The Hypha Wire | 8/2/24 Edition

Happy Friday!

This week, Olympian Simone Biles (also see: GOAT) reminded us what it takes to achieve greatness—and that the path to success isn’t always linear. After her withdrawal from the last games, her resurgence in Paris has been a joy to watch. Her journey isn’t just about medals, it’s a testament to the power of perseverance, adaptability, and continuous improvement.

Watching Biles evolve her routines reminds us of our recent discussions on Growth Driven Design. Like her, we’re all on a path of constant refinement, aren’t we? Whether in gymnastics or digital marketing, the principle remains the same: small, data-informed adjustments can lead to remarkable outcomes.

But perhaps what’s most inspiring about Biles isn’t her personal achievements, but how she elevates her entire team. It’s a powerful reminder that success is rarely a solo endeavor. In our world of marketing and technology, progress often comes from collaborative efforts and shared insights.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What “Olympic moments” has your team experienced lately? How have you adapted your strategies in the face of challenges?

Let’s take a moment to recognize our recent wins and the hard work behind them. And as always, we’re here to discuss your next steps whenever you’re ready!?

- Sage Levene , VP of Marketing, Hypha HubSpot Development

Open Mic ??

Changing Perceptions

By Dillon Friday , Director of Client Services, Hypha HubSpot Development

I attended a high school friend’s wedding last weekend. As if the event itself wasn’t enough of a trip back in time, my sixth grade teacher was among the guests. I recognized him, he probably recognized me, and at some point in the night when the revelry died down (or I stepped away), I re-introduced myself.

He knew who I was right away. It’s been [redacted] years since I was in his classroom, so I was flattered (and more than a little impressed).

“You remember the good ones,” he said.

I thanked him on behalf of my 12-year-old self.

That sort of positive interaction plays out in the agency world as well. If you do a good job for a client, no matter how long ago it was, they’ll remember you fondly.

The flip side, for better or worse, is that perceptions are difficult to change. That matters little for my sixth-grade teacher and me. He thinks I was a good student and, hopefully, sees that I made it to adulthood largely unscathed. But with clients, it can be tricky.

Changing perceptions is something we’ve dealt with at Hypha. Heck, we went through a significant rebrand and altered our service offerings just last year. We re-introduced ourselves, rolled out a brand new website, set up calls, and sent out press releases, and still, our long-standing clients occasionally refer to us as ‘Morey.’

That’s fine. Old habits are tough to break; we can politely correct clients until the name sticks. What’s more important is letting them know we’re not the same. We’re constantly growing as an agency to stay ahead of industry trends and deliver impactful results.

So how do you keep their perception of you fresh? Three tips come to mind.

1. When something’s new, share it (and insist your main points of contact pass the news around internally). For example, this newsletter is a great avenue for companywide or industry updates, but you can’t trust that everyone reads it. So talk about the newsletter. Encourage your contacts to subscribe. Reference it. And don’t keep any good news about the company to yourself.
2. Listen for opportunities to expand your conversations. As meetings die down, leave space to ask clients how their department’s doing, and what challenges they may have. Sometimes you’ll be greeted with, ‘Can your team do that?’ If the answer is ‘yes,’ set aside a time outside your regular meeting schedule to address it. Bring on appropriate team members. If the answer is ‘no,’ don’t be firm. Pitch the request to your team, and keep the client updated. The willingness to explore the challenge goes a long way.
3. Report often, and share those reports. Quarterly reports, in particular, are a great place to look back and ahead. Recently, I worked with some colleagues to present a Q2 report. We included several recommendations for Q3, some outside our ‘normal’ offerings, and discussed them with the client. They signed off on most. They said, ‘yes, but the timing isn’t good right now’ for others. At the end of next quarter or this year, we could revisit the recommendations. Better yet, they’d come directly to us when the timing is right.

You can never fully control people’s perceptions of you, client or otherwise. But you can consistently leave positive impressions and remind them who you are and who you’re trying to be.

Second Hand News ??

Search Engine Roundtable: Google Search Ranking Volatility Bursting At The Seams by Barry Schwartz ?

Including this here as a note for us all to be on the lookout for a[nother] potential algorithm change this month.

“Google Search had an incredibly volatile month of July and it ended the month with a huge bang. The volatility in the Google Search results yesterday, July 31st, going into today, August 1st, is heavy. This may be Google testing a new Google search ranking algorithm update, maybe the expected core update, or maybe not...”

Forbes : 77% Of Employees Report AI Has Increased Workloads And Hampered Productivity, Study Finds by Bryan Robinson, Ph.D ?

This is an interesting study. It hadn’t occurred to me, but it isn’t necessarily surprising that there are employers out there that are attempting to weaponize AI in the workplace, using it as an excuse to demand more out of their workers. As if burnout wasn’t prevalent enough.

“Despite 96% of C-suite executives expecting AI to boost productivity, the study reveals that, 77% of employees using AI say it has added to their workload and created challenges in achieving the expected productivity gains. Not only is AI increasing the workloads of full-time employees, it’s hampering productivity and contributing to employee burnout.

“To add insult to injury, nearly half (47%) of employees using AI say they don’t know how to achieve the expected productivity gains their employers expect, and 40% feel their company is asking too much of them when it comes to AI.”

Hypha Highlights ???

As we’re all witnessing, tech stacks are growing increasingly more complex each year, with new apps built upon others. At the same time, APIs are doing their best to ensure everything flows together neatly.

When it doesn’t, your efficiency plummets. Data becomes corrupted or fractured. Team members get frustrated. And you begin losing customers.

What we’ve found is that?out-of-the-box solutions from HubSpot?can help. But sometimes you need a custom integration to establish a seamless connection between your various applications and software systems.?

This guide will help you determine whether you should go with a custom integration or choose a standard fix.

Read: How to Decide If You Need a Custom Integration ?

5 Star Review ?

“Great Experience”

I have had the pleasure of working with the Hypha team for the past few years. They consistently do high quality work, great at client communication and work very efficiently. They have in-depth knowledge of HubSpot applications and how to optimize your business with the platform. Great experience working with their team! -M. Leavy, Industry: Finance & Insurance?

Services provided: Branding, Content Creation, and Email Marketing

HubSpot Hacks

We’re excited to share that Hypha is ranked in the Top 5 of North American agencies in the ‘Customer First’ category for HubSpot ’s Impact awards!

Newsletter Neighbors ??

The newsletters Team Hypha subscribes to.

Sounds Profitable Newsletter?

For my fellow podcast lovers out there— Sounds Profitable covers the business of podcasting.

“Podcasting’s leading voice for Education, Research, and Insights.”

How can we help you?

Industry Spotlight: Finance

Today’s financial firms are quite familiar with market turbulence and ever-changing landscapes. The tech revolution has compelled these and other highly regulated firms to accelerate digital transformations while maintaining strict compliance standards.

Navigating this complex terrain is simpler when your digital marketing, data security, and tech stack align seamlessly with compliance standards and customer demands.?

To emphasize the contemporary challenges faced by financial firms:

• A notable 54% of executives cite data silos as one of the major barriers to innovation.
• Almost half, or 46%, have plans to enhance regulatory compliance efforts.

The bottom line:?With consumers increasingly relying on digital platforms for their financial needs, the demand for robust and compliant digital marketing solutions has never been more critical.?

Stay proactive and improve your chances of conquering these challenges while maintaining compliance?with HubSpot’s all-in-one marketing platform ?

Thanks for reading! We’ll catch you in next week’s edition. -Team Hypha

To subscribe to the email version of The Hypha Wire, please visit hyphadev.io/hypha-wire.