Marketing is connection. Our job is to connect the right people with the brands they will love and that will make their lives better. In an age of AI and automation, here are five ways to stoke the sense of connection that is critical to the work we deliver.

1. Connect your vision to your team’s values.

My vision for my firm is simple: “To work with ease, balance and grace in service to others with our gifts.” I share this statement weekly with my team, and I ask them to reflect aloud on personal values of theirs that align with the vision. They talk about values like precision, clarity and connection. Invariably, one team member compliments another on how they embodied values connected to the vision. This whole process takes less than five minutes a week, and it connects our team in where we are headed together and why we enjoy the journey. More than that, it aligns us on the same meaningful path.

2. Get to know your clientele on a new level.

For fifteen years, I have written about the importance of conducting surveys or even focus groups with those you serve to best understand what’s on their minds, how your services can support them in solving their issues and what types of marketing they consume now. Not only do they love that you asked them, they also provide a treasure trove of actionable insights that can make your marketing and, more importantly, your connections with them and all your clientele stronger. 

3. Get out and meet new people.

It’s easy to listen to a podcast or read a blog or whitepaper online, but nothing beats meeting in real life with like-minded people. Earlier this year, I committed to seeking out new industry or networking events. As a result, I am connecting with people who give me new ideas: invest in small businesses, mentor an untapped group of rising stars and explore these new growth opportunities. When I connect in person, my mind fires up with new ways of doing business and serving my clients.

4. Go deep with a few.

I have a yearbook-style graphic always open on my desktop. It shows the top 15 people I enjoy most in business. Sure, some are regular referrers or longtime clients, but others are just interesting, well-connected people who make me feel good (and hopefully vice versa). I make it a point to regularly connect with each of these people. I may have over 10,000 LinkedIn followers, but connection isn’t about quantity. It’s about quality. 

5. Take “you” time.

To connect with others in meaningful ways, we must regularly and deeply connect with ourselves and our gifts in service to others. On the CMO Podcast, Dea Lawrence, the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer of Variety magazine reminds us, “There must be something about what you do on a day-to-day basis that you really like. Try to engage with that, whether it’s the people, the community, the task – whatever deeply engages you.” I related most to what she said next: “I like to write copy. Sometimes in the chaos, if I can just turn off everything and just sit down and rewrite something or focus on how we are going to position this, that will root me, ground me, deeply absorbs me. Try to do a little bit of that each day.” 

I wish you a little bit of connection each day.

Since 2007, Big Buzz® has helped Stage II to Stage III organizations systemize marketing to achieve growth goals. Founder and CEO Wendy O’Donovan Phillips is the author of two books available on Amazon, Kaboom and Flourish, multiple data-driven eBooks, has been published in McKnight’s, in Forbes, and has been quoted in The Washington Post, ABC News and Chicago Tribune. She has lectured dozens of professional organizations in front of audiences ranging in size from 25 to 6,000. She has been honored by the American Marketing Association for excellence in her field and has been named a Gold Key Award Winner by the Business Marketing Association. In her two-decades-long career, she has consulted with hundreds of organizations globally to support improved marketing clarity, strategies and outcomes. Get details: visit www.bigbuzzinc.com and follow Wendy.