Online marketing is by far one of the greatest resources available for spreading your message and growing your business.
Through social media, email marketing campaigns and blogging, etc., online marketing keeps you open for business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This allows instant communication between you and your clients and costs next to nothing compared to other marketing strategies.
Truthfully, it is easy to forget that every eyeball that reads your blog post, Facebook update or email newsletter belongs to a living, breathing, feeling human being - a person who has come to you because they have a specific problem that they want you to solve.
In the midst of all your marketing, polishing up what you want to say and making sure you hit all the right pain points, it's easy to forget that you're talking to people. These important people conduct business with other people - whom they know, like and trust.
Think about the strongest relationships you have in your life. It might be a friend, a spouse, or a business associate. How did that relationship develop? It likely didn't happen overnight, but took time for the two of you to get to know each other.
Strong relationships develop between people who share common interests, passions, or similar backgrounds. No doubt, you have spent a great deal of time with your closest family and friends. You have helped each other through challenges and listened to each other. You have found value in that time spent together and developed a strong bond of loyalty.
Developing relationships in your business involves the same type of commitment. You must give prospective clients a chance to get to know you, to like you, and most of all, to trust you.
Here are a few suggestions for what you can do to build strong (and profitable) relationships:
1. Be authentic - Show the REAL you, with all of your quirks and idiosyncrasies.
2. Be honest and diligent - If you say you are going to do something - DO IT!
3. Speak their language and show personal interest - Don't be so quick to market your product or service that you forget there is a person at the other end. Avoid pitchy marketing sales copy that makes the reader feel like all you care about is for them to click the "buy now" button.
4. Give your audience a chance to know you, to like you, and to trust you. Provide solution-focused content to your contacts and give them the support they are looking for.
5. Show compassion - Make your client feel like they are being listened to. Focus on being of service and, in an appealing way, offer your clients what they need. Help them feel like you know where they are coming from. Don't let the impersonal nature of online marketing leave your clients feeling disconnected.
6. Be patient - Remember that strong relationships take time. Put forth regular and consistent effort to build the relationship.
This week, I invite you to step back and take a look at your marketing efforts. Be objective. In whatever way you choose to market your business, how can you infuse more of a personal touch?
Adopt a new mindset around what it means to create strong business relationships and you will see doors of opportunity open up to you, as they never have before.