Ideas worth spreading...right now

If you are not already familiar with TED.com, you should be. TED is a conference about "Ideas Worth Spreading" and brings together a global community of thought leaders from every industry and culture to share stories that inspire and encourage everyone to be an active participant in creating a better future.

I was fortunate to attend the local TEDxAustin event last month and walked away completely re-energized! Here are a few of the ideas I picked up that are worth spreading:

Purpose and Community

The talks were very diverse, ranging in topic from breaking stereotypes to transforming genetic material to realities of population explosion. Woven delicately throughout each presentation was a common thread of purpose and community. Regardless of culture and expertise, we all strive for a sense of purpose and a feeling of connectedness.

The Naked Marketer

In his talk on conscious capitalism, Sunny Vanderbeck said "businesses can no longer hide behind marketing". Such a simple and obvious statement, yet so relevant to the problem we're solving at FeedMagnet.

The Secret to Happiness

Years ago, I landed on the following three essential ingredients for happy employees: Acknowledgement, Appreciation, and Compensation. As it turns out, those are the same ingredients needed to build great relationships between brands and customers:

1. Acknowledge the customer. Have 1-on-1 interaction, let them know youʼre listening and that theyʼre valued.
2. Appreciate the customers you have. The best loyal customers often say great things about the products/services they have positive experiences with. This “social proof” is powerful and can influence others to purchase (or at least consider) your products/services.
3. "Compensate" your customers! Give them products and services they feel good spending money on. They will not only continue to buy your products but will be a strong advocate for the brand as well.

Power to the People

The voice of the customer is powerful and should be leveraged to influence change within organizations. This is an ideal time for all brands to establish deeper connections with customers, gain insights on behaviors and harness social proof to further engage the consumer and build stronger brand loyalty through community.

I think thatʼs an “idea worth spreading”.