Relationship Marketing is sort of the buzz word these days. You hear it everywhere you go with almost every kind of media. The question is do you really understand what it means and how to create great relationships with your prospects and clients.
It's often been said that people buy from people they know, like and trust. This statement gets truer with each passing year as people are more and more skeptical.
So, the question is how to really build this know, like, and this trust factor, so people are more likely to invest in your products and services as opposed to going somewhere else?
One of the things to look at and think about is how you start the relationship with a prospect. Do you do it by immediately trying to get them to invest in a product or service (this is typically called one-step marketing or sales process), or do you attract people to you with a free offer where you wow them with great content and give them a reason to want to know more about you, your company and even your products and services?
It's always interesting especially on social media when you friend or follow someone and the first thing that happens is they send you a message or post on your wall trying to get you to business with them or buy something from them. You do not know what they do, they essentially know nothing about you, or what you do, but they are sure they can help you. It's laughable, but it happens almost every day.
Building a relationship with your prospects and clients takes time and too many business owners are not willing to invest the time it takes to build that relationship. We live in a society that wants instant gratification and that really works against the business owner who is not willing to invest some time to build a great relationship with clients.
It takes a long-term attitude and approach to really build and keep up a loyal relationship with your clients. The pay off can be worth it, both in terms of the relationship and the money you make. When you actually take time to build a real relationship with a client, that client feels a connection to you, a loyalty to you, that gives you many advantages, like:
· They will invest more money with you over their lifetime as a client
· They will be your client longer
· They will consume your products and services, which means that they will want more and more of what you have (provided you are giving them good content and valuing them well)
· They will refer others to you
· They will be more likely to ascend through your funnel into your more programs, events and coaching
· You have more time and opportunity to make a real impact and difference in their business and personal lives
A great way to really build this relationship with your clients is to communicate with them in a variety of media on a regular basis. You know you have made an impact when you start getting clients and prospects who send messages inquiring if your Ezine or blog post is later than they expected, or if they have not heard from you on one of the social networks for a while.
People are watching you and what you're doing in your business and you never know who you're affecting and how or when the time will be right for them to make a decision that it's time for them to get involved with you.
It may happen because of a particular blog post, or social media message. It might happen because they especially liked a note you put in your Ezine, or because you just announced an event and they have waited to meet you in person.
Consistent, good quality content that is interesting to the person you are communicating to in the media that they want to get it from, over some time will create a relationship that has the opportunity to build over time and turn into a lasting friendship and there is no better time than now to start building those kinds of relationships.
