Today’s marketing is all about building relationships with prospects and customers. Even if you’re not selling an “intimate” product or service, marketing has become very personal, a process of engagement that draws them in and keeps them focused on you until they’re ready to buy.
Burger King predicted the future when they created the slogan “have it your way.”
Successful marketing now depends on providing a total experience for customers. But how to do that? Here are five ideas pertinent to a wide range of B2B and B2C companies with divergent audiences.
Make it about them.
Post photos of customers using your products or services on your website, your blog, your Facebook page. Everyone secretly likes to seem themselves “in print,” and using customer pictures is a subtle form of testimonial. Third-party recommendations carry more weight than your own self-promotion.
Occasionally use your phone as, well, a phone. What could be more personal than calling a customer to talk for a few minutes (about them, of course)? You’ll learn more about them, and isn’t that a basic tenet of marketing these days? Ask their opinion and use their response to further personalize future messages to them.
Make it fun.
Geocaching is all the rage. It’s entertaining, engages people in an activity, generates plenty of buzz and works for products or services. Partner with complementary or neighboring businesses.
Use video.
Pictures are simply irresistible, especially when they move. And you don’t have to be George Lucas to take full advantage of YouTube. Just keep it short – tips, trivia, how-to, new ways to use your products, your team in action or at play. Always let good taste always be your guide.
Help them build their business.
Promoting customers and their companies by talking about them in your blog or social media builds appreciation and engagement throughout your marketing community. And helping customers or clients network with one another links your brand with other successful businesses and reinforces your standing as a trusted go-to resource for referrals.
When you help customers build their business, they can spend more – with you, of course.
Make them a winner.
Contests are almost as irresistible as pictures. Be sure to require a public response for eligibility, and share the winner(s) entries or stories with your entire marketing audience to create a circle of conversation.
What’s your “best-selling” engagement idea?
