STEPS TO COMPLETE IN THIS SECTION
- Watch Marie Forleo’s video to get you thinking about marketing customer love strategy
- Read the article below
- Complete the quiz below the article
1. Ask questions first. Before you launch into a hard sell, take the time to probe your prospect. Ask questions that will help your customer explain what he’s looking for. Once you know that information, it’s much simpler to show how your product or service can satisfy his wants or needs. Probing is fundamental to relationship building, and the more skilled you are at utilizing open and closed-ended questions, the stronger the relationship you will be able to create.
2. Court your clients. Selling is a lot like dating in that you have to woo customers and hope they return the attention. To get a potential customer to call you back, you have to hook them somehow. Consider emailing them an article you found interesting that’s related to their business and then give them time to respond. Whatever you do, be respectful of their busy schedule.
3. Talk about yourself. Another way to make it personal: Reveal something about yourself. Just be sure it’s something your customer can relate to and isn’t too personal. It’s pivotal to connect in a real way. In fact, according to a study [in] the Journal of Consumer Research, if a salesperson shares a birthday or a birthplace with you, you’re more likely to make a purchase from that salesperson and feel good about it.”
4. Really listen to the prospect. The smaller the size of your business, the more encounters you’ll have and the more opportunities you’ll have to listen to your customers.
5. Step away from your computer and smartphone. While it’s often much quicker and less stressful to email a potential customer, face-to-face meetings and networking are far more effective in creating meaningful connections.
6. Be patient. Like many important things in life, it takes patience to develop lasting customer relationships. Fight the urge to rush the process.
7. Show your personality. Be yourself, share your values and heart. People will love you for who you are just as much as what you do. Share your why! Let me people know why you do what you do. It puts meaning behind your business.
Marketing Trends around customer relations
- Personalization
Segmenting your content to reach different types of audience members based on their preferences, habits, etc. The most common form of this strategy is through lists, where certain content gets sent to certain types of users based on which lists they’ve opted into. In a world of too much content and not enough time, personalization is a huge win for brands looking to earn the attention of their consumers.
- Purpose Driven Marketing
One of the most effective ways to extend your story is to give it a feel-good element. Brands that partner with nonprofits or charities, or set up internal programs that “give back” in some way (TOMS shoes comes to mind) have a much stronger presence because their story resonates with the hearts of consumers.
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