What Does RELATIONSHIP Have To Do With It????

Dont worry this is not an article about candle light dinners and long walks in the park, unless your running a dating service or business.

A relationship has everything to do with online marketing, but it is hard for us to shift our minds to that mode when we are thinking business strategies. It takes getting to know a person and understanding that creating a relationship with a prospect to become a customer happens over a series of interactions. I can not tell you how many times in my business over the years that I did not build that solid of a relationship with someone and they did not stick around as a client for very long. Its sad and can be disheartening, but did you really give it you're all to really connect with them. Maybe you were so pre-occupied or blind, as I like to say to, by your own sales process or desperation to collect money. The result was you lost because you never took the tiny extra steps in being relational.

RABBIT TRAILS & PSYCHOLOGY

Marketing has taken rabbit trails all over the place in the last decade. It's time we get back to our roots and have a shift because what has taken place so far is a drift off course. A shift that helps us understand that marketing is psychology and if you understand anything about the psychology of humans the reality is things change in our society's way of thinking and feeling all the time. By all means, I am no psychology expert, but I am a guru at understanding how websites and online marketing can affect someone emotionally or mentally just based on my many years of experience in the digital marketing industry.

TECHNOLOGY MAKES MY DECISIONS

More and more, younger and younger we as humans are relying on technology to tell us how we should think, feel, function and even sometimes make decisions. That's why it is so important that when we market our products and services or solutions that we take the responsibility in the execution of it in a way that we are not just pushing our products or solutions onto some poor soul. Smothering them in the goo of your icky sales and manipulation tactics just to get to the greenbacks. I'm not saying in any way that we should not get paid. Just bringing to light the fact of what we should be doing to get more leads and customers is in our message.

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

You're probably saying to your self, "I have a great message." Ok, and you might have a great message, but how are you delivering it. Are you delivering it in a way that makes sense, or are you coming across like the hot dog guy at a baseball game? There has to be a place you recognize that taking responsibility in positioning your products and services to a prospect solves one of two things. One they need your stuff to solve their problem or second they need your stuff to make their life better. Sorry for the word stuff, but that seems to work in this sense.

LONG WALKS ALONG THE BEACH

You really can't do either until you understand their true position and where they are in their life at a certain moment. You will only get to know that by spending time with them and letting them talk more than you talking. Yes, I am the last person to say this as I talk a lot, but you need to listen. Not to just what they are saying, but what does their body language tell you and what does the tone sound like in their voice. It's a superpower to take extreme notice and make note of those things, but don't misuse it. We all as business owners and salespeople need to take responsibility to seek relationship by actually caring about the prospect. Don't use your superpower to manipulate people to get money, but use money to love people, to serve them with what you have to offer. Use your superpower and resources of creating, developing, and cultivating to build a relationship with your prospects and clients and the money will come.

SOME WILL REBEL

Now is every prospect or client going to return or reciprocate the relational attitude that your influencing into the deal, project or service? The answer is NO. Some of them will pretend and then at the expense of not hurting your feelings or tell you that your product is crap or your service is way lacking. They will just smile at you and then just buy and move on and fade away. Literally like a flash in the pan. I have never understood this, but I think it is because some prospects and clients are uncomfortable with actually having a professional relationship. People do not like to be sold, but they love clever negotiating and a confident sales person. They can smell bull$&^t a mile away. Case and point when discussing a website strategy and solution with one of my prospects, I was fumbling over my words and making mistakes left and right in my explanation of our process. I had a clear plan and approach but just fumbled a lot early on in my business. Well, I ended up closing the deal, all because I valued the relationship and was honest. That client is still with me almost 12 years later and is a friend. The number of times I have made mistake with this client over the last 12 years are not many, but enough that some might think why have they stayed with me. I have and worked hard to build that relationship and others just like it that have lasted and become great friendships.

THE VALUE OF IT ALL

Now, moving forward you need to be aware of the CLV (Customer Lifetime Value). CLV helps you make important business decisions about sales, marketing, product development, and customer support. CLV actually increases by way of relationship and not some cheesy manipulative sales tactic. 

Heres the breakdown:

• Marketing: How much should I spend to acquire a customer? You need to have a good relationship with your customer or you will spend too much or not enough.
• Product: How can I offer products and services tailored for my best customers? Well you need to get to know your customer. What their thoughts and feelings are.
• Customer support: How much should I spend to service and retain a customer? If you want to keep them around and continue buying from you, you will asses that amount through relationship and spending time with them. Don't waste money on leads that wont spend time with you. Always operate from the standpoint that your there to benefit and serve them. By doing that you will weed out the non-commitals.
• Sales: What types of customers should sales reps spend the most time on trying to acquire? Its all based on your criteria of what make a ideal customer for you which is discovered through getting to know them on a real level. Please don't be robotic or cold. You will lose your marketing money this way.

Focus on being relational in all your marketing and interactions and you will increase the chances of them becoming a longterm buyer and a new friend. All in all, increasing your revenue.