How a speaking opportunity in Tulum turned into a live experiment in sharing your platform

Sometimes the most powerful marketing lesson doesn’t happen in a boardroom or during a pitch — it happens when you’re standing barefoot in Tulum, surrounded by ocean air, talking about empathy, storytelling, and the human side of business.

Last year, I was invited to speak at Radio Tulum, a creative hub known for gathering entrepreneurs, artists, and change-makers to share ideas about culture, innovation, and connection. My talk was about Customer-Centric Marketing, a philosophy I’ve spent years refining — but this time, I wanted to do something different.

Because here’s the irony: if I had just stood up and talked about myself, my work, and my ideas, that would’ve completely gone against the very message I came to share.

So instead of giving a speech, I created an experience.


Starting With Stillness

Before diving into marketing theory, I asked everyone to close their eyes.

I guided the audience through a short meditation exercise, asking them to breathe, relax, and visualize their business — not from their own point of view, but from the perspective of their customer.

“Imagine someone interacting with your brand,” I said.
“Picture them scrolling through your website. Walking into your store. Unboxing your product. Talking about you to a friend. What do they feel? What do they need? What’s happening in their life right now?”


In marketing, we often talk about the “customer avatar” — the fictional persona we build to help us sell more effectively. But here’s the problem: the avatar is usually just a target, not a person. It’s a demographic sketch, not a human experience.

What if, instead of trying to sell to the person, we actually understood the person?

That’s what the meditation was about — breaking the business-owner mindset and shifting into the customer’s perspective. Because when you can see your brand through your customer’s eyes, you start to realize what truly matters to them.

It’s not your tagline. It’s not your features. It’s how your brand fits into their story.

And when you build your business around that, your customers don’t just buy from you — they advocate for you. They become your marketers.

That’s the foundation of Customer-Centric Marketing.


Turning a Talk Into a Shared Platform

After the meditation, I introduced myself briefly, but instead of launching into a lecture or pulling up slides, I did something unexpected.

I invited people from the audience to come up front and share about their own companies.

You could feel the shift in the room. Heads lifted. Hands raised. The vibe went from passive listening to active engagement. One by one, people came forward — artists, business owners, designers, and founders — each sharing what they were working on and what inspired them.

And here’s what happened next:
1️⃣ The people I invited up will never forget that experience.
They didn’t just attend an event — they became part of it. They’ll always remember that day not as the time they “heard a talk,” but as the time they spoke at Radio Tulum.

2️⃣ The audience had multiple memorable moments.
Instead of the focus being on me, the entire room became part of the conversation. Each story was different — personal, emotional, inspiring — and every person in the audience connected with at least one. That made the experience richer, more authentic, and more memorable than any keynote ever could.

3️⃣ I didn’t lose authority — I gained it.
By sharing the stage, I didn’t diminish my expertise. I amplified it. After each speaker shared, I summarized key takeaways and tied their experiences back to Customer-Centric Marketing. Instead of being the “star,” I became the connector — the person who made sense of the collective story.

4️⃣ The marketing happened organically.
After the event, each person who spoke went home and told their networks, “I spoke at Radio Tulum.” They posted photos, tagged the event, and shared clips. They weren’t promoting me directly, but they were extending my message in the most authentic way possible.

And that’s exactly how Customer-Centric Marketing works.

When you elevate others, they remember you. When you give them a platform, they amplify your brand.


The Power of Shared Platforms

The traditional mindset in marketing is simple: get attention, hold attention, and talk about yourself for as long as possible.

But that’s not how trust is built.

In a world full of noise, the brands that stand out are the ones that use their platforms to elevate others.

Think about it this way:
- When a customer feels seen, they become loyal.

- When a community feels heard, it becomes engaged.

- And when people feel valued, they become advocates — not because you asked them to, but because they want to.


That’s the deeper truth I wanted to demonstrate that day in Tulum. It’s not about control. It’s about connection.

Customer-Centric Marketing means asking, “How can I use my platform to help others grow?”

That can look like:
- Featuring customer stories on your website instead of just product photos.

- Inviting clients to co-host webinars or podcasts with you.

- Turning your retail space into a community hub where your customers can network, collaborate, and thrive.

Or even — like in Tulum — inviting your audience to come up and share the spotlight.


Because here’s what happens when you share your platform: people remember the feeling. They remember the moment. And they tell others.

That’s organic marketing. That’s community building. That’s what makes brands magnetic.

Seeing Through the Customer’s Eyes

That simple guided meditation taught me something profound:
Most entrepreneurs think they know their customer. But few have ever truly seen through their customer’s eyes.

When you do, everything changes.

You start to see what they value most — and it’s rarely what you assumed. You see the frustrations, the insecurities, the moments of joy. You understand how your brand fits into their journey.

And once you build your brand around what motivates your client — not what motivates your sales — something amazing happens.

Your customers become your best marketers.

Because when someone feels truly understood, they don’t just buy from you — they advocate for you. They talk about you. They share your story because they see themselves in it.

That’s not manipulation. That’s human connection.

And that’s the difference between marketing to people and marketing with people.


A Simple Question for You

Every business has a platform — a space, a stage, a following, an audience. The question is: what are you doing with it?

Are you using it to talk about yourself?
Or are you using it to elevate the people who made it possible for you to exist in the first place?

Customer-Centric Marketing isn’t about adding another campaign, program, or testimonial system. It’s about adopting a new mindset — one that values human connection over conversion rates, empathy over ego, and partnership over promotion.

The more you share your platform, the stronger your brand becomes.
The more you elevate others, the more your message spreads.
And the more you see through your customer’s eyes, the more they’ll choose to see through yours.


Closing Thought

That day in Tulum wasn’t just a speaking opportunity — it was a reminder.

It reminded me that leadership isn’t about spotlighting yourself; it’s about lighting the path for others.
It reminded me that real marketing isn’t about shouting louder; it’s about listening better.

And it reminded me that the most powerful form of promotion isn’t paid — it’s earned, through the trust and stories of the people you serve.

Customer-Centric Marketing is about giving others the mic.

Because when you do… they’ll sing your praises for years to come.


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