Jun 26, 2018
In this interview, David Mullen, president and partner of The Variable (Winston-Salem, NC), explains how any company can defeat its biggest competitor and drive sustainable, long-term growth. David articulates the holistic mindshift and strategies needed to develop products people want to buy, build “people-friendly” companies, and win long-lasting, loyal customers. He emphasizes the need to focus on changing:
- Customer experience to people experience (inclusive of product developers the frontline [those interacting with customers], suppliers, influencers, stakeholders and shareholders, and customers]
- Buying something to buying into something (shaping people’s experience at every touchpoint)
- Positioning your company in the minds of customers to positioning your company in the lives of customers
Key strategies for building people-friendly companies include:
- Consulting with the business:
-
- analyzing business, brand, and communication strategies
- identifying the right problems to solve
- Creating solutions for the right problem. Solutions might include:
-
- great advertising campaigns
- rebranding an organization
- content
- innovation roadmaps, product concepts, and product development
- Engaging to take solutions to market. Areas of concentration:
-
- Employee engagement throughout the internal culture
- integrated media planning and buying
- social/PR
- Underpinned with a foundation of Analytics to
-
- understand what’s happening
- assess the magnitude of impacts
- identify weakest link, opportunities, and challenges, and
- guide timely change implementation to ensure continued progress and drive growth
David can be reached on his company’s website at: thevariable.com, by email at: dmullen@thevariable.com, or on LinkedIn.