Digital Byte 10: Listening In
March 8th, 2022
The world has felt like a heavy place these last two weeks. I can tell each and every member of my team has felt the weight of it. From nerves of losing loved ones to a potential world war, it is clear that distractions are going to be high and work productivity low.
As you may or may not know these newsletters are a direct reflection of what we have talked about during our Monday call the week before. The subjects I present here are the same subjects I present to my team to discuss. Given that the world felt heavy, I saw no sense in bringing up a new topic when I knew people's heads were in other places.
Therefore, I decided the best use of our time was to listen in. I simply said there was nothing I wanted to discuss other than how I can listen to their needs and worries. How could I be there to help them?
The thing is, you can’t force someone to feel better. You can only create an environment that could help them when they feel ready. Most importantly it's important to not tell people to just push it aside and focus on the good. I told my team to sit in their feelings of sadness, worry, and anger. We spent 30 minutes listening in as a united team and then took 30 minutes alone to do something good for ourselves.
For me, that was sitting on my balcony in the sun practicing my Spanish on Duolingo.
Listening in is important. As a leader, as a team member, as a company. It can be to your audience, your social following, the people you work with, or the people you live with. I urge you to take a second this week to really listen in, without offering anything but support.
In the News
A recent survey found that 8 out of every 10 people in the US want to see brands take action when it comes to the war in Ukraine, but the usual activities like making a statement or pausing marketing activity did not rank highly. Responders cited factors surrounding where businesses are doing business, how they are doing business, and how they are managing their supply chains.
How was a 1 billion dollar loss was good for business? With an 85% increase in marketing spend, Just Eat’s record losses have been seen as a positive move to set the business up for profitability. Big investment moves like partnering with UEFA have seen Just Eat’s top of mind awareness grow to 40% in the UK market, and 70% in Germany.
If you’ve doubted email marketing recently, here’s your sign to think again. One-third of consumers check their emails 2 to 5 times a day and 77% check it at least once, according to a recent survey. The key takeaways? Consumers still don’t trust SMS, are 74% more likely to open an email with a substantial offer.
Your Weekly Inspiration
Sometime’s life sends us happy little coincidences and makes us realize just how great the world can be. Watch the heartwarming moment a man celebrating his ‘2nd’ birthday after receiving a life-saving stem cell transplant openly thanks his donor who happens to be the young man sitting next to them.
