SXSW Report

Gary Vaynerchuk, Author of Crush it! – Cashing in on your passion

Filled with energy, gratitude, and passion Gary Vynerchuk demands attention (and it doesn’t have to do with him dropping the regular f-bomb).  He’s passionate about what he does and is an evangelist for using your passion to promote your love on the web.  He’s all about using social media to connect with individuals, whether its for your personal brand or your business.

He’s passionate about his belief that everyone is, or should be, in the customer service business and technology is only making that more necessary.  He relayed a story about his brother showing up at a restaurant after calling for a reservation.  They told him he’d have to wait, so he pulled out his phone to call to let people know, and as soon as he pulled out his phone, the hostess told him she’d find him a table immediately.  In the age of social media, and review sites like Yelp, companies are starting to realize they have to change the way they do business and start paying attention to customers needs.  “Word of mouth connects us to good shit, or tells us what to avoid, and that’s the new way of the world,” says Vaynerchuk

Vaynerchuk believes in investing in customer relationships, showing you care for them, and eventually it will pay off.  He says, “everyone is trying to be a 19 year-old dude – they’re trying to close too fast.”  Every business needs to be providing their customers/communities with the attention and content they’re looking for.  Content has never been more valuable, and everyone is in the content business.  People told him his book wouldn’t sell (it made the NYT best sellers list) because he “gave too much content away,” but he believes we live in a “thank you economy” where people are appreciative of his knowledge and buy because of the trust and relationship that has been built.  “You have to care and do good first,” he says, “it’s the only way to convert.