And there are plenty of fish in the sea. The good news? There are more prospects than ever (about 7 billion, give or take). The bad news? There are more competitors than ever, too.
The old days of marketing were based on scarcity. When there were only a handful of products or services in a category, all you had to do was get more attention than your competitors.
Today the tables have turned. It takes more than being flashy to generate business – and that’s a good thing. Instead of just trying to be the hottest product on the block, marketing means getting to know your customers and catering to their wants and needs. What was once superficial advertising has transformed into genuine business-to-buyer relationships, based on mutual benefit.
Think of it like dating – you are trying to woo prospects and then turn a one-time customer into a life-long relationship. The key to creating that kind of loyalty? Content. The messages you choose, the channels you use and the timeliness of delivery play a pivotal role in attracting and retaining customers. In short, content is courtship.
5 Stages of Boy/Girl Meets Business
- Pick up. While superficial awareness isn’t enough, brands still need to get noticed. It doesn’t have to be a flamboyant publicity stunt. It simply means putting your brand “out there” with clear intentions. Google Ads are the shining example of the era. Google painstakingly circumvents all the glamour of traditional advertising to provide searchers with concise, valuable information. Another example is subject lines of emails. There’s no imagery, nothing to pander to the lowest denominator. In fact, the more loud and flashy the subject line, the less likely it is to be opened.
- Listen. Good relationships are built on trust. Trust comes from sincerity. Sincerity comes through understanding. Understanding comes from listening. Your prospects are talking on social. Are you listening? Your prospects have a pattern of behavior online and on mobile. Are you picking up cues from this digital body language? The more you know about what your customers are saying and doing, the more you can offer the right information at the right time.
- Provide. Content is a gift. You wouldn’t bring flowers to a date who has a pollen allergy. If you don’t listen to your customers, you won’t know what they enjoy or can’t tolerate. Remember, selflessness goes a long way. Provide advice. Provide samples and options. Provide a way out for prospects who aren’t ready to commit. Provide multiple ways to reach you. Provide varying depths of information. Then wait, monitor and reflect. Nothing will turn off a prospect more than over-communication. For example, a friend of mine recently explored a company’s website, looking at basic products and pricing. Within 72 hours, she received 12 promotional emails. Yes, 12. (Needless to say a sale didn’t happen, and odds are a sale never will.) This is when listening matters most. Like dating, knowing when not to dominate the conversation is just as important as when to contribute. How long would you stay in a relationship where you couldn’t get a word in or worse, couldn’t get a little time to yourself? There has to be give and take.
- Persuade. At some point, you’ve got to seal the deal or be trapped in the business equivalent of the “friend zone.” Companies in the friend zone are used purely for information, advice and comparison shopping. How many times have you been to a bookstore to peruse the best-sellers only to order a copy from Amazon? Exactly. Persuading a customer to buy is a lot like leaning in for the first kiss. One, you have to know the prospect is interested. Two, the timing has to be right (that is, the customer needs to be ready to buy). Three, you have to work up the courage and ask for the sale. If you’ve followed the previous steps, the close should be a lot less intimidating. Content can help. Is there a limited-time offer? Is there an incentive for buying right now? Is it easy to navigate the check-out? A complicated check-out process is like having bad breath. You’re so close and then “Whoa! Blech!” Content should effortlessly and reassuringly guide the prospect to the end goal.
- Stay Close. What happens after the sale is equally as important as what leads up to it. Staying close doesn’t mean jumping into promotional emails begging for the next sale, but it could mean offering complimentary products. Asking about the sale process. Sharing product tips. Or offering customer support for any questions. After-the-sale communications must always, always, include genuine appreciation. The customer needs to know he or she is not just another transaction. And they aren’t. With CRM tools, you should know your customer by name. Imagine that. The digital age has given us many benefits. For business, the greatest gift of all might be the ability to start a relationship with customers on a first-name basis. And if you treat content as courtship? Well, it just might lead to happily ever after.
