Why Making Business Personal Makes Sense

I'm sure you've heard the saying, "It's not personal. It's just business." We're here to tell you it is personal, and we do mean business. To me there is only one way to do business and it has to be personal. This is a core value I've worked to instill among our team and in our daily practices. So, what does it mean when we say business is personal?   

Doing Business With People and Brands We Believe In 

While you can do business with anyone, I strongly believe people want to do business with people they like and trust. When business is personal, it’s a relationship built on trust, mutual respect and friendship, and I believe our work is better. You can do business with someone without making it personal but from my experience, it’s not a relationship. It’s an agreement. There is nothing personal about a vendor-client agreement.  

For me, I look at relationships like a bank. We’re constantly making deposits and withdrawals. When business is personal you’re making deposits into the relationship bank every time you meet with a client regardless if it’s work related or social. Just like any friendship, there will be issues and challenges that need to be resolved. I’ve found if business is personal, you can make a withdrawal from the relationship bank but continue to work together to resolve it. That’s not always true in a vender-client agreement.  

So how does our core value of “business is personal” translate to how we work with our clients? We’ve found that our relationships are stronger because they are built on a foundation of trust and we are partners with shared goals. The stronger the relationship with your client, the better the work is. It begins with believing in what your client does and the people behind it. Being passionate about the work a client does  creates meaningful relationships. We strive to form long-lasting partnerships with our clients to help everyone succeed. Since our founding, we have focused on serving clients in:

•  building products ‍
• manufacturing ‍
• professional services
• automotive

Our marketing experts enjoy working in these industries so much you can feel the energy when taking on projects. Even though True is successful in the areas mentioned above, that doesn't mean we aren't excited to take on new industries. In addition to our core industries, we also serve clients in the non-profit sector and IT services, to name a few.

Understanding and Advocating for our Clients  

When business is personal, your workday takes on a different focus. It's important to understand our clients, from how they work to how they communicate. Their successes are our successes, and their bad days are our bad days. For business to be personal, you must:

• Become experts in your client's industry. Take the time to learn - watch industry videos, read related books, and work with your client’s products.  
• Go deeper than the brand. Our work involves the people behind the brand and the people we are working with. It's a priority to ask about family, kids, and what they do in their free time.  
• Create a bond. Ultimately, we are creating a bond with our clients, and that's at the base of everything we do.   

In working with each client, we utilize our True Way Process. This model encompasses six foundational elements of our business operations and how we approach working relationships with our clients. The first step of the True Way Process is listening and it's that way for a reason. Listening puts our clients first. It's not about us or all the things we can do. It's about listening to their needs and really understanding what a win will look like for our clients’ business. The rest of the True Way Process will take care of how we do things.  

We listen to understand our clients’ goals and challenges, what they are looking for, what they value, and where we can best support them —this way, we know how to truly advocate for them.  The worst thing that can happen is that a client says we missed the mark or are not on the same page. That's why we have a process in place to ensure this doesn't happen. If something is a great idea, we still go back to our guiding principle, "Is this what the client is looking for?" Reminding ourselves of our mission to make digital marketing simple brings us back down to Earth if we start to move away from the bigger picture. The goal is for everyone to be an advocate for the client and know what goals we are trying to hit.   

Adding Value 

As a partner in our client's business, we are constantly coming back and asking ourselves how we can continue to add value and be a crucial part of their team. We consider ourselves an extension of our clients’ teams, and in doing so, it allows us to be there when our clients need us. As a result, we're more aware of the day-to-day operations and look for ways to help and add value allowing our clients to play to their strengths.   

Our business operating system, EOS, works together with the True Way Process to ensure we are focused on the right priorities, taking action and holding one another accountable. Action equals results and results equal value. The work we produce should align with our client's overarching goals and objectives and ultimately add value to their business. When the client sees results, it helps deepen our relationship. They bring us into different areas because they trust us, they know the success we have and the potential that exists. We get most excited when we know we are making a difference with our clients.   

Remember, people do business with people they like and trust . We are here to help our clients be better and grow. We want them to tell us, "You understand us and are just as excited as we are about our brand and industry."   

Are you interested in building that personal connection? We can help you reach your marketing goals while building a relationship. Connect with us today!