28 JANUARY 2025
Why We Founded a Marketing Agency to Make Good Things Happen
Ten years ago, Alluvus began its journey as a marketing agency with a simple offer – let’s begin with a conversation. This conversation, our starting point, is informed by our commitment to listening. We are passionate about the “why” and “how” behind listening because we’re intentional about becoming partners with our clients. We believe partnership is how we – all of us – can work together to create meaningful and measurable outcomes.
When we begin with a conversation, we create the potential to make good things happen.
If a conversation is our starting point, then making good things happen is our purpose. We think it’s important to lead with intention because we live in a problem rich world that is filled with opportunity. But people are uncertain. They’re distracted. They are looking to talk with someone who will listen. Because nine times out of ten – like us – they also want to make good things happen; they just are unsure of where they should begin.
The “Why” Behind Our Purpose
From the very beginning, we have worked with our clients – people – to make good things happen. In doing so, these good things have involved sales, membership growth, product launches, conferences and events, thought leadership, lead generation, engagement, disruption and design.
Results matter, and we’re proud of our collective accomplishments. But the people we work with also matter – a lot. That’s why making good things happen also involves working with our clients to take a breath, invite a pause, address their distractions, introduce calm, provide support, counsel and take time to care.
It’s why we always begin with a conversation.
“How” We Make Good Things Happen
Making good things happen always involves outcomes. But when we make good things happen for our clients – the people we work with – and then meaningfully examine the people they are trying to connect with – the people who come to their events, and the people they want to click to learn more about what they offer – the good things we exist to make happen can get even better.
With a conversation, we create the time and space needed for a client to share where they have been, what they have tried before, what they have learned from the past and the dynamics today that are causing them concern.
Our commitment is to then take time to process the discussion and return with an examination and analysis that is meaningful and measurable, but is also provided without any attachments or expectations. We believe it’s important to demonstrate that we understand the risk and uncertainty that may be involved but also see the opportunities and how they can get there. In doing so, we stay true to our original intention and demonstrate what we heard.
The conversation creates the foundation for a shared understanding.
Clients appreciate this commitment because in most cases they have already begun the journey and are looking for an examination of where they are. They want to examine assumptions that were made when they began, and they want to talk about how these assumptions align with the forecast they are using to govern where they should be.
A useful analogy for this is setting sail. Once the boat leaves the harbor the focus is on the destination. Given the nature of the weather and other variables that may be encountered, assumptions are made to inform the course that needs to be taken. However, as is the case with sailing, the weather can change, and the course needs to be altered to ensure conditions are accounted for and the ship remains on course.
We like this analogy because it applies to forecasts created for a business or organization. Organizations begin the year with a vision for how they will measure success, the KPIs are in place, and as they move through the year, assumptions made don’t always hold true. Everyone still agrees on the destination, but the conditions have changed, disruptions happened.
It happens all the time in sailing, but no one plans to jump ship.
But, when it happens with a business, concerns arise, people get nervous, and pointer fingers start to get a little itchy. When we begin with a conversation, we can work together to examine the variables affecting assumptions and plot a course that ensures we reach our destination.
Charts and maps are useful here. They help us see where we began, examine where we’re going and use the changes in the forecast to get us back on course.
At Alluvus, the map we use is the Alluvus Brand Execution Path. It ensures that we process the conversation in a disciplined fashion, examining the many variables that are impacting desired outcomes.
Using The Conversation to Address Variables and Dynamics
The conversation, our starting point, also allows us to examine if there are any clowns hiding underneath the bed – the things we’re afraid of. This is where it gets personal and perhaps even a bit political. But if we’re talking with a client “that seeks to use evidence to make business decisions…” and fear is a factor, we may miss things. And while the article linked here speaks to candid reporting and data, fear can be informed by an individual’s aesthetic preference – fear can be informed by the observation “that is way above my pay grade” or fear can be a function of not wanting to bother someone back from a long business trip.
Today, we talk about psychological safety, but internal dynamics that make team members fearful, is a long running issue. For example, as “The Knowing-Doing Gap” by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton notes, “Fear inhibits the ability to turn knowledge into action because people are so afraid… they do everything they can to avoid being the one delivering bad news about the company, even if they are not to blame… Fear… leads to falsification of information and the inability to learn, let alone apply the knowledge to improve [an] organization’s operations.”
This is where the conversation has the potential to be transformational. If internal dynamics are creating fear – we need to talk about it. After all, when it comes to our fears, instead of clowns, we may just find that there are butterflies and unicorns hiding under the bed.
If we’re operating in a state of fear and our nervous system is set on high alert (aka, flight or fight), and we’re not talking about whether that is a function of the workplace or life, then we’re going to miss the point. The people we work with and the people they work and live with are always going to make the difference. If you’re stressed – or balanced – then let’s talk about it because if we’re all not operating in a restful state – and by this we’re simply talking about the parasympathetic nervous system and the importance it plays in ensuring we can be at rest while we think – well…
At Alluvus, we always take time to examine if the first item in the weakness box is us/me/we. If there is fear about how things are presented or processed, if there is fear related to issues outside of the workplace, if there is fear related to colleagues’ issues inside and outside the workplace – then we need to talk about it. No amount of strategic thinking or breakthrough creativity is going to get us where we need to be.
When We Have A Conversation, We…
When we have this conversation and we commit to understanding how we can overcome fear – while also working to hear from the folks in the room who see unicorns and butterflies underneath the bed – many of our engagements result in “creativity [that] should be followed, not led.”
That’s why a conversation has been our offer since day one. Listening is our origin story because when we do, we make good things happen. It’s what we were founded on and it’s the approach we have taken each and every day since. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you, just reach out.
So, here’s to all of us here at Alluvus as we move through the days that get us to ten years. If you would like to hear more about our journey – well, you should know by now… we’re happy to begin a conversation as we work together to make good things happen.