THE Most Important Word in Business in 2022

*Hint* It’s NOT ‘Funnel,’ ‘TikTok,’ ‘Crypto,’ or even ‘The Metaverse..’ 

This ONE word.. well, it’s a couple of words, actually.. But they’re so deeply connected, that this ‘ONE’ word, sets off a chain reaction to make the other words happen naturally. And your ability to make this ‘chain reaction’ happen in your business will be the factor that determines whether your business will have a meteoric rise in 2022, or completely fall flat this year. Ready?..

In order to understand WHY this word is THE game changer in 2022, we’ve got to reflect on the last 18-24 months, one of the most divisive & isolating periods in recent history. And honestly.. I hate going here. And, if you’re anything like me, you’re sick of it too. But without this context, we can’t understand the recent, dramatic changes that have taken place in the minds of our potential clients.

In the last 2 years, anybody with access to a computer, a keyboard, or a camera phone has become an expert, believing themselves worthy of being an ‘influencer’ of others. That’s led to a monumental influx of misinformation & frankly, utter horse shit being hurled from every direction. Most sane people took one look at all of the craziness & retreated to their own corners of the universe, searching out answers for themselves, alone, online. 

We started out alone, but before too long, something happened that made us feel a little bit, ‘less alone’. We found a few articles that make sense, writers or journalists that we felt like we could trust.. We may have shared an article, which led to some of our friends hating it & disappearing, OR some of them agreeing with us & passing it along. Eventually, we started to identify other people, groups of people, who ‘liked what we liked’ & ‘believed what we believed.’

Despite being literally locked down in our own houses.. we found CONNECTION online. This connection led to the development of an online COMMUNITY. A community of people who defended us & befriended us, a group that we could rely on for support, to give us strength. To many people, these communities became so important during that difficult time, that being a member of their group became a fundamental part of the member's IDENTITY. 

Finding your identity within a group, might sound crazy.. Or at least, sound like a giant leap.. But it happens more than you think & you may have even defined yourself using group association without even realizing it. Let me know if you’ve ever heard this.. (or said it yourself!)

Person 1: “Hey, have you checked out the new Samsung phone?”

Person 2: “No, I don’t do Androids.. I’m an ‘Apple guy.’”

The Samsung phone could be far superior to the latest iphone.. But Person 2 won’t even consider it.. Because, he defines himself as an ‘Apple guy.’ He won’t even look at another brand.

Aside from Apple, there are a TON of brands that have been doing an amazing job at this for years.. They have created strong communities that people love to use their brand names to identify/define themselves.. So much so, that these names, these ‘identifiers’ immediately conjure up an image of a member, or the larger group itself.. 

Can you picture a ‘Jeep girl’? Or Jeep drivers in general?

These people Wave to eachother.. Literally every time they see another Jeep.. 

Many of them go on a trip together every year to drive their Jeeps offroad. Being a “Jeep person” is absolutely a group that people use to identify themselves & find belonging.

How about a ‘Crossfit guy?’ Can you picture this one? “Crossfit people” are another community where members often use their group membership to define their identity. 

…

Most ‘Jeep girls’ probably figure they would get along better with other ‘Jeep girls,’ than they would with a woman who drives a Lexus. Most ‘Crossfit guys’ probably assume that they would get along better with another Crossfitter than they would with someone who worked out at Planet Fitness… That’s because they assume a CONNECTION as a result of being part of the same COMMUNITY, where they find their IDENTITY. (See! Our little chain reaction works backwards as well as forwards!)

If you want some more extreme examples.. Picture the image of the ‘Communities’ that come to mind when I say ‘Bernie Bros’... or ‘Trumpers’... Can you picture a group of people? Can you see similar clothing styles within the group, hear similar messages & arguments? You see people so committed to these communities, their community membership becomes so important to their identity, that they will end long standing relationships, cut out family members. The identity found in community membership can override family ties!

We’ve seen it in the news, but you will see this plot structure, this progression, in movies all the time too. Characters move from ‘aloneness’ to ‘connection,’ from ‘connection’ to ‘community,’ and then find their identity through that community. 

Think about movies you’ve seen with a group of strangers, or even enemies, stuck in a weird scenario, or in a battle for survival. They begin as individuals, seemingly opposed or with nothing in common, but eventually, they uncover similarities & CONNECTIONS to other members, & eventually, they are no longer just individual people in the same place, they form a COMMUNITY that is stronger & more powerful than the sum of its members. In time, these ‘members’ find their IDENTITY in being members of this group.. & then go on to do amazing things together, defeating a common enemy, & living happily ever after.

So, what does this ‘Hunger Games’ meets ‘Lost’ scenario have to do with business in 2022? Despite the fact that we have more access to each other through technology than at any point in history.. (Zoom meetings anyone?).. people in 2022 have never been more alone. We’re facing a weird scenario, (like in our movie example..) And in a way, we’re all battling for ‘survival.’ For some people with Covid, that survival battle is literal, for many others the battle is protecting their mental health, their emotional wellbeing, & their previous way of life. But whatever the battle, people in 2022 are LIVING in that movie scenario, & they are struggling with ‘aloneness.” 

Successful business owners in 2022 will not just sell a product or service.. 

Successful business owners will also help their clients find CONNECTION with other clients, become part of a bigger COMMUNITY, and help them find a piece of their IDENTITY within that business/brand’s community.

If you own a martial arts school in 2022, it’s no longer enough to just teach amazing classes.. Because that’s only half of the equation. You solved the initial problem, but you lack connection & community. So, you may get people to sign up at your martial arts school because they ‘want to learn jiu jitsu..’ But, that’s not enough to make them STAY at your academy long term. 

Clients will only STAY at your academy long term if you have a strong culture & individuals who create a strong community; a community where people can find part of their identity. 

Humans are social beings.. Even the most introverted people require a strong support network. And once we find that supportive community, we are ‘reluctant’ to walk away from it. But leaving, quitting, or walking away becomes unfathomable when being a member of that group becomes a defining characteristic of who we are.

So, if you want to be successful in 2022… don’t worry so much about testing the latest facebook ad strategy or discovering the newest funnel hacking software..

Focus on fostering genuine CONNECTION amongst your students. 

Build from those connections, a healthy COMMUNITY that people can’t wait to be a part of, & they can’t wait to come back to, over and over again… 

A community that welcomes people & builds them up better & stronger than they were before… 

A community whose members are so proud, that they use that membership to define who they are as a person. 

If you can build that.. And you start to hear YOUR clients proudly say, “I’m a jiu jitsu guy at [YOUR Academy]”... then get ready to set the world on fire in 2022.