Value Exchange in Marketing
This morning on the Open Conversation for Collaboration, one of the components of collaboration that was discussed was "value exchange". And it made me wonder if we are really doing our due diligence with that in marketing.
I mean, I think most people are attempting to "create valuable content", but if that creation is happening in a one-way silo, is that even possible?
If we aren't actively in a conversation with our Peeps, we'll always be guessing.
And while, yes, technically a hypothesis in any marketing test is a guess (an informed one, we would hope), SO much creation these days is just creating spaghetti to throw at the wall to see what sticks.
And it's worse than that actually, because if you cook spaghetti for long enough, it WILL stick to the wall. Not the same with Marketing. You can cook it indefinitely, and it might just get farther away from sticking.
So, what if instead of "marketing", or "creating content", we put "exchange value" on our To Do list for today? What might that look like from a Marketing perspective?
Let's explore 🧭
Reframing Marketing into Value Exchange
Below, I'm going to explore some common marketing activities that don't just tick a box, but which, more importantly, focus on:
Where am I creating meaningful value that someone would want to reciprocate? Measured by the amount of reciprocation.
Now, there are two important things to do with that definition:
ONE: Clearly define how you are measuring "reciprocation".
TWO: If it's only sales, go deeper.
Let's take a look at some examples so we don't start spinning in the definition...
Conversation as Value Creation
Discovery calls. Networking. Coffee chats. Tech demos. Meaningful interactions. There are a TON of different ways people and businesses define conversations. Let's start by taking away the distinction; a conversation is a conversation.
To be precise, a conversation is a "two-way exchange of insights".
Ooh, how does that feel different than what you are currently doing on your demos?
I think we often assume that a conversation is meant to move your towards value, and that the value exchange happens in a purchase. But that is a super narrow perspective on the value of conversations.
In each individual convo, there lives the possibility of a value exchange. But when we come with a pitch (a one-way proposal) instead of living into the possibility of the value exchange (as in, the other party brings value as well), then we minimize the potential.
What if, we chose to believe that the conversation ITSELF was the value?
What if, we took the steps needed BEFORE the conversation to believe and choose that?
We might just uncover some hidden assets that we never knew existed; hidden assets that just might be what we need to get to wherever we're going next.
Not because of what is going to happen NEXT. But in real-time.
Everyone wants speed right? Faster marketing and sales funnels?
Well, do your inner beliefs match what allows that to manifest?
Content as “Captured Thinking” (Not Production)
This article is a good example of this. We had a conversation about Value Exchange earlier today. It reminded me of the hand-made birthday cards Nicholas received yesterday. And I compile my thoughts in captured thinking about the intersection of those things.
That's a lot different than posting on a content calendar, optimizing for volume.
When you pivot your content creation to "documenting valuable realizations", you're doing two things simultaneously:
Showing people how YOU interpret information
Giving people who also interpret it that way to align with you.
And at the end of the day, that's all Marketing is: sharing enough of you so people can align with something MORE than a business need.
Now, you're not just creating to create.
You're creating because you were INSPIRED.
And most value exchanges? They're ignited by inspiration.
People WANT to get into a conversation with you, because they already FEEL your perspective on it.
And yes, there's a risk here.
A risk that people WON'T resonate with it.
And that brings us back to another underlying belief..."
That our perspective is valuable.
Most people would say that. But are our actions backing it up?
Experiences as Value Multipliers
What multiplies value? If you were looking at the things in your life that add the most value, what would you say? More? Or are there diminishing returns with "more"?
When it comes to Marketing, it's super common to believe that we have to be everywhere. On all the platforms. In all the conversations. But what if that's NOT the value multiplier.
Ever meet people where you have a single conversation with them and you know you're never going to be the same? Of course it's not all people, but I believe we all have them. Think about those people for you...do you need MORE conversations with them to feel the value?
Probably not.
It's different to WANT more opportunities to stay in the conversations that feel valuable to you, but that's precisely the point.
More isn't the goal.
DESIRE is the goal.
And not everyone is going to want to desire to be in conversation with you.
But if you're so busy getting "more" that you can't identify the people who WANT to be in the conversation with you, you're missing the point.
BE the environment where value exchange happens.
And specific people will want to come back. And those people are all that matters 💞
Building Asset Exchange Networks (Not Audiences)
Oh, so much of marketing ends up being about finding or building your audience.
But an audience, by nature, is just watching.
Watching, or consuming, is NOT a value exchange. Although, I think Amazon has confused us all personally on this note.
And this isn't like the movies either. Studios make movies with specific audiences in mind. Then, the audience exchanges their money to consume the thing. Which works well when what you're consuming is entertainment.
But when what you're consuming is the solution to a deep problem? Not the same.
So, what might be more helpful?
How about activating a network of contributors?
Contributors that aren't only interacting with your company in one way (i.e. sales). But contributors that are interacting with your business in a VARIETY of ways (sounds like a more sustainable network to me).
Our obsession with consumption is KILLING our belief that we have value to exchange; on both sides of the equation.
And in Marketing, we have the option NOT to feed that dragon.
But to, instead, create a system that allows the entire system to feed eachother.
Now, what might THAT look like in your business?
Offers as Shared Outcomes
I have a big problem with people who talk about off-loading the "mental calories" of Marketing with Done-For-You services. For far too long, the marketing industry has been selling "solutions" that allow people NOT to think about Marketing.
I mean, this is crazy, folks.
Because marketing is the lifeblood of people knowing that your business exists. And if they don't you won't sell anything.
And it's fair to say that you don't like marketing...but that's probably tied to a misunderstanding you have about marketing at it's core.
It's NOT about selling stuff.
It's about going somewhere together.
Now, whether your product is a B2C app that helps you learn a new language, or a B2B technical solution, or consulting, or cherry pie, this new framing is possible.
I want to get my husband a dessert he loves. You want to bake a cherry pie. Together, we can get someone a dessert they love.
Doesn't that sound more meaningful than "selling pie".
We always have the option to flip the script, if we only give ourselves the permission.
Research as a Core Marketing Activity
For a long time, Market Research has been held separately from things like Go-To-Market and Advertising. It's something that happens in the background, and MAYBE it ends up feeding some insights machine somewhere. Maybe.
But research in marketing is the action of talking to your customers (and the market) in order to actively participate with the conversations that are happening. It is a continuous extraction of meaningful patterns, which are always changing.
And I get it, it sounds like a lot of work.
Way more work than just writing a social media post.
But what if you could find YOUR way of being in the places where the conversations are happens SO THAT you can actively participate? And exchange value in real time?
Research is not meant to be a one-way activity.
It too can be a value exchange; so long as you bring your imperfect knowledge to the table as part of the conversation.
When you participate, you get to sharpen your thinking. And so does the other party.
And now? We've shared an experience of sharpening our thinking, TOGETHER.
Sounds like a good reason to want to have another conversation to me 💡
A Warning RE: Scalability
More and more solutions today are focused on scalability FIRST. And marketing activities are no exception. We don't want to even consider any activities that we don't think will be scalable from a technology perspective.
But then we miss out on a HUGE category of things we could test related to our energetic scalability.
When it comes to Marketing in particular, I don't think most people (or businesses) have the practice of exploring their energetic scalability.
Simply put, things that actively drain your energy are NOT scalable.
Things that DRIVE your energy, are infinitely scalable.
If you get rid of the former, you enable the latter 😉
The Deep Shift
Here's a final reframe to consider:
Marketing isn’t the act of distributing value. It’s the act of participating in value creation; and making that participation visible.
We don't distribute anything.
We participate in value creation. Actively. In real-time. With our business community.
And if any of the actions we're taking AREN'T an active participation...
...we re-assign that time to activities that ARE 💖
Yes. It's a lot different than measuring most of those Marketing "KPI's" you currently have on your dashboard.
And in the interim, it might feel a little undefined.
But the skill lies in learning to surf the undefined, and in so doing, make connections that matter.
One Last Example
To tie this back to the birthday cards Nicholas got. Now, not ALL of them were handmade, but most of them were. And each hand made card has a different feel; most importantly, one of being "made just for you".
How much of our marketing feels like that today?
Maybe there's room for more of it to create that feeling?
