15: The Profound Human Connection of Micro-Communities, Participatory Economies and Good Old Customer Service

From the gig economy to the passion economy, changing consumer values are inspiring new brands and business models for creators. Today we’re seeing the emergence of yet another model that’s challenging traditional work - something that VC and Level Ventures partner Sari Azout calls the participatory economy - where fans actually participate in a creator’s success. This model, along with the others, all boil down to customer happiness. Customer happiness may sound trite but it’s likely not what you think it is. It’s definitely not as simple as you think it is. And considering that the user is changing, it’s also something you can’t afford to overlook.We also speak with Ty Givens, customer experience strategist and founder of the WorkforcePro, about engineering the human connection that turns customers and users into fans.Ty talks about how leaders can truly make customer happiness core to their brands and the second order effects that it can have on the company, its employees, and the overall landscape. Links to interesting things mentioned in this episode and further reading:Creator Economy to Participatory Economy (Check Your Pulse #48)The Creative Economy, We're Not Really Strangers, and the Immediacy Filter (Check Your Pulse #34)On Intentional Work, Level Ventures, and What I’m Investing In (Sari Azout on Medium)Customers 2020 - A Progress Report (Walker)The Passion Economy and the Future of Work (a16z)How the Passion Economy will disrupt media, education, and countless other industries (Li’s Newsletter)Unbundling Work from Employment (Li’s Newsletter)Clean color brand Kosas leans further into personal care (Glossy)Check out our website for more brand strategy thinking, and come connect with us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.