A few days ago, I wrote about how we don't make our decisions alone…we make them
as part of a tribe. We're highly influenced by those around us.

What some really smart companies (or their customers) have figured out, is you can give people an "us" to be part of.

Does
Apple sell a better personal computer? Yes, but you're also becoming
part of something larger when you buy a Mac. You're joining a movement
(and Apple sells the tickets).

The same is true for a Jeep or a Harley Davidson.

And your local church or synagogue.

And a Ted Dekker novel.

Do your customers have something to be part of?

There are two ways to look at the cost of spam.

Costs me nothing to ask and a few will say yes, so its worth it.

or

Every conversation is a journey. Each interaction builds on the prior
interaction. Every time you touch someone in the outside world it costs
you something and it costs them something.

How you answer the question will effect everything.

And while we're talking about spam…if you didn't send out that "e-newsletter" of yours, how many people would miss it enough to call you and ask where it was? If people don't miss it when its gone, I'd argue you don't really have a true permission asset. I don't care if your privacy statement gave you permission to send me email.  A true fan would be mad if they found out they'd been left out of a timely and relevant communication. 

What would it take for people to actually look forward to seeing your email in their inbox?

Look
at any line between two points from from far enough away it will look
like a long line. On the other hand, look at a small section and the
same path often looks erratic and scary.

Why should you care about The Long Line? 

Because it effects everything you do.

People who are good at running a
meeting announce the goal and then they don't worry to much about what
happens during the meeting, when necessary they just steer it back
towards the goal. They understand that the meeting is a long line.

People who are bad at running meetings spend the whole meeting reacting to things. They act like a day trader.

The same is true with a day…or a week…or a chapter…or a book…or a blog post…or series of posts…or your life.

If
you look at your life as a long line with experiences and adventures
and people to interact with then what happens in any one interaction
isn't life changing. But if you look at your life like a day
trader…what happens in the next meeting could ruin everything.

Seth Godin explained it to me this way, "Seeing
the long line doesn't just make you calmer, it helps you steer the
boat. When a plane takes off for Boston, it's on course. But then the
wind and other things put it off course. The pilot doesn't turn around,
land and start over. She just corrects, ultimately staying on the long
line."

Perhaps the best example of long line thinking is the
talented musician who makes a mistake but no one in the audience
realizes it because he "doesn't skip a beat".

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What We Do

We help businesses and organizations understand that new marketing is all about conversations…not the “conversation” where they, the marketer, shout out their message to as many people as possible, but the conversation where our client’s existing customers are talking to their contacts about our client.

We explain that there are two types of conversations. The first conversation is the conversation that’s happening some place else, because people are already talking about them. They may be saying good things…or bad. The question is, does our client know when the conversations are happening and, when appropriate, take part in them?

The second type of conversation is the conversation our clients host themselves. Who better to connect their customers? Often their customers naturally gather around our clients’ product in the real world. We help our clients facilitate that conversation.

We help our clients understand and implement a social media framework and create a place for their existing customers to connect with each other and prospective customers. We teach them not to try to control the conversation but to take part in it. What they earn by doing this is permission to deliver timely and relevant messages to the community.

We’ve worked with a diverse group of clients including The Acumen Fund, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Molson/Coors Canada, Saddleback Leather Company, Ransomed Heart, Max Lucado, New Leaf Publishing, Children’s HopeChest, Yates & Yates and Dan Miller/48 Days To The Work You Love.

If you think we could be a good fit please toss me an email.