.svg)
Last week I was in Texas sharing strategies that individuals and businesses use to create authentic connections with customers. The principles I shared address a fundamental truth about human relationships: meaningful connections don't happen automatically—they require intention.
These principles extend far beyond traditional business-customer relationships. The same approach applies whether you're a nonprofit connecting with donors, a teacher engaging students, or a leader motivating your own team.
Here’s the bad news: creating authentic connections requires more work, more intentionality, and more energy. There's no shortcut.
Here's the good news: the results of those connections pay extraordinary dividends!
When you genuinely connect with someone, they become more than just a customer or client. They become a promoter—someone who actively tells others about their experience with you. This word-of-mouth advocacy is exponentially more powerful than any marketing campaign you could devise.
Paradoxically, the path to reaching the most people is to focus intently on impacting a smaller group exceptionally well.
Mass marketing aims for breadth, but depth creates true loyalty.
ADDO recently summed this up in a new video: The Paradox of Scale.
Want to grow your business and expand your impact? Start with the personal. So how do we do this?
A great place to start is by asking questions like:
- What does this specific customer need right now?
- Who is one person you can write a personal note to today?
- How can you improve the experience for the individual right in front of you?
These aren't soft questions—they're the hardest-hitting growth strategy you're not using.
The answers should make you stop seeing your customers as numbers and start seeing them as individuals with unique needs and aspirations. And here’s the secret: what’s personal is universal. Scaling impact doesn't mean depersonalizing; it means personalizing so effectively that your approach naturally appeals to a broader audience.
Today, I challenge you to identify one relationship you can deepen through intentional, personal connection. It might be the smallest action that creates the biggest ripple in your business or organization.
Your next breakthrough might not be in a grand marketing plan; it might just be in a simple conversation.
