u003cpu003eu003cstrongu003eDr Nikolaus Eberl will give a three-day seminar in September on social selling, movement marketing and the Madiba code at the initiative of Quick Focus. Prior to this event, the brand specialist share some thoughts with u003cemu003eBusiness Magazineu003c/emu003e.u003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eu003cspan style=color:#ff8c00;\u003eu003cstrongu003eBUSINESSMAG.u003c/strongu003eu003c/spanu003eu003cstrongu003eTechnology is evolving at a tremendous rate. Can you tell us about the new trends in the marketing and branding sphere?u003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eAs a brand historian who has researched the rise and fall of ancient and modern empires alike, I have come to the conclusion that the new dimension of brand leadership is encapsulated in one sentence and gone mostly unnoticed by the global media: in times of turmoil and the transition to the new/digital economy, the best brands are growing market share by sparking movements.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eMovement marketing has been drawing the interest of global brand leaders, such as Microsoft, Unilever, and Gillette which have all shifted their marketing strategy to the power of movements, with astounding results.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eFor instance, Gillette built a Movement of Women against lazy stubble to grow sales by 500%. Dove used Movement marketing to redefine the concept of u0026lsquo;Real Beautyu0026rsquo; and increase sales by 600%.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eMicrosoft turned a boring product u0026lsquo;MS Office Accounting Professionalu0026rsquo; into a movement marketing campaign that overachieved Microsoft annual sales target threefold in less than two months.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eBrands that spark movements are more likely to succeed in todayu0026rsquo;s changing world than companies that adhere to traditional brand building. In a nutshell, movement marketing takes the old marketing and business models and flips them on their heads.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eu003cspan style=color:#ff8c00;\u003eu003cstrongu003eBUSINESSMAG.u0026nbsp;u003c/strongu003eu003c/spanu003eu003cstrongu003eIs there a simple way for a traditional entrepreneur to catch up with the modern challenge of brand leadership?u003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eYes, absolutely! The best way for entrepreneurs to establish brand leadership is to use the content marketing capabilities of social media, especially LinkedIn, and to become a thought leader in their industry.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eIf done properly, this can be achieved within 100 days. The social selling seminar will provide delegates with a detailed roadmap on how to double qualified leads within 100 days.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eu003cspan style=color:#ff8c00;\u003eu003cstrongu003eBUSINESSMAG.u0026nbsp;u003c/strongu003eu003c/spanu003eu003cstrongu003eIn what ways can modern practices in bran-ding and marketing (digital, social…) impact on a business?u003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eFor the first time in history, the playing field of business has been truly levelled. Size does not matter anymore. Advertising has become grossly ineffective and 92% of consumers do not trust commercials anymore. The rise of social media has enabled anybody with access to the internet to generate earned media which now has become the hallmark of brand leadership in the new economy.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eThe most important success criterion in the digital economy is the brand experience. In other words, how do customers experience the brand at the moments of truth? This is how a brand like Uber has become one of the most valuable brands in the world (at US$51 billion as of last week), without having to employ any driver and only having 300 employees. The growth of Uber is almost entirely driven by word of mouth and social media rather than advertising.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eu003cspan style=color:#ff8c00;\u003eu003cstrongu003eBUSINESSMAG.u0026nbsp;u003c/strongu003eu003c/spanu003eu003cstrongu003eAs a capacity builder, one of the topics that will be brought forward during your seminar will be the Madiba Code. Can you briefly explain the principle and some of the tangible benefits that can be reaped?u003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eThe Madiba Code is about the secrets of charismatic leadership and how to inspire like Nelson Mandela used to. Research has shown that charisma is the single most important leadership quality for achieving employee engagement and that a difference of almost 52% in one-year performance improvement in operating income exists between companies with low employee engagement and companies with high employee engagement.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eAccording to Forbes Magazine, charisma is the X factor of leadership. Thereu0026rsquo;s evidence to show that charismatic leaders promote better team performance.u003c/pu003e
Dr Nikolaus Eberl : “Social media has become the hallmark of brand leadership in the new economy”
