It’s official – everyday millions of businesses are sabotaging their own results and cheating themselves out of additional profits by violating a simple rule of marketing – connection. Let me explain – a few years ago, a study carried out by auditing company BDO LLP predicted that business failure rates would increase by 10% over the next two years…
And the only businesses that would survive would be those businesses who have ‘a strong customer proposition’ – regardless of which kind of business you’re in. What does this mean in practical terms?
Simply put, it means that unless you’re in the business of educating, helping and being committed to connecting and engaging with your prospects, you’ll fail to survive. Now I want you to take a long hard look at your own business model.
What are you doing to establish a connection with your clients and your prospects? How are you treating your prospects when they come into your world? How are you using your expertise to HELP them make an informed decision?
The truth is that unless you establish a deep connection with your prospects by helping them understand what you do and understand how you can help them, the likelihood of them going to your competitors who DO offer deeper value is very high. It’s known as ‘relationship marketing’ or ‘value based marketing’ and is something that people in the good old days were very good at.
When I was a child, my mother would go to the fishmonger on the high street if she wanted fish. The fishmonger would advise her which type of fish was best for which dish. He would make suggestions on how to cook the fish for the best results. In other words, the fishmonger would do a form of consulting and it was all a very personalized service.
Fast forward to the modern day world where convenience and speed are key. Now don’t get me wrong, people still value speed and convenience, but now the problem is that the human touch is missing. You can walk into any large supermarket and buy fish readily in the frozen food aisle.
Of course you have the option of going to the fish counter if they have it, but you also have the choice of speaking to the fishmonger…and you’ll pay extra for their service.
People who value the expertise of the fishmonger will happily pay for the benefit of having freshly caught fish prepared in store and can ask for advice on how to cook it well. But they need to be given a choice.
You might be wondering ‘So what’s this got to do with my business?’
Let me tell you. If you’re not actively trying to build a relationship with your prospects and you’re only interested in selling to them, it’s going to eventually backfire. People no longer respond to constant email messages telling them to buy this to get rich or get well or anything else of that nature.
Do that and your potential prospects will hit the unsubscribe button faster than you ever thought possible. Your first and foremost move should always be to come from a place of help and service to your potential prospect.
Be open and honest from the outset – you’re there to help your prospects have a better understanding of HOW they can be helped. Always remember, it’s not about YOU – it’s about them. I’m not saying that you should not pitch to them at all – but what I AM saying is that you should establish the value of what you do FIRST before asking for their trust in the form of a sale.
In essence, this is all this really is – an exchange of energy (in the form of money) for the trust in your business. And you have to pre-sell your services and deliver on that trust. What tips and advice can you give them, free training calls and reports can you send them that will position YOU as the authority in your industry and enable them to make a choice based on ‘natural selection’?
If you remember these factors always when doing your marketing, you’ll create a community of fans who choose to stay with you based on the value you offer rather than end up collecting digital dust in their spam folder.
