Your message is clear. You’ve targeted your ideal prospect. And your offer is irresistible. But you’re still not getting the responses you need!
If this sounds like your problem, your marketing is missing an essential ingredient: stickiness.
A great offer is the cornerstone of good marketing, but unless your prospects know, like and trust you, they may pass on it — selecting a less valuable offer from a bigger name business instead.
What can you do to make your marketing stick better? Read on…
Build trust
If you want people to trust you, you’ve got to demonstrate consistency and reliability. Trustworthiness must permeate every aspect of your business, from branding to marketing, in every interaction with prospects and customers.
Here’s two things to focus on:
- One big promise. Think of it as your mission or unique selling proposition (USP). What one thing do you promise your customers? Every product and every branch of your business should reflect this overarching promise.
- One voice. Adopt one voice that communicates the personality of your business. Then make sure every communication (online, over the phone or in print) reflects that choice. Don’t come off as schizophrenic. Develop a brand personality, and use it to attract your ideal prospects.
(A strong brand personality is essential to building trust because it helps people feel that they know you. Just make sure the personality is appropriate for the product your sell and that it resonates with your ideal customers.)
Build familiarity
Familiarity grows naturally as people see you impacting your industry. It isn’t an overnight thing. It takes time. People need to see you regularly: in their inbox, in their search results and in their mailbox too, if possible.
To do this, focus on integrated (and automated) marketing.
- Get your message in front of your ideal prospect. Some ideas: Create a blog. Write posts on other people’s blogs. Write press releases. Advertise. Send direct mail. Create a valuable autoresponder series that people must sign up for. Offer an e-newsletter that’s sent out daily or weekly.
- Multiple touches. Especially when you’re trying to build familiarity, you need to get in front of people daily. As you become better known, you can allow more time between your communications. But plan on frequent, repeat touches: It often takes seven to 10 marketing messages to make an impression, build familiarity and tear down all vestiges of buyer resistance.
Build relationship
Great customer service and accessibility — done consistently — will help you build a loyal fan base. But it has to be genuine. People are too smart to be fooled by self-serving, take-your-money-and-run marketing.
And remember, it costs less to market to existing customers than it does to acquire new customers. So try to build long-lasting relationships. Here’s how to do that:
- Offer value in every touch. The only reason people buy things is because they need to solve a problem. The better you solve their problems, the more they’ll appreciate you. Make sure you focus on customer needs (not yours). And always give a call to action.
- Be accessible. Make it easy for people to get in touch with you. Whether by phone, email or social media, do your best to be helpful and friendly. Make it a pleasure to do business with you, and they’ll keep coming back for more.
photo credit: stevendepolo
