Because of his vast experience in the industry, we asked developer, designer
and general technology enthusiast Nick Contaldo, "What will creative culture look like in 5 years?"
“Gone are the days when a catchy headline and pretty girl on a magazine page were what constituted a ‘good marketing strategy.’ These days marketing tactics are shaped by cold hard numbers, but the problem is, it’s not numbers that will determine your competitive advantage in the future, it’s culture. It’s your employees. The very same people that you get angry at for heating up fish in the break room microwave. Yes, those people. Savvy businesses and marketers will figure out that the quickest way to stay innovative and move product is by creating company cultures that care. At Infusionsoft, we like to say ‘happy employees make happy customers which make happy investors.’
Culture isn’t just a ping-pong table or lunch-time sessions of Guitar Hero. It’s about believing in your people’s need to feel fulfilled, both personally and professionally, and harnessing that desire to drive results. The better companies will be the ones that intentionally craft their culture to emphasize a higher purpose and continual professional development. The best companies will do all that and pair it with processes to enable team-driven creation, frequent performance measurement and constant customer feedback; the same work traits exhibited by founders when any new business is born. It’s exactly this founder’s spirit that breeds innovation, increases efficiencies, reduces costs and ultimately creates products that people actually want. It’s what gets people saying ‘I love my job’ and gets customers saying ‘I love throwing money at your company.’
What’s the connection between a culture that cares and marketing? It’s the understanding that everything you do can be copied by a competitor, but a fulfilling culture where employees intuitively know their customers and are empowered to contribute towards the greater cause of customer and company. Now that is a distinct competitive advantage! As for marketers, their role will be to tell the story of the brand as it’s seen through the lens of the culture. As the story unfolds, marketers will be pivotal in extracting customer insights that affect product teams and ultimately write the next chapter in the great book of a company destined for glory.”
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Do you agree with Nick that company culture is a competitive advantage for a company?