Photo by on Christian Wiediger Unsplash Whether you’re a scrappy startup or bustling big business there’s only one true constant in your line of work: Sure, profit is a big part of the equation, as is having an awesome product, but without putting “your people” first, longevity won’t happen. consumers. There is only one thing that has never changed throughout my wacky career journey. Something I’ve seen countless brands, startups and entrepreneur hopefuls forget: the empathy economy must come first. What does that mean? Let’s begin with a definition, lead into brands that do it better, and outline why their tactics work. What is the Empathy Economy? Photo by on Nathan Lemon Unsplash if you don’t understand and empathize with your consumers, you won’t know how to truly meet their needs. It’s really simple: If you can’t meet their needs, your business doesn’t have a chance in hell of sticking around for the long haul. Meeting consumer needs means . It means providing value so that consumers champion your brand. It means upholding good values and extending that to your workforce. giving But more than all that, it means being real, and really helpful. How AND.CO Gains the Trust of Freelancers AND.CO offers recurring payments, a solid CRM, invoice tools, contract/proposals, time tracking, and more. Basically, AND.CO saves freelancers time. It’s just that simple. I don’t work with . However, I’m perfectly fine repping them. Why am I fine with preaching their good name? Full disclosure: AND.CO They care and it shows. AND.CO crafts , partners to support , their customer support is flawless, and they know what freelancers need because they . guides for freelancers opportunities for freelancers listen AND.CO aims to be a resource. Resources are given with no true expectation (ROE is not ROI). Of course they want to increase their userbase and profit is on their minds. But what I also see is a dedication to empathy. Provide webinars. Write earnest guides that address pain points. Help your consumers better themselves. Treat them like people. I promise you that AND.CO’s 400k users don’t just come from hard sales alone; the empathy economy is in play. Remember, you—as a business, entrepreneur, or brand—are here to provide people with a service or a product that makes their lives easier. AND.CO does this with style. Take a page from their book, listen to consumers, and help make their lives easier. How Agility CMS Bridges the Gap Between Content Editors and Developers : I do work with , but if you know anything about me, you should know I only write about people and products I love. Full disclosure yet again Agility CMS Agility CMS is a company I wish other CMS companies would emulate because even their competition often misses the forest for the trees. can be complicated. In a nutshell, they’re decoupled systems that let you place digital content where you need it. No more being tied down to Wordpress or just one front-end framework (we know how I feel about Wordpress). Headless CMSs Your content can go anywhere and be anything. That’s freeing. Contrary to many CMSs, Agility CMS puts a lot of effort into making technical things as simple as possible by bridging the gap between developers and content editors. High quality webinars are the standard, invaluable how-to guides are frequent, and explaining things for everyone involved is the clear goal. This shows me that Agility CMS is thinking about all their consumers. They know the empathy economy is where it’s at. Web development projects do not exist without content and context. Every single program, service, or software lives in an ecosystem that requires a soft touch. An ecosystem that requires writing. An ecosystem that requires communication between different job roles. If your product doesn’t come with robust documentation, a bridge between all parties involved, and easy ways to get started, you are not putting the empathy economy first. Agility CMS does this by making learning new technology approachable. They also do this by that make it easier for everyone. This is something you must do if you want to grow your platform into something people absolutely love using. forging technology partnerships Why Transparency is Everything for Buffer : I don’t work with . I simply love their value system and products. Buffer is a social media scheduling tool that saves time. Just like their home hero says, they offer simpler social media tools for authentic engagement. Full-full disclosure Buffer What truly makes Buffer consumer-first is their dedication to simplicity and helpfulness. Social media management is tricky. It can take a lot to just get an SMM calendar out there, let alone approved. Buffer knows this and includes drafts. Everything they create is to help make their users lives easier. Not only that, but they have what all the brands on this list offer: resources to help guide their users. But what truly makes Buffer a brand people love is their transparency. They extend this to their workforce which shows me that empathy is one of their brand values. Buffer embraces radical transparency. By being transparent, Buffer shows their users they value being real with people. Does your brand do this? It should. Being transparent not only fosters brand loyalty, but it creates a company culture that’s hard not to champion. What can we learn from these badass brands? If your business is having trouble navigating the waters of the empathy economy, consider what resources you provide your consumers. Do you understand their needs? Do you support their journey? Do you make it easy? Are you transparent? Do you have webinars, solid documentation, and do you use data to figure out how to best help people? Consider how you treat the people in your company. Consider what resources you also give to them. Consider your brand values. Think about how you can better serve people. The best road to business longevity is valuing the empathy economy and showing that you do. You need to talk the talk and walk the walk. It not only makes business sense, it also feels really good to be really good to people.

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