COVID accelerated digital innovation
but now that genie's out the box, right?
And so I think the good news is,
we know how to use the tools, but in the end,
what we all want and crave is just humanity.
And I think brands that know how to deliver that at scale
or just on a one to one basis, that's what it's all about.
and welcome to Connections
where we hear from some of the most innovative leaders
And there aren't many leaders who know more
about connecting people than Maryam Banikarim,
head of marketing community and global for Next Door
where they are reimagining,
how neighborhoods worldwide
share everything from local deals
to life saving resources.
Let's hear how they do it.
and you were there during the revolution
and you left in like '79.
I actually learned English as a three year old
because I went for a year to join my parents in Boston
where I went to preschool and then we moved back Iran.
And I went to an American school in Iran
so, I continued with my English.
And then when the revolution happened,
And we left to go to Paris really
because I don't think my parents knew
whether the revolution was going to last
or if it was something that was going to pass.
So, we ended up staying in Paris
for a year where we waited to see how things went
and then moved to Lafayette, California.
So, you can imagine Tehran, Paris to Lafayette,
California was quite a journey.
So, you went to Barnard college.
So, I wanted to go to New York
and my mom had aspirations of my being a journalist
and Barnard was a place that really
you had a lot of strong role models
in the women that were teachers and the president.
And so it was a place where I got to find my voice, right?
Partly, Barnard and partly, New York
because there's just such diversity in the city.
Obviously, I was an extrovert.
I connected with people and I always wanted
and the way I felt like a local was I signed up
and join things, which you can imagine
with my kids now they're in their early twenties.
It gets you the eye roll.
Like, "Oh yeah, mom's a joiner."
(Sarah laughing)
You know?
Oh, she was her freshman class president.
But one of the things about getting involved is
it actually gets you connected to the community.
And so for me, that was always something I did.
I didn't really think about it.
And now there's so much talk about purpose
and you take time to actually think,
well, what is my purpose?
and say my purpose is around creating connections
to create communities that make a difference.
But at the time I just did it, right.
and joined every club known to mankind.
And so it sort of worked.
You are the expert CMO, I think
[Sarah and Maryam] Univision.
NBC universal, Hyatt, Gannett, and now our Next Door.
What brought you to Next Door?
Well, at Next Door our purpose
is around cultivating a kinder world where everyone has
a neighborhood to rely on.
The small businesses, your neighbors.
I think is a kid who moved a lot, right?
That purpose spoke to me.
I knew that having a community close by where
you actually felt a sense of belonging could make
But I think that idea of being able
to make a difference was something that I learned early on.
And I often think about the fact
that when you lived through revolution,
you learn early that you only live once.
And I say to my kids, "You know, you might as well make
a difference because you're only going to live once."
And how does creating connections
correlate into marketing?
A lot of marketing is about curiosity
and seeing a story and figuring out
how to connect things together
in order to drive growth for a business.
And so, you don't know where ideas are going to come from.
Sometimes the diversity of the people you interact
with gives you new ways to see an equation.
So much of marketing is about you have an idea
and how do you actually make it happen, right?
So, can you find the right person?
A lot of that is connections and relationships.
There's so much work that shows that companies
that are driven end up outperforming the market.
And so it's that notion of tech for good
where you leverage something to enable people
to actually get to know each other.
That's what it's all about for me.
So, how has Next Door helped build that community
is about community and connection, right?
It gives you instant distribution into your neighborhood.
So, you don't have to go door to door
and ring the doorbell like we did in the old days.
It actually allows you to join.
And it then connects you to those who live nearest you.
And it gives you a way to plug into the neighborhood
that is yours, that you call home.
That is the ecosystem that you rely on.
And so we want to make sure
that you have a neighborhood that you can rely on
and that we actually enable kindness
so that everybody can have the neighborhood
When the pandemic happened,
that your neighbors were critical not just to your success,
And so we very much pivoted and began living our purpose
because we knew that it was meaningful
for you to have somebody that you could rely on.
Oftentimes people were separated from their families.
They needed somebody to run groceries for them
or pick up medicine and they weren't able bodied.
And so having somebody that you could turn to.
I think the number of people who offered help
always out numbers of people who asked for help.
It's always harder to be vulnerable.
And I think as a marketer,
one of the things I find amazing is those stories
where somebody does ask for help.
And then the response that they get.
So, one of my new favorite stories
is Natalie posted for her mother.
They wanted somebody to take her
and her ninety year old mother out
to Staten island to visit their father's grave site.
30 people responded.
Oh, wow.
And said, "I will take you, no I don't need gas money.
And I said, "People think New Yorkers aren't friendly
but 30 strangers offered to take them out."
And I said, "Would it be okay if I told your story?"
And she said, "Why do you want to tell the story?"
And I said, "Because I want other people
to have permission to do what you did
to ask for help and know that others will step up
and actually be there for you."
I think it's a human need to actually want to help.
How important is that storytelling in your marketing?
I think marketing is all storytelling.
There's a reason in the pandemic.
We've all been glued to our various devices
consuming tons of content.
I think stories are sort of the narrative that connect us.
And so finding those stories and giving them voice
I think are critical parts of all of our jobs.
So, you've worked at lots of different companies.
What is the one lesson that you would love
to pass on to new marketers?
Well, I think in the end you have to be a driver
'cause that is what you're there for.
But I also think it really matters
to stand for something and have a brand
that can have incredible meaning and resilience.
How do marketers learn that resilience?
Well, I think if you stand for something
and it's not just words but actions
and I think that's what purpose does
purpose gives you a North Star
and then you actually take that
and pull it through the organization including marketing
that allows you to weather all kinds of storms.
So, you tell the world what you stand for.
You actually tell them by doing it, not just using words.
And then you focus on growth
'cause in the end it is a business.
How do you find that purpose?
Well, I mean, for me, it starts
with understanding the difference
you want to make in the world.
And then you think about how you pull that
through your messaging from a marketing perspective as well.
It's not always a one to one messaging
because purpose is really about your company strategy.
But in the end, people want companies even more so now
that are purpose driven and take a stand
and are actually willing to live that, right?
And I think for me, I always start with purpose
when I have to do storytelling.
It's a through line for your business
and it's a through line that you actually have
to take the time to tell the story of
through deed's actions well as words
How much you put the customer
at the center than everything that you do?
With marketing, frankly, I would say with any business
you have to start with the customer.
You're meeting somebody's need.
And so I remember when the pandemic broke out, you know
a lot of marketers were pulling back
and thinking about what they were going to do.
For everybody it was like,
you know what, you have to be focused
on meeting the need of your customers.
That is literally the only thing that matters.
And if you do that over the long run,
But the thing that we all have to do
is just be there for each other, right?
And I think for any business, that's where you start.
So, when I joined Next Door,
one of the first things I did was research
to really understand the core test customer,
'cause you have to start with the customers.
is the entire neighborhood ecosystem.
From the neighbors to the small businesses
It doesn't mean that they tell you what to do,
that's kind of the first step.
For me, I always start with research.
I want to understand as much as I can
and then I go from there.
Now, I don't think customers can tell you
but starting from there gives you a sense of understanding
and really great marketing starts with that.
How did the pandemic drive digital innovation?
You know, you hear this from all businesses right
before it was hard for people to do online, grocery shopping
and then, you know, necessity sort of the mother invention.
And I think with Next Door it was no different.
You actually really needed people nearby you
to help you get groceries or connect.
And so that just became a reality.
I remember in January when people were trying
to navigate vaccines, the number of people
who were turning to Next Door
to actually get help from their neighbors
because while the system was being rolled out
people couldn't figure out how to navigate
for appointments and things like that.
And so COVID accelerated digital innovation
but now that genie's out of the box, right?
And so I think the good news is
that we know how to use the tools, but in the end
what we all want in creative is just humanity.
Most importantly, for me, I work in the world of tech
but I want to enable humanity
and a world that we all want to live in, right?
There's so many people who want to help their community
and enabling them to do that,
that's what makes me excited every day.
Thanks for tuning in make sure
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