Earlier this month we had an opportunity to hold a content workshop for our engineering client UES International at their important offsite strategy session. They had brought in staff from all over the region and were spending time sharing, learning, and planning for the year ahead.
There is always so much to jam into these agendas, even for meetings that stretch over multiple days. As Kendi and I played our role in this agenda to educate, celebrate and inspire the team to create good content it also gave me pause to reflect on some important values clearly at play in this business we are proud to name among our clients. I could see that:
- Bringing diverse voices and perspectives to the table is clearly valued. The room was a true mix of skills, roles, seniority, and tenures. One staff member had not actually started yet – but the opportunity to include them, was not missed.
- Nurturing good supplier relationships is valued. It is a fine art that goes so much further than codes of conduct and contracts and I’ve found that mutual respect, clear expectations, trust, and friendship are at the heart of the best ones. I always treasure invitations to be part of the inner circle and I recognise the investment clients make in us, when we are included.
- Not everyone in a business is “a marketer” but all roles are valuable to marketing. As humans we are wired for stories. It’s how we connect and have done since the dawn of time. And it’s also a large part of how we market in business today. Employees, especially those working at the coalface of your market – in branches and sales roles – know your customers best and have access to the stories that will resonate and build trust in your brand.
- They value content and thought leadership and its place in bringing life and heart to the marketing of products – even small but critical pieces of hardware like UES offers. People no longer want to just be sold stuff, they want to develop a relationship with a brand, understand it and get to know it from a different dimension so they can find a place to put their trust.
At the end of the day our personal and business values are what matter most. They are the glue that binds us and mobilises us. Take some time to think about what your business values, and if you need help bringing those values to life in content and storytelling – then please chat with us.
Sue Hardman