Since we have been talking about the new revolution of self-reliance and self-employment and our need to adapt to a fast-changing online and social marketplace, I asked a friend of mine, Simon Mainwaring (a regular FAST COMPANY contributor) to write an exclusive article for us on what he calls The New Measure of Success and how you and I can grow our Social Capital with some specific examples.
Enjoy! -Darren Hardy

Social Capital – The New Measure of Success by guest blogger Simon Mainwaring

Social media is disrupting how businesses need to measure success in the marketplace. Of course, profits still matter, but as consumers connect up in communities and networks through social technologies, they are gaining leverage to pressure companies to think about more than just great products and services.

What they want from business is a better world, not just better widgets.  How does this impact small companies, entrepreneurs, and contractors? The answer is, it affects you the same way it impacts global corporations that seek to powerfully develop and imprint their brands in the consumer’s mind. When it comes to appealing to today’s socially-minded consumers, your company is no different than Nike, Pepsi, or Starbucks in the need to build social capital, not just financial capital.

Social capital refers to the appeal your brand has in your customer’s eyes. It is composed of a mix of respect, shared values, and loyalty. High social capital derives from engaging with your customers in a way that creates a deeper meaning for them, not just selling them products or services.

Here are three key insights and tips for how you can accomplish raise your social capital:

1. Make your brand the chief celebrant of your customers’ community, not its celebrity. In your marketing and advertising, stop thinking of your brand as the center of the universe. Instead, reach out to serve the issues your customers care about. Celebrate how your product or service has helped your community or make an offer to work with your customers (and their customers) to perform some action that benefits an issue that matters to them. Show how your business is committed to creating a better life for people, not just a better bottom line for you. The Dancing Deer Baking Company in Boston is an excellent example of this principle; the company donates 35% of the retail price of one line of its products to help end family homelessness. See LINK

2. Allow your story to become your customer’s story. read more »