There were many take-aways from the E-Aruba Seminar, 2022.
The opening act featured acrobats from the Tropical Cuban Revue, I thought it was a great metaphor for our lives with all the juggling and fire-eating that goes on every day, not to mention the running around in circles, and the back flips.
The opening act with Diederik Kemmerling, The Lab Aruba, and Omally Lucas, Branch Manager, the Lab Curacao, made us feel terribly guilty, because according to those two e-gurus, we don’t do enough to promote our brands, there are so many more online possibilities and all we do it scroll. Bottom line: We can do better.
The best part of the morning was a talk by Ryo Zsun of Zappos who talked about the company’s core values in such an animated, passionate and insightful way that I wanted to go work at Zappos in La Vegas, and contribute to that company’s wellbeing. It must be a great work place, dedicated to customer satisfaction. The core values were put together over a period of time, in collaboration with employees and here they are, only Ryo described them juicily, and peppered his delivery with entertainment anecdotes.
Zappos Family 10 Core Values to live by
- Deliver WOW Through Service.
- Embrace and Drive Change.
- Create Fun and A Little Weirdness.
- Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded.
- Pursue Growth and Learning.
- Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication.
- Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit.
- Do More with Less.
- Be Passionate and determined
- Be Humble
Zappos, short for Zapatos. Yes, the Zapponians sell shoes, and they love it. They also run some helpful environmental programs. Check out their website, there’s a lot to learn, there. www.zappos.com
Carlos Gil, a best-selling author and a consultant for such companies as LinkedIn, Win Dixie, and Wendy’s, was an impressive speaker. He said so much, and all helpful.
What I retained? “There is a limited amount of attention to go around on social media, we need to be different, and stand out, and that is why the best way is to be ourselves, and stay away from the self-promoters, pretending to promote us.
Using influencers to promote our brands is like having a series on one-night-stands in public, one fantastic encounter and then we never see them again, and that’s why we must do the work from within our organization, we must connect with people emotionally, on a much deeper level, not just with short one-time message.
We must foster ongoing, long-term relationship with customers, a few loyal ones will deliver more than hundreds of strangers. We are all our own personal brands and we must nurture a community, not with the intent to sell them, but with the goal of really connecting with them on a consistent basis. We need people who believe in us, like us and know us, who want to buy from us. We have to be 100% invested in what we do, no one can do it for us.”
I liked that. I always thought pop-up influencers only deliver fluff. I like long distance runners more, than flashy sprinters.
Thank you sponsors, RBC Royal Bank, Fast Delivery Services, Guardian Group, Digicel Business, Remax Aruba, Qredits, CICC, Fun Miles, FCCA, Click Print, Motus Minds, Aruba Renaissance Resorts, Aruba Chamber of Commerce and Elite Productions & Entertainment.
E-Aruba Seminar is produced by Infinity Media Aruba and The Lab.
