5 Takeaways From commonsku University Plus!
On Tuesday, July 21st, 2020 we held our first-ever virtual user conference, commonsku University Plus! Over 400 distributor users, from over 150 different companies, gathered to learn, connect, and network, all from the comfort of their own home. Throughout the event, attendees were given a deep dive into the platform’s most powerful tools, shown hacks, and underutilized features, and heard stories from users who have mastered the ins and outs of the platform.
Our Customer Success team shared countless actionable tips and insights about commonsku, and in today’s blog post, we’re sharing five critical takeaways from CSU+ that you can implement TODAY to take your commonsku usage to the next level:
You’re an Ideation Genius!
Bobby Lehew, commonsku’s Chief Content Officer, and Aaron Kucherawy, commonsku’s Manager of Customer Success, kicked off the event with their session titled, Better Ways to Ideate, encouraging commonsku users to flex their creative muscles when beginning their projects and presenting ideas. Bobby noted, “the work you do every day is amazing, you take ordinary products and make them an experience...don’t lose that curiosity and creative drive.”
During the session, they challenged attendees to move beyond the lazy question ‘what’s new?’ and get down to ‘the interrogatives’. Find out the who, what, where, and why, and what is required pre-delivery, during, and post-delivery for the particular project.
And don’t forget to suck!
You read that right. Bobby encouraged attendees to let themselves have terrible ideas so that you can use them as a stepping stone to amazing ones, embodied in this idea is a stellar Ann Handley quote, “good marketing requires fearlessness!”
Aaron took Bobby’s ideation inspiration and turned it into actionable platform tips that attendees could implement right away! He encouraged users to use all resources available to them source amazing ideas, including using the community feed (full of supplier product experts!), your company feed to gather inspiration from your colleagues, and checking out features like skutalks and collections to get a fresh perspective.
It Takes A Community
Throughout the entire event, attendees were encouraged to connect with their fellow users as an added opportunity to learn. Whether it was dropping their questions and tips in the live chat, learning from commonsku power-users during the breakout sessions, or meeting a few new contacts during the one-on-one networking, there was ample opportunity to meet some new friends and share their experiences.
commonsku is a powerful tool because of its open and forward-thinking user base...don’t be afraid to use it as a resource! There are thousands of users in the community, and chances are, a lot of them have gone through what you’re experiencing right now!
Don’t be afraid to start a discussion on the community feed, reach out to those you admire, and offer your own expertise!
It’s Time for a Shopping Spree
During the first feature session, Bobby Lehew, CCO, and Bre Redmond, commonsku’s Senior Customer Success Specialist, addressed the increasing demand for online Shops and how you can use them to create a sticky relationship with your clients. Bobby stressed the importance of addressing the three critical components of starting a shop with your client up-front so that you both have a seamless experience implementing it: BUDGET, AUTHORITY, AND MOTIVE. He reminded attendees that shops are not a ‘set it and forget it’ project, but rather must be continuously reviewed and updated to maximize revenue.
With these Shops fundamentals in mind, Bre walked the audience through the three types of Shops commonsku offers, and how they can be used to help you stand out from the crowd. Bre noted, “your Shops are like having an additional salesperson, treat them as such!” If you put the effort into creating a beautiful shopping experience, your client in turn will see your best work and have a positive indication of what it will be like to work with you.
She encouraged users to check out the brand new commonsku Shops Roadmap, and book a Shop Talk to make sure they’re on their way to creating an amazing shopping experience. commonsku Shops power-user Russell Bird of The Promo Addict was on hand to share his experiences with shops and echoed Bre’s tips, saying, “book the shop talk and delegate one member of your team to be a shop expert so you know you’re meeting your customer’s needs and setting it up right. You don’t want to have to build it twice or present a negative impression.”
Client Experience is Key
During the second feature sessions of the day, Catherine Graham, commonsku’s CEO, and Joe Kemple, commonsku’s Senior Customer Success Specialist, joined forces to discuss the needs of the client in today’s climate.
Catherine emphasized the acceleration of digital buying habits, and with this, the importance of making your clients comfortable and providing a sense of organization in their buying process. She encouraged attendees to check out commonsku’s Future of Work Series to learn more details about how all aspects of the industry have shifted during this period, and how companies in the promotional products industry can adapt.
Everyone’s favorite Brit, Joe, jumped in to demonstrate how commonsku can assist in the transition to the new normal of digital buying. He emphasized the Project Portal feature in commonsku, which allows the end client full visibility into the status of their project. He emphasized that Project Portals reduce the amount of noise and communication both online and by phone (which everyone is bombarded with right now!) while INCREASING clarity and organization for your clients.
Make Room for (Virtual) Networking
In the grind that is the promotional products industry, it can be easy to put networking and connection on the back burner. At CSU+, attendees were reminded of the ease and benefit of networking during our one-on-one networking sessions. Attendees were matched for 3-minutes, during which they could share commonsku tips, insights, or industry experience. The fast-paced, whirlwind session, proved that networking doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming.
Just because in-person events are on hold doesn’t mean that sharing experiences, hacks, and best practices need to stop either. Meet someone cool at CSU+? Look them up in the commonsku Directory and reach out! See someone posting great tips or ideas on the community? Reach out! Shy? Let us know what area you’re looking for a subject matter expert in, and we’ll do our best to link you up with a fellow commonsku user.
When In Doubt, ASK!
The afternoon was capped off with a live Q & A and hacks sessions featuring all members of the customer success team. Each shared their current favorite hack and encouraged attendees, next time they’re on a call, to ask their Customer Success Specialist what their current favorite is. They know all kinds of hacks, and love to share them!
After answering a few questions from the live chat, they reminded attendees that their entire job is to ensure they’re successful on the commonsku platform and not to be afraid to ask for help. If you’re stuck on a question, you can check out our library of help articles, they’ve worked super hard on them and they can answer most of your questions. Really stuck? Stop wasting your precious time and reach out, they’re really hard to stump and love hearing from you.
What was your favorite part of commonsku University Plus? Or what was the best thing you learned during the event? We love to hear from you! Send us an email at news@commonsku.com.
Thank you to all those that attended our very first virtual user conference, commonsku University Plus! We hope you enjoyed the afternoon of content, and can’t wait to see you at our next event.
A reminder, that due to technical difficulties during Bobby Lehew’s sessions, he will be holding two webinars in the coming weeks: SHOP TALK (Keys to Unlocking the Most Profitable Stores & Shops), and UNLOCKING YOUR INGENIOUS SELF.
And remember! If you have any questions about the platform, you can always check out our library of help articles, and view our webinar videos.