If your organization can communicate a vision that inspires, you might have the same affect on your customers that the Boy Scouts have had on me.
Regular readers of the blog will note that it’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted an article. Here’s why: I’ve spent two long weekends—six days, in total—at a leadership training session at wilderness camp about an hour away from my home. The balance of my time in the past two weeks was spent keeping clients happy and making sure my business didn’t fall apart in my absence. (I’m happy to report that all is well.) No time to blog, and only a little time to tweet.
The leadership training was a great experience for me, and, while it wasn’t health care or B2B-related, there was a principle reinforced to me that I think applies to you and your business. It has to do with vision and values.
The training was run by the Boy Scouts of America, an organization for which I volunteer. There were about 50 other men and women there, most of whom are also volunteers. We all spent $185 of our own money to attend this camp, which would teach us to be better volunteer leaders. Why would we spend six days away from family and work, and pay our own way to do so? From my experience and my conversations with most of the people there, the answer is this: we believe in the vision of Scouting.
The vision of Scouting, if I may offer my interpretation, is that young men can become great men if they are driven by values such as duty to God and country, integrity, service, personal development and high moral standards. I have two sons, and I would call them successful not only if they end up with solid professional careers, but more importantly, if they exhibit Scouting’s ideals: trustworthiness, loyalty, courtesy, kindness, good cheer, thrift, bravery and reverence. Using those ideals, I see them blessing the lives of their families and improving their communities.
Scouting helps them learn and practice those ideals. And so I volunteer, not only for my sons but for their friends. I have weekly meetings with the Boy Scouts, I chaperone them on camping trips, I even help with fund-raising, both for the local group and for the national organization.
Now, most health care B2B vendors have highly loyal customers, so loyal that they pay extra for your trainings, that they are enthusiastic participants in your user groups, that they attend your annual conference religiously. What is it that drives them to be so loyal to you? And how can you encourage the same type of action in other customers?
You can do so by following a simple principle: communicate a vision that reaches their values.
I would venture that the benefits you offer your most loyal customers satisfy at least one of their deeply-held values. I’m a supporter of Scouting because it helps me to instill within my boys the character traits I think will help them be successful men. You could call that my “parenting” value. What values do your customers hold that motivates them to action?
When you know what their values are, articulate your organization’s vision in a manner that illuminates and inspires. The Boy Scouts of America did it for me. You can do it for your customers.
How have you seen a customer’s inner values motivate action? Can you share any examples of how you have communicated your company’s vision? Please share in the comments…
