Business owners everywhere use marketing tactics every week and every month to tell the world about their mission and their products or services. Without marketing not a single soul would know you have a business, let alone buy from you.
Why? People buy from businesses they know, like, and trust. They want to know that you’re a real person with real feelings instead of someone who only cares about making money. They want to know you’re not a scam artist who will take their money without providing the product or service they paid for. They want to hear recommendations from others who have worked with you to be sure your business delivered what it promised.
People want a relationship with you before they buy.
Relationship-based marketing gives you:
1. Visibility
In order to have a relationship with a single person or large audience, you need to interact with them. Get to know THEIR likes and dislikes, know what problems they are experiencing, and think about how you can help them solve their problem. In order to learn this information, you need to be consistent with your interactions, whether on social media or in real life.
2. Expertise
Do you share your knowledge with your audience, or do you save that only for paying customers? Sharing your knowledge, experience, free ebooks and other information will help position you as a knowledgeable authority figure and an expert in their field who cares about helping others. Sharing on social media, podcasts, YouTube videos, blogs, or writing an ebook or short report are all ways to increase your visibility and expertise.
3. A stellar reputation
As you interact with people and become an authority figure, your audience will naturally form an opinion about you. If you over-deliver with your products or services, your reputation will continue to shine. Having a stellar reputation will help shorten the length of time it takes for you to earn the trust of your audience or new followers.
4. Happy and enthusiastic fans
You’ll know you’ve made it when previous customers are clamoring for your latest product and tell all their friends how wonderful you are! This is the ultimate result of relationship marketing and worth all the time and effort it takes.
One key thing to remember is to never stop the process of building relationships. Like gears in a clock, you must find a way to consistently interact, show your expertise, improve your reputation and take care of your happy fans. Keep these gears working to consistently grow your business for years to come.