Relationship Economics (in marketing)
Last week on The Digital Download, special guest David Nour talked all about relationship economics and about what it looks like to really INVEST in relationships from a business perspective.
And while this type of relationship building usually falls on sales, today I want to talk about what that might look like from a marketing perspective.
Let's explore!
Investing in Relationships
David told a wonderful story about observing his father weekly at the market. Not only were they there to purchase things, but they were also there to build relationships with people on an on-going basis.
Not because they needed anything from those people imminently.
But because they MIGHT need support from those people at some point.
And, because there is value in building the relationship along the way. There is value in what we GIVE in building a relationship. And there is value in what we might need to take some day.
That's the INVESTMENT.
Giving time, effort and energy NOW, so when you need support, there are people who WANT to give it back to you.
I mean, I think we all think this makes sense in our personal relationships. And perhaps even in our direct business relationships. But what about in marketing?
Sure, in marketing we often talk about "giving value". But what if we took it one level more meaningful and asked, "how are we giving value that CONNECTS someone to our business?"
After all, we can hardly call "publishing a white paper" giving value at this point. Anything we publish is going directly into the giant void of content that doesn't get consumed.
UNLESS we have a relationship with someone.
THAT👆 might encourage them to read it.
But the point is that our CONTENT is not our value. Our relationships with PEOPLE are the value💡
The Dunbar Number
One of the things that came up in the conversation was Dunbar's Number, which is the number of STABLE relationships people are COGNITIVELY able to maintain AT ONCE.
The proposed number is 150.
Which means, any ONE person can maintain 150 STABLE relationships COGNITIVELY at ONE time.
Of course, there are OTHER levels of "relationships" we can have with people (acquaintances / people who we recognize), but those DON'T fall into the 150.
Which is where I would say MOST marketing contacts fall.
They fall OUTSIDE of the area associated with MEANINGFUL connections.
Which means, they aren't STABLE or COGNITIVE for YOU.
And in that case, what do you think that means for how they feel about you?
YOU aren't a stable or cognitive relationship for THEM either.
And does that sound like it's leading to a funnel to you?
Heck no.
OK, so let's try flipping this on it's head.
Let's say you're a small business with 4 sales people and 2 marketing team members. And we'll add in the CEO for good measure to give us lucky number 7.
P.S. This can also be extrapolated to your entire organization, but let's start with the people who are assumingly outward facing.
You have 7 people in your organization who have 150 meaningful relationships, for a total of 1,050 people.
Now, of course, some of those will be personal connections of those people, like family and close friends, AND if you use the additional Dunbar factor for a "Clan", then there are a larger group of people you can be vulnerable with. So, assuming we DON'T plan to be vulnerable with work connections, we can safely remove 50% of those contacts, leaving us with 525 people.
That's 525 people who are in our tribe that we have a meaningful relationship with. Now, I don't know about your business, but how many NEW clients do you need a year? 25? That's only 5% of Your Tribe.
Yeah...5% of people who already know, like and trust you.
I mean, that sounds like enough leads for a lifetime.
IF...
You have the right people in your Tribe.
Ideal Relationship Profile
Now, in marketing, everyone is always talking about an Ideal Customer Profile. It's usually based on what an ideal customer would look like to your business, and includes demographics, psychographics, customer lifetime value, all that good stuff.
But have you ever thought of looking at it through the lens of the RELATIONSHIP you have with those people?
Let's look at this from the simplicity of a solopreneur (not that it's simple to BE a solopreneur, but there's only ONE set of relationships, making the example simpler).
We have 150 meaningful relationships we can maintain. And based on the assumptions above, let's save 50% of those for people who we are willing to be vulnerable with, leaving us with 75 meaningful business contacts.
Who do those 75 people need to be?
From a marketing perspective, there are two significant groups of value:
Clients (both potential and current)
Brand Champions (people who support your brand through other means)
So...when you're out in the world "marketing" your business (online connections, in-person networking, digital ads, print, tradeshow booths)...
HOW ARE YOU BUILDING MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS WITH THESE PEOPLE?
And no, I didn't ask you how many of them saw your ad. Or walked by your booth. Or picked up your swag. Or attended the same networking event as you.
I asked, "how are you building meaningful relationships with them?"
Are you? Or are you assuming that sales is going to do that?
But it's one thing to send an email to sales and say, "this person is a qualified lead", and it's another to make a human introduction and say, "Bruce, meet Jane, and here's why I'm connecting you".
If you were making a real live human introduction, would you do that just based on a click?
If not, what would YOU base it on?
And how would you create the opportunity to discover that?
In Summary
I only touched on a TINY bit of what we covered in the conversation with David. And I highly encourage you to go back and watch the replay, or pick up his book Relationship Economics.
But I think we've opened a door that can lead to great opportunity in marketing.
Every day, your people are building relationships. Some personal, some business. Some internal, some external.
Are your marketing and sales teams being empowered to support the business through their networks? Or are you too busy measuring quantity metrics that seem to be leading nowhere?
And if you're looking to build a meaningful relationship with someone who can ask your business these questions, we should connect.
