Forget Marketing - Focus on Relationships

Many professionals have a problem with marketing.  Well, let me clarify that point:  They have a problem with what they THINK marketing is.   Many [rpfessionals only view marketing as a member of their peer group plastering his face on the side of a bus or sending out some cheesy flyer to the public.  Technically that is marketing.   But it is crappy marketing. My definition of marketing is a little different than the screaming loudmouth on late night TV telling you to call 1-888-4 sale.

Professional marketing is the process you use to build relationships with your clients.  Good relationships are built on a foundation of trust.  Trust requires clear, direct, valuable communication.   

Here are four easy steps you can follow to build positive relationships through marketing.  Start by imagining yourself in a face to face conversation with a prospective client.  Imagine you are having a direct conversation with them.  Follow these steps during the conversation and you will have the beginning of a positive relationship.  It does not matter if this conversation takes place in a written document or in an audio or video message.  The fundamentals of good marketing are the same.  They are the building blocks of a good relationship.

Say Something Valuable

Much of the marketing we see every day has no value.  It simply screams features and benefits at the audience.  Good professional marketing will provide the audience with something of value.  This is why I prefer educational marketing.  The audience invests time in digesting the message and they are better off because they did.  Provide value to your audience and they will invite you to provide them with more value in the future.

Stimulate Intellectual Curiosity

Being boring is the number one sin in marketing.  If someone is taking time to read your information or watch your video or listen to you speak, you need to be moderately entertaining.   Ask questions that get them thinking.  Share information they can use.  Open their eyes and minds to new ideas by telling a story or sharing a past experience.    

Evoke Emotion

How do you feel about what you do for a living?  Are you passionate?  Is that passion apparent to the people who consume your marketing material?  Do people feel a certain way after they read what you have written or after they watch or listen to what you have recorded? 

Most of us want people to like us.  That is how relationships start.  People do business with other people they know, like and trust.  Once they know you, they have to develop positive feelings for you in order for the relationship to advance.  Show them how you feel and they will reciprocate.

Invite a Response

People always respond to marketing.  Sometimes they respond by changing the channel or by throwing the letter into the garbage can.  Sometimes they respond by simply moving on to reading something else.  Why not invite your prospective client to respond a certain way?   Ask him to go to a specific website for more information.  Ask him to come to your seminar.  Ask him to call your office for an appointment.  Help him take the next step by pointing out what the next step is.

These four simple steps are applicable in every form of marketing from a one-to-one conversation to a campaign to millions of people. 

Have a great week.

Eileen Burns