When You Get Big, Get Smaller.

Never get too big for the consumer.

The path to getting big

When you are on the path to growth, the workload is insane. The long hours, disappointments, and setbacks all cause major stress. You can’t wait to finally say “we made it” and celebrate. Which you should. However, during the time you grow, the content you are putting out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. is all consumer-centric.

Your behaviors as a company are consumer-centric. You’re trying to understand what is going to work. You’re trying to figure out what to put on your website, in your posts, in your branding, and at every touchpoint of your business. You understand who your customers are, and what they care about.

What happens next

Fast forward a bit…you taste a little bit of success. You gain confidence – might even get a little cocky. Hopefully not. You have some money in your pocket and your decisions don’t have to be as exact and thought-out because if you screw up…hey, more money is in the bank to try again.

The economy is great so maybe you even have some funding coming from elsewhere. Either way, things are good so you aren’t in the same mindset that you were in before.

Why this is bad

It is surprising to me as a consumer how many of my favorite brands are not living in the places that I’m living in. Meaning 2018. Meaning social media. I’m sure some of you feel the same. It also surprises me as a marketer that when I talk to a lot of business people about Instagram or the importance of tracking data on Google Analytics, they still think of it as a side thing…not realizing that the things they’re slacking off on would actually put more money in their pocket.

Yet they still decide to run things like billboards and radio ads, even though I’m driving through Tampa listening to a podcast and my passenger is scrolling through Instagram the whole ride, so we miss both.

What I’m getting at

Don’t get to a place where you taste success, or you catch a glimpse of some money, and it makes you forget about the behaviors that got you there. People are not dumb. You can’t outsmart them. They will notice. They consume too much content, and are TOO SAVVY.

I’ve experienced it with both people and businesses. Somebody I know exploded on Instagram (well-deserved by the way) and got 50,000 followers after only having hundreds for a long time. They no longer respond to anything. A business I know – it expanded rapidly. All of a sudden, I see that they no longer engage with the comments on their posts.

Trust me – I understand that things get busy and crazy when things start to scale. But as they say “with great power comes great responsibility” so embrace how busy you’re going to be from now on. If you want to really create a loyal base of consumers, keep replying to people. Keep answering emails and comments. The few celebrities and businesses who have answered me before – I am now 20x more of a fan and supporter.

Publix is busy running over 1,100 stores and they answer all of my questions on Twitter when I have an issue, then they take the time to Direct Message with me, and sent me a signed letter in the mail. I look at their Twitter conversations on their profile, and I see that they talked to like 100+ people that same day. Busy, but worth it. That’s why they keep growing.

Getting too cool is easy to pick up on. Stay focused on making people happy and you will have a much better chance of surviving the ever-growing list of alternatives people have.

Hope this article helps somebody!

Jake Kurtz

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More of my writing: www.iamjakekurtz.com/blog