you look at things like subs 297 00:11:43,554 --> 00:11:46,134 or discord, those are more private 298 00:11:46,595 --> 00:11:49,394 communities or more private ways of sharing, 299 00:11:49,969 --> 00:11:51,588 that again are 300 00:11:51,967 --> 00:11:53,026 sort of an un 301 00:11:53,485 --> 00:11:55,483 sort of subs a weird 1 because it's 302 00:11:55,483 --> 00:11:56,942 bundling all these un 303 00:11:57,401 --> 00:11:57,901 creators 304 00:11:59,171 --> 00:12:01,399 and bringing them into 1 place. So, you 305 00:12:01,399 --> 00:12:03,389 know, the pendulum doesn't have to just move 306 00:12:03,389 --> 00:12:05,378 in 1 direction at any given time. I 307 00:12:05,378 --> 00:12:06,970 sort I suppose it's sort of, like, sc 308 00:12:06,970 --> 00:12:09,216 yours pendulum it's it depends on how you 309 00:12:09,216 --> 00:12:10,332 look at it at any given point. 310 00:12:11,050 --> 00:12:11,550 But 311 00:12:11,927 --> 00:12:12,724 a, some stack, 312 00:12:13,601 --> 00:12:15,913 subscription or discord or things like that. Those 313 00:12:15,913 --> 00:12:16,711 are more private. 314 00:12:17,365 --> 00:12:21,365 And your audiences are getting more discreet, more 315 00:12:21,365 --> 00:12:21,865 fragmented 316 00:12:22,644 --> 00:12:24,979 and maybe a little more private so we're 317 00:12:24,979 --> 00:12:27,297 having a little more dis integration going on 318 00:12:27,297 --> 00:12:29,375 a little more un bundling going on. 319 00:12:30,733 --> 00:12:33,211 The point is that the way you get 320 00:12:33,211 --> 00:12:34,384 your message out 321 00:12:34,743 --> 00:12:38,014 changes. It changes constantly, and it is in 322 00:12:38,014 --> 00:12:40,906 this constant state of flux between a bundled 323 00:12:41,683 --> 00:12:42,980 situation and an un bundled 324 00:12:43,437 --> 00:12:43,597 situation. 325 00:12:44,649 --> 00:12:46,903 And what you need to be thinking about 326 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:49,752 is how do you work in an environment 327 00:12:49,752 --> 00:12:51,985 in a fragmented that environment in an un 328 00:12:51,985 --> 00:12:53,043 unbelievable environment 329 00:12:54,073 --> 00:12:56,966 or in a bundled 1 that may later 330 00:12:57,104 --> 00:12:59,975 become un unbelievable and be prepared for it, 331 00:13:00,215 --> 00:13:03,006 You know, work well in that environment. 332 00:13:04,776 --> 00:13:07,249 And there's a handful of things you need 333 00:13:07,249 --> 00:13:09,583 to do. And the great thing 334 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:13,013 is that these are things we've talked about 335 00:13:13,071 --> 00:13:16,996 before. The strategies don't change that much. The 336 00:13:16,996 --> 00:13:19,492 tactics might change a lot, but the strategies 337 00:13:19,630 --> 00:13:20,827 don't change tons. 338 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:25,080 The first is you need to connect with 339 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:27,980 your customers directly. You need to build 340 00:13:28,759 --> 00:13:31,645 relationships with your customers. Wherever you build them, 341 00:13:31,804 --> 00:13:33,713 whether you build them in your email list, 342 00:13:34,191 --> 00:13:36,577 whether you build them in a community, whether 343 00:13:36,577 --> 00:13:39,615 you build them through partnerships, whether you build 344 00:13:39,615 --> 00:13:42,002 them from getting people to use your app, 345 00:13:42,719 --> 00:13:46,141 it's about connecting with customers directly. 346 00:13:47,508 --> 00:13:49,439 And you need to have quality 347 00:13:49,814 --> 00:13:50,314 content 348 00:13:50,848 --> 00:13:53,154 to do that. You need to be a 349 00:13:53,154 --> 00:13:56,119 trusted resource that your customers can go to 350 00:13:56,588 --> 00:13:58,597 for at least some of their questions. 351 00:13:59,368 --> 00:14:01,910 Right? So think in terms of quality content 352 00:14:01,910 --> 00:14:03,737 that addresses their needs. So there's a reason 353 00:14:03,737 --> 00:14:05,723 why I say content is king. 354 00:14:07,412 --> 00:14:10,124 You also don't need to be the only 355 00:14:10,124 --> 00:14:12,140 people who create that content. 356 00:14:13,476 --> 00:14:13,795 Real, 357 00:14:14,366 --> 00:14:16,771 partnerships with creators that matter to your customers 358 00:14:17,223 --> 00:14:20,795 can be super effective as a form of 359 00:14:20,795 --> 00:14:21,192 content. 360 00:14:21,683 --> 00:14:23,990 And when I say real partnerships, I mean, 361 00:14:24,388 --> 00:14:26,399 partner with people whose audience 362 00:14:27,013 --> 00:14:28,149 are your customers. 363 00:14:29,015 --> 00:14:29,515 Build 364 00:14:30,365 --> 00:14:32,509 relationships with those creators communities. 365 00:14:32,985 --> 00:14:36,002 This shouldn't just be about paid placement. 366 00:14:37,052 --> 00:14:40,000 A, it raises your cost, so let's not 367 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:41,115 do that. Shall we? 368 00:14:43,347 --> 00:14:43,586 B, 369 00:14:44,238 --> 00:14:47,130 you'll look like an outsider. You'll look in. 370 00:14:47,746 --> 00:14:48,543 And see, 371 00:14:49,180 --> 00:14:51,731 you don't really become of the community. 372 00:14:52,384 --> 00:14:54,534 Makes it less likely that the people you're 373 00:14:54,534 --> 00:14:58,040 interacting with are people who actually want to 374 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:01,146 interact with you. This should be a mutually 375 00:15:01,146 --> 00:15:02,378 benefit... Official 376 00:15:03,150 --> 00:15:03,388 relationship. 377 00:15:05,297 --> 00:15:07,523 At the same time, we should realize that 378 00:15:07,523 --> 00:15:09,511 some of these folks you're working with might 379 00:15:09,511 --> 00:15:11,044 burn out. They might 380 00:15:11,513 --> 00:15:13,578 find things that they're are more interesting than 381 00:15:13,578 --> 00:15:16,040 what they're talking about. They may evolve over 382 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:19,217 time. So you don't wanna put all your 383 00:15:19,217 --> 00:15:20,647 eggs and that 1 basket. 384 00:15:21,298 --> 00:15:23,212 You should make sure you're working with an 385 00:15:23,212 --> 00:15:26,402 array of creators, not necessarily 50 or a 386 00:15:26,402 --> 00:15:27,439 hundred or 200, 387 00:15:27,838 --> 00:15:30,445 but a set that makes sense to the 388 00:15:30,644 --> 00:15:32,716 scale of your business that you can work 389 00:15:32,716 --> 00:15:35,345 with effectively a manage. If you're working with 390 00:15:35,345 --> 00:15:37,815 1 creator, that's probably not enough. 391 00:15:38,626 --> 00:15:40,215 If you're working with a hundred thousand, 392 00:15:40,930 --> 00:15:42,440 you've got a bigger budget than most people 393 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:44,427 and congratulations. That's fantastic. 394 00:15:46,016 --> 00:15:49,210 Right? But it's... It's finding the scale that 395 00:15:49,210 --> 00:15:51,991 fits your needs without relying solely on a 396 00:15:51,991 --> 00:15:52,865 single creator. 397 00:15:54,947 --> 00:15:57,338 You also wanna think about the hub and 398 00:15:57,338 --> 00:15:59,250 spoke model that we've talked about lots of 399 00:15:59,250 --> 00:16:02,039 times. You need a hub where all your 400 00:16:02,039 --> 00:16:04,682 content can be found can be addressed. That's 401 00:16:04,682 --> 00:16:07,864 your website. That's your email. That's your app. 402 00:16:08,501 --> 00:16:11,205 It could be a community that you create. 403 00:16:11,459 --> 00:16:13,847 And that you run on behalf of your 404 00:16:13,847 --> 00:16:14,324 customers. 405 00:16:14,961 --> 00:16:16,712 With the caveat that, of course, the minute 406 00:16:16,712 --> 00:16:17,587 you have a community, 407 00:16:18,144 --> 00:16:20,943 it belongs to the community as much as 408 00:16:20,943 --> 00:16:23,328 it belongs to you. So that one's, you 409 00:16:23,328 --> 00:16:25,316 know, a hub, but it may not be 410 00:16:25,316 --> 00:16:27,200 the most central part of your hub to 411 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:29,399 because you don't have as much control there 412 00:16:29,399 --> 00:16:31,320 as you would like to, or you may 413 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:32,600 want to in certain cases. 414 00:16:33,639 --> 00:16:35,399 But you wanna have those hubs available to 415 00:16:35,399 --> 00:16:37,749 you And then the spokes are 416 00:16:38,364 --> 00:16:41,711 using channels like Youtube, using channels like subs 417 00:16:41,711 --> 00:16:44,818 stack, using creators who you partner with using 418 00:16:44,818 --> 00:16:45,669 channels like 419 00:16:46,425 --> 00:16:47,777 Instagram or, or, 420 00:16:48,652 --> 00:16:50,583 Linkedin if you're a b to b company 421 00:16:50,719 --> 00:16:53,502 to connect with customers where they are. The 422 00:16:53,502 --> 00:16:57,363 point once again is not to be disintegrate 423 00:16:57,822 --> 00:16:59,579 if 1 of those goes away, but to 424 00:16:59,579 --> 00:17:02,136 we have an array of these spokes that 425 00:17:02,136 --> 00:17:02,876 you're using 426 00:17:03,829 --> 00:17:05,826 that enable you to connect with customers where 427 00:17:05,826 --> 00:17:08,882 they are and not be dependent on anyone 428 00:17:09,341 --> 00:17:11,825 should choose smart kids in a garage come 429 00:17:11,825 --> 00:17:13,575 along and blow 1 of them up. 1 430 00:17:13,575 --> 00:17:14,848 of these days is, you gonna, make it 431 00:17:14,848 --> 00:17:15,564 go away. 432 00:17:17,328 --> 00:17:19,789 And then the last core strategy that matters 433 00:17:19,789 --> 00:17:22,487 here is this idea of core and explore 434 00:17:22,487 --> 00:17:24,392 that we've talked about plenty of times here. 435 00:17:24,964 --> 00:17:26,876 You know, as I talk about this, it 436 00:17:26,876 --> 00:17:28,629 can be easy to get a little overwhelmed 437 00:17:28,629 --> 00:17:30,621 and say, well, that's too many things. How 438 00:17:30,621 --> 00:17:32,056 do I do all of that? 439 00:17:33,029 --> 00:17:35,669 And the answer is you don't. And I 440 00:17:35,669 --> 00:17:37,210 mean, you start 441 00:17:37,589 --> 00:17:40,230 by putting 80 percent of your efforts or 442 00:17:40,230 --> 00:17:42,884 90 percent of the your efforts. On the 443 00:17:42,884 --> 00:17:45,684 things that you know work and that continue 444 00:17:45,684 --> 00:17:48,105 to work well for you and you put 445 00:17:48,404 --> 00:17:50,498 most of your effort, most of your time, 446 00:17:50,817 --> 00:17:53,070 most of your money, most of your resources 447 00:17:53,845 --> 00:17:55,301 into the core 448 00:17:55,917 --> 00:17:59,199 into the items that have proven successful for 449 00:17:59,199 --> 00:18:01,430 you again and again and again. 450 00:18:02,705 --> 00:18:05,175 And then with the 10 or 20 percent 451 00:18:05,175 --> 00:18:07,485 that you have left over, you test. 452 00:18:08,296 --> 00:18:11,477 So you test with a creator. You test 453 00:18:11,477 --> 00:18:14,499 with a new channel. You test with a 454 00:18:14,499 --> 00:18:15,851 community that you join. 455 00:18:16,264 --> 00:18:18,655 Maybe don't start your own, Maybe join someone 456 00:18:18,655 --> 00:18:21,923 else's as a genuine member of that community. 457 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,444 But these are tests. To see if they 458 00:18:25,444 --> 00:18:28,228 work to see if you gain any traction. 459 00:18:28,785 --> 00:18:30,615 If you find you're not getting any traction, 460 00:18:31,013 --> 00:18:33,577 you either change what you're doing or you 461 00:18:33,577 --> 00:18:35,092 change where you're doing it. 462 00:18:36,048 --> 00:18:38,440 Just change the 1 thing and then see 463 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:39,556 what happens there. 464 00:18:40,129 --> 00:18:42,680 But that's the explore part because you're going 465 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:44,912 to find some of those tests don't work. 466 00:18:45,709 --> 00:18:47,941 And some of those tests are gonna work 467 00:18:47,941 --> 00:18:50,604 really well, for you and may eventually become 468 00:18:50,739 --> 00:18:53,544 part of your core because they outperform something 469 00:18:53,918 --> 00:18:57,036 that is in the core for That's okay. 470 00:18:57,275 --> 00:18:59,348 That's normal. That's why you do it this 471 00:18:59,348 --> 00:18:59,587 way. 472 00:19:00,465 --> 00:19:02,618 The point to remember there is that the 473 00:19:02,618 --> 00:19:04,473 way you reach customers, 474 00:19:05,744 --> 00:19:09,180 continually changes, the way customers want you to 475 00:19:09,180 --> 00:19:09,659 reach them, 476 00:19:10,458 --> 00:19:11,417 continually changes. 477 00:19:12,056 --> 00:19:14,548 And if you continue to always do what 478 00:19:14,548 --> 00:19:15,747 you've always done. 479 00:19:17,106 --> 00:19:19,523 You may be, you know, you may be 480 00:19:19,743 --> 00:19:21,980 sadly surprised to learn that it doesn't work 481 00:19:21,980 --> 00:19:23,350 as well over. Time, 482 00:19:23,985 --> 00:19:26,127 which is why you have to continually be 483 00:19:26,127 --> 00:19:27,897 testing for new opportunities. 484 00:19:29,381 --> 00:19:29,881 So 485 00:19:30,830 --> 00:19:34,049 integration and dis integration, bundling and un bundling 486 00:19:34,670 --> 00:19:37,470 is a reality in the digital world is 487 00:19:37,470 --> 00:19:39,724 a reality in the business world, it's been 488 00:19:39,724 --> 00:19:40,544 a reality 489 00:19:41,164 --> 00:19:41,664 forever 490 00:19:42,444 --> 00:19:44,284 and it's unlikely a change. 491 00:19:45,644 --> 00:19:48,480 What we know is true is that customers 492 00:19:48,700 --> 00:19:51,200 still want to connect with trusted 493 00:19:51,740 --> 00:19:54,940 individuals and trusted brands on the topics that 494 00:19:54,940 --> 00:19:58,485 a matter to them, and be your relevant 495 00:19:58,781 --> 00:19:59,497 resource for. 496 00:20:00,212 --> 00:20:03,337 So work to connect cut... Directly with customers 497 00:20:04,128 --> 00:20:07,803 work to create quality content that addresses their 498 00:20:07,803 --> 00:20:08,203 needs. 499 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:13,348 Remember that content is king and customer experiences 500 00:20:13,487 --> 00:20:17,157 queen. So create great experiences that turn your 501 00:20:17,157 --> 00:20:18,136 secret salesforce 502 00:20:19,005 --> 00:20:21,866 into influencers and creators on behalf of your 503 00:20:21,866 --> 00:20:25,044 brand in their social networks and in their 504 00:20:25,044 --> 00:20:25,544 communities 505 00:20:26,330 --> 00:20:29,113 regardless of whether those happen online or offline. 506 00:20:30,543 --> 00:20:33,484 Think in terms of real partnerships with creators 507 00:20:33,484 --> 00:20:34,756 that matter to your customers, 508 00:20:35,169 --> 00:20:37,650 whether they're in your customers themselves or whether 509 00:20:37,650 --> 00:20:39,829 there people who create content. 510 00:20:42,130 --> 00:20:44,863 Keep hub and spoke, top of mind for 511 00:20:44,863 --> 00:20:46,142 how you do what you do. 512 00:20:46,861 --> 00:20:48,539 Make sure you've got a hub that you 513 00:20:48,539 --> 00:20:51,816 people can always find the content and community 514 00:20:51,816 --> 00:20:55,507 and customer experience, that matter to them and 515 00:20:55,507 --> 00:20:56,007 also 516 00:20:56,866 --> 00:20:59,903 using different spokes to reach customers in all 517 00:20:59,903 --> 00:21:01,581 of the various places that they are. 518 00:21:02,874 --> 00:21:03,852 And then lastly, 519 00:21:04,467 --> 00:21:07,814 core and explore, focus most of your energies 520 00:21:07,814 --> 00:21:09,966 all the areas that at work today. 521 00:21:10,618 --> 00:21:13,168 And test 10 to 20 percent of the 522 00:21:13,168 --> 00:21:15,877 time on new things that will help your 523 00:21:15,877 --> 00:21:18,754 business in the longer term as we live 524 00:21:18,754 --> 00:21:22,347 through this pendulum swing between bundling and un 525 00:21:22,402 --> 00:21:24,861 or integration and dis integration over time. 526 00:21:26,622 --> 00:21:28,130 Because the 1 thing I will tell you 527 00:21:28,130 --> 00:21:30,989 is that's a huge trend that we've seen 528 00:21:30,989 --> 00:21:33,530 again and again and again. It's not going 529 00:21:33,530 --> 00:21:36,402 away anytime soon. It's gonna come back again 530 00:21:36,402 --> 00:21:38,623 and again and again, and you wanna make 531 00:21:38,623 --> 00:21:40,527 sure that whether it's in a bundle or 532 00:21:40,527 --> 00:21:41,638 whether it's un bundle. 533 00:21:42,368 --> 00:21:44,621 People know where to find you. Your customers 534 00:21:44,838 --> 00:21:46,910 know where to find you. And if you 535 00:21:46,910 --> 00:21:48,206 do that consistently, 536 00:21:48,742 --> 00:21:50,336 then you're going to continue to be able 537 00:21:50,336 --> 00:21:51,633 to acquire customers 538 00:21:52,423 --> 00:21:54,817 without raising your costs over the long run. 539 00:21:55,535 --> 00:21:58,327 And that's really the first job as we 540 00:21:58,327 --> 00:22:00,332 said at the beginning, your job is to 541 00:22:00,332 --> 00:22:01,761 create a customer and do it in a 542 00:22:01,761 --> 00:22:03,111 way that's profitable to you. 543 00:22:03,826 --> 00:22:05,335 The only thing I want you to do 544 00:22:05,335 --> 00:22:06,288 is do it in a way that it 545 00:22:06,288 --> 00:22:08,511 works whether it's bundled or un bundled. 546 00:22:09,478 --> 00:22:12,018 Put those pieces together properly for your business, 547 00:22:12,256 --> 00:22:14,319 and I guarantee you'll be just fine whether 548 00:22:14,319 --> 00:22:17,256 it's an integrated solution or a integrated solution. 549 00:22:17,509 --> 00:22:20,067 Whether the creators you like burnout or whether 550 00:22:20,067 --> 00:22:21,505 you find new ones altogether. 551 00:22:22,144 --> 00:22:24,222 In any case, you'll be creating customers who'll 552 00:22:24,222 --> 00:22:25,740 be happy to work with you for years 553 00:22:25,740 --> 00:22:26,140 to come. 554 00:22:26,952 --> 00:22:28,148 Let me know how you're make out. I 555 00:22:28,148 --> 00:22:29,583 can't wait to hear what you do. 556 00:22:30,619 --> 00:22:32,214 Now looking at the clock on the wall, 557 00:22:32,453 --> 00:22:34,287 we are out of time for this week. 558 00:22:35,178 --> 00:22:36,690 I want to remind you that you can 559 00:22:36,690 --> 00:22:38,600 find the show notes for this episode as 560 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:41,067 well as an archive of all past episodes 561 00:22:41,067 --> 00:22:43,375 by going to tim Peter dot com slash 562 00:22:43,375 --> 00:22:43,875 podcast. 563 00:22:44,743 --> 00:22:47,390 Again, that's tim Peter dot com slash podcast. 564 00:22:48,083 --> 00:22:50,470 Just look for episode 411. 565 00:22:51,345 --> 00:22:53,069 Don't forget that you can click on the 566 00:22:53,268 --> 00:22:55,090 sc link in any of the episodes you 567 00:22:55,090 --> 00:22:57,308 find there to have things out loud delivered 568 00:22:57,308 --> 00:22:59,685 to your favorite podcast every single week. 569 00:23:00,574 --> 00:23:02,406 You can also find things out loud on 570 00:23:02,486 --> 00:23:04,102 Apple podcasts, spotify, 571 00:23:04,638 --> 00:23:05,036 Google, 572 00:23:05,594 --> 00:23:07,188 anywhere fun podcasts are found. 573 00:23:08,637 --> 00:23:10,546 I would also very much appreciated if you 574 00:23:10,546 --> 00:23:12,535 could provide a positive rating or review for 575 00:23:12,535 --> 00:23:14,285 the show, whenever you use 1 of those 576 00:23:14,285 --> 00:23:14,763 services. 577 00:23:15,654 --> 00:23:17,408 If you like what you hear on things 578 00:23:17,408 --> 00:23:19,482 out loud. If you enjoy what we talk 579 00:23:19,482 --> 00:23:21,556 about. If you like being part of the 580 00:23:21,556 --> 00:23:23,789 community that we're building here, please give us 581 00:23:23,789 --> 00:23:25,065 a positive for to review. 582 00:23:25,878 --> 00:23:28,190 Reviews help other listeners find the podcast. 583 00:23:28,748 --> 00:23:31,060 They help other listeners understand what things out 584 00:23:31,060 --> 00:23:33,532 loud is all about. They help to build 585 00:23:33,532 --> 00:23:34,170 our community. 586 00:23:34,822 --> 00:23:37,288 And they mean the world to me. So 587 00:23:37,288 --> 00:23:39,117 thank you so much for doing that. I'm 588 00:23:39,117 --> 00:23:40,549 very very much appreciated appreciate it. 589 00:23:41,757 --> 00:23:43,898 You can also find things out loud on 590 00:23:43,978 --> 00:23:46,595 Linkedin by going to linkedin dot com slash 591 00:23:46,595 --> 00:23:47,944 tim Peter Associates. 592 00:23:48,911 --> 00:23:50,977 You can find me on Twitter or on 593 00:23:50,977 --> 00:23:52,725 x or whatever you wanna call it this 594 00:23:52,725 --> 00:23:54,949 week by using the Twitter handle at t 595 00:23:55,029 --> 00:23:55,346 Peter. 596 00:23:56,079 --> 00:23:58,077 And, of course, you can email me by 597 00:23:58,077 --> 00:24:01,193 sending an email to podcast at tim peter 598 00:24:01,193 --> 00:24:01,832 dot com. 599 00:24:02,551 --> 00:24:05,679 Again, that's podcast at tim Peter dot com. 600 00:24:07,354 --> 00:24:09,666 Finally, and I know I say this a 601 00:24:09,666 --> 00:24:09,906 lot. 602 00:24:10,863 --> 00:24:13,016 I want you to know how thrilled I 603 00:24:13,016 --> 00:24:14,466 am that you keep listening to what we 604 00:24:14,466 --> 00:24:16,402 do every single week. It means 605 00:24:16,859 --> 00:24:18,933 so much to me. You are the reason 606 00:24:18,933 --> 00:24:21,485 we do this. You're the reason we make 607 00:24:21,485 --> 00:24:24,533 things out loud happen. So please keep your 608 00:24:24,533 --> 00:24:27,728 messages coming on Twitter on Linkedin on email. 609 00:24:28,367 --> 00:24:30,045 I love getting a chance to talk with 610 00:24:30,045 --> 00:24:31,820 you. To hear what's going on in your 611 00:24:31,820 --> 00:24:33,900 world and to learn how we do a 612 00:24:33,900 --> 00:24:36,299 better job building the types of content and 613 00:24:36,299 --> 00:24:37,759 community and insights 614 00:24:38,140 --> 00:24:39,755 information that work for you and work for 615 00:24:39,755 --> 00:24:40,315 your business. 616 00:24:41,595 --> 00:24:42,954 So with all that said, I hope you 617 00:24:42,954 --> 00:24:45,355 have a fantastic rest of your day. I 618 00:24:45,355 --> 00:24:47,448 hope you have a wonderful week ahead and 619 00:24:47,607 --> 00:24:49,042 I will look forward to speaking with you 620 00:24:49,042 --> 00:24:50,636 here on things out loud next time. 621 00:24:51,593 --> 00:24:54,622 Until then, please be well, be safe. And 622 00:24:54,622 --> 00:24:55,100 as always, 623 00:24:55,674 --> 00:24:56,715 take care everybody.