Relationship Building

Back to: Business Planning 2 Marketing Basics: Video Course

 

Please note: the sound on this recording is a little low, you may wish to listen through headphones.

Now we have an idea of what channels we’d like to use, let’s think about how to use them in the most effective way. ​

​Marketing is a tool we use to create awareness in our business and then maintain that interest over time.  ​

​To create awareness, we do this by drawing attention by consistent visible branding which we then compound by serving timely and interesting campaigns to our target audience via our chosen platforms. Things like promotions, images, brief impactful headlines, giveaways, etc. Anything that helps us get those multiple touches that the audience needs until we are top of mind.  ​

​After we get the attention of our audience, we are now looking to convince the audience of our expertise and our ability to solve their problems. We want to give them a reason to hang around. Still targeting them as a whole we also seek to get more specific and treat them as individuals. Our aim is to achieve personal engagement or build a relationship with them. ​

​So whether that means answering their questions on our website or inviting them to a facebook group where they get to talk directly to us, there are a few approaches we can use across all channels to help with this process of relationship building: ​

• ​The first is building “Know. Like. Trust” principles across channels.​
• Using content to Tell Stories about us, our business, our products or services, and customers​
• Maintaining an ideal of Being Useful to our customer, clients, or prospects at all times – even if they are not actively buying at that point.​

Let’s look at each of these principles one at a time. ​

​Know. Like. Trust. ​

The first element of the Know. Like. And Trust. principle is to enable your prospects to develop a familiarity with your brand and a recognition of your business. That’s done by creating consistent brand messaging, images, colours, etc. And then ensuring that the branding is consistently visible on the platforms they frequent. ​

​The second element – Like – is all about how you present yourself. Are you easy to do business with? Do you answer questions in a timely way? Are you authentic to your branding – or do you come across as fake or salesy? Providing information on your website, answering questions on social media, being present and friendly in your retail store, all help to generate this feeling of Like for your customers or prospects.​

​Finally, we are looking to generate Trust. To do this, look to the quality of your products or services, after sale support, good value, consistency of opening hours, online support, answering Contact Form questions within 24 hours, etc. In other words, do you do what you say you will do when you will do it? Do your services stand up to your promises?​

Story Telling​

The second way to bring in relationship building principles across your channels is to use your content – words and images – to tell stories about your business. Story telling is a mechanism used as long as humans have interacted so it is very familiar those prospects you want to consider your products. ​

​It is useful because it: ​

• Aids memory (people will remember you)​
• Will generate engagement (people will want to ask you more and tell you their stories in return)​
• Demonstrate you are human – just like them.​

You can tell stories through your social media posts, as inserts in your leaflets, having an Our Story page on your website, or through anecdotes you use during networking or speaking opportunities. ​

Being Useful

​The last way of building a lasting relationship with your audience is to Be Useful. Being Useful is not just and in the moment action, but a principle you can build into your cross-channel marketing, over and over again. The point of it is that you will become extremely memorable to your prospects and clients. It also demonstrates your integrity and respect to people, regardless of whether they ultimately become customers. By being memorable and respected in return, your business reputation will spread and that magical word-of-mouth referral will start to work very well for you. ​

​Here are some ways you can be useful across your marketing channels: ​

• ​Provide bite sized info. in multiple formats so whichever way your audience likes to consume information, you are providing it in way that fits.​
• Set your business in a larger context of an industry or social movement or technological breakthrough, etc, so your audience understands it’s benefits better.​
• Allow people to independently evaluate how a product or service can resolve their problems via the extra information you provide for free (content on your site, free downloads, comparison videos, etc).​
• Give your client easy access to your business. Good opening hours, 24 hour website, or customer service.​
• Provide referrals to other products or services that may suit them better. ​

​Remember to include these principles into all your chosen marketing channels to ensure each touch your audience receives builds on the next, reiterating your marketing message each time. 

Now, let’s move on to Creating Our Year 1 Marketing Plan.