Engagement is the new marketing.

How people experience you, plus how people experience themselves in relation to you, is now what determines your success.

Straight from my column on monthly column on American Express Open Forum, here’s what smart entrepreneurs know about engaging their customers: 1. Master the power of personalization. If your customers wore nametags, would you give them better service? Sure you would. Names reduce the distance between people. Today, my flight attendant noticed my nametag and said, “Scott, I wish all my passengers wore nametags, that way I wouldn’t have to say sir!” Makes sense. With a nametag, it’s an unmasking. It assures you’re no longer just another face in the crowd. It humanizes you. And it makes it easier for people treat you with dignity, respect and compassion.

Sadly, most organizations miss this. They obsess over offering better customer service, but fail to see the big picture about the actual relationship. Truth is, the purpose of a nametag isn’t to enable customers to tattle on someone who gives poor service. The purpose of nametag is to help you become better friends with customers, that way, better service happens naturally. Familiarity doesn’t breed contempt—it brings people back.

2. Lower the threat level. I was meeting my friends for sushi once and they invited a girl named Sandra, a friend of a friend who was passing through town. When we met, she thanked me for wearing a nametag. “It’s just so non-threatening,” she said. Interesting.

How do you lower the threat level when you meet people? With most strangers, you’re starting with negative balance. You’re operating from a deficit position. It’s just the posture of the masses. People have been sold, scammed, conned, manipulated and used too long—and they’re tired of it. But a nametag takes a few bricks out of the wall. A nametag immediately and intentionally disqualifies me from people’s fears.

3. Trust is a function of self-disclosure. The more you reveal about yourself, the more likely people are to trust you. That’s a basic tenant of human communication. But you don’t need books to know how trust works. That’s what the nametag proved: Strangers trusted me more once they knew my name. Not that much more, but there was enough additional trust to be noticeable. People recognized my willingness to stick myself out there—albeit in a small, simple way—and as a result, perceived me as being a more trustworthy person.

But it was weird. I didn’t really do anything. Just wore a nametag that said, “Scott.” And yet, people would tell me things. Personal things. I’ll never forget the time I sat down next to an older guy at the train station. He noticed my nametag and said hello. I did the same. He then proceeded to tell me every single detail about his wife’s schizophrenia. And I was happy to listen, but the whole time I kept thinking to myself, “Sir, why are you telling me all this?” Simple: He felt like he already knew me.

4. Enable reciprocity. I was in a cupcake store in Australia. When the cashier rang me up, I clumsily grabbed all the coins in my pocket, took one look at the confusing shapes and colors, then took one look at the long line behind me, turned to cashier and said: “Here. You do it.” She smiled back; picked out the coins she needed and completed the transaction.

That’s reciprocity. If you want people to trust you, trust them first. Even if you have no logical reason to do so. You always gain a greater interaction. The world is a mirror. What you put out, comes back. It’s not a cliché—it’s human nature. People have mindless, automatic reciprocity reflexes. And they perform certain actions when the world presents them with certain patterns of input. That’s why strangers will spontaneously introduce themselves to me: Not necessarily because they want to meet me, but because of my nametag—I’m willing to meet them.

REMEMBER: Interaction is the agent of human decision. Help people have a better experience with you, and of themselves in relation to you, and you’ll win customers for life.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How could you engage your people in a way they’ve never seen before?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For a list called, “11 Ways to Out Google Your Competitors,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Publisher, Artist, Mentor
[email protected]

“I usually refuse to pay for mentoring. But after Scott’s first brain rental session, the fact that I had paid something to be working with him left my mind – as far as I was concerned, the value of that (and subsequent) exchange of wisdom and knowledge, far outweighed any payment.”

–Gilly Johnson The Australian Mentoring Center

After four thousand days of wearing a nametag, I’ve learned more lessons about being an entrepreneur than I ever could have learned in college.

Straight from my column on monthly column on American Express Open Forum, here are a few to consider: 1. Interaction is the agent of human decision. Any time people decide to listen to, buy from, get behind, partner with or tell others about you, it’s probably because of the interaction they had with you. How they experienced you. How they experienced themselves in relation to you. And fortunately, the cost of interaction is approaching zero. Thanks to the Internet, we now have greater access to each other than ever before.

Brands are reaching users. Writers are reaching readers. Artists are reaching collectors. Leaders are reaching followers. But you don’t need a nametag. You need to be open to what can emerge from every interaction. You need to interact with people in praise of whatever they have to offer. You need to approach everyone you encounter with a spirit of acknowledgment. Because every time you interact with people, you make a choice.

A choice to engage with swift responsiveness, nonstop gratitude, unexpected honesty, exquisite playfulness and loving unfairness. Those aren’t just interactions – they’re social gifts. And they change people forever. Are you known for a unique way of interacting with the world?

2. The media is your customer. I once got an email from a television screenwriter. He wanted to pitch a network reality show that revolved around my nametag. Awesome. But I had to ask the crucial question. I had to find out why he picked me. Not for ego purposes, but for market research purposes. I wanted to know where the rock created the ripple so I could go throw more rocks.

“Television is about the personality and the message, somebody who would be fun to watch every episode. Viewers don’t care about talent and skill. They want to laugh, be entertained and have their imagination captured. And after doing a lot of research on potential, I didn’t like anyone else. But you – you remind me of me. And that’s why I reached out.”

Cool. So we did a few conference calls, got the lawyers involved, signed an option agreement – I even flew out to Hollywood to meet with a few network producers. Unfortunately, the screenwriter got an offer to become a lead a writer on Survivor, the highest rated reality show of the decade. Damn you, Jeff Probst!

And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. But I wasn’t devastated. If anything, it was another glimpse into that whole world. It was an educational experience that taught me what the network wants. That’s one thing you learn about working with the media: You can’t get your hopes up. You can’t beat yourself up. And you can’t torture yourself waiting in limbo. Nor can you run around telling everyone you’re going to be on television.

The media is your customer, and you are an ocean under a fickle moon. You just have to keep saying to yourself, “It’s only a matter of time.” When it hits, will you be ready?

3. Enable the mystery. “I just have so many questions!” I get that a lot. When people find out I wear a nametag everyday, they’re instantly curious about a number of issues. And I’m happy to oblige. Comes with the territory. I once met a guy in a jazz club in Hell’s Kitchen. Noticing my nametag, he asked me if I had just come from an episode of The Price is Right. Good guess, but no. Even though I’ve always secretly wanted to be on that show. Just let me play one game of Plinko and I’ll be out of your way.

Anyway, the point is that people are enthralled by mystery. They never grow tired of things that invite constant interpretation. And your ability to fascinate them is a tremendous asset. Like Houdini, you have to emanate an aura of delightful unpredictability. You have leave the public always wanting more, wondering about your next move. Will you underestimate the profitability of mystery?

4. Reputational capital. The first interview I ever did was for Headline News. Three minutes. Five million people. Twenty-two years old. Yikes. I don’t remember much about my segment. I’m sure I rambled like a pro. But what I do remember was rushing home to watch the tape. And the moment that would be forever burned into my brain was noticing what CNN wrote on their lower third screen graphic: Scott Ginsberg, Name Tag Wearer.

And there it is. Four years of college. Thanks, mom and dad. Money well spent. But I learned something that day. You can’t outsource reputation. It’s not what’s in a name – it’s what after a name that counts. And if you don’t make a name for yourself, somebody will make one for you. Nametag Wearer. Sheesh. What would be written under your name?

5. Take a stand. I believe in having a point of view. Philosophies. Opinions. Perspectives. Theories. These things matter. These things make us uniquely human. They don’t have to be right or wrong, they just have to be ours. And it’s our responsibility to share them courageously and prodigiously. Otherwise we’re just decorations on the wall.

That’s what my friend Matt likes to remind me: You weren’t wearing a sticker – you were taking a stand. Damn right I was. I was taking a stand for my identity. I was taking a stand against anonymity. I was taking a stand in the name of approachability. When you do this, people notice. It draws them in. It teaches them how to treat you. And it reminds them that you’re a person with feelings and you demand to be heard.

Life’s too short to keep our doubts to ourselves, too important to keep our positions unknown and too beautiful to keep our conclusions quiet. Opinionated is the new black. Are you wearing it well?

REMEMBER: To be an entrepreneur is to take a risk.

You don’t need to wear a nametag – but you do need to stick yourself out there.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your nametag?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For a list called, “11 Ways to Out Google Your Competitors,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Publisher, Artist, Mentor
[email protected]

“I usually refuse to pay for mentoring. But after Scott’s first brain rental session, the fact that I had paid something to be working with him left my mind – as far as I was concerned, the value of that (and subsequent) exchange of wisdom and knowledge, far outweighed any payment.”

–Gilly Johnson The Australian Mentoring Center