Marketing, Building Relationships and Your Why?
The Importance of your Marketing Why
In my blog “Reputation silent killers, purpose and integrity in Marketing | Perception equals reality”
I talked about how important it is to know your “why” behind your purpose in business. Knowing your “why” will help keep you going in those times when business is slow, when you’ve been up all night with the baby or when your motivation needs a boost. Next to knowing your “why” the next most important step in a successful Marketing plan is:
Building Marketing Relationships
When you put the relationship with your customer first it makes the customer feel important, this in turns gives them a sense of security that helps them feel like they are going to get quality products or services. And having an established relationship will give your business a lifelong, loyal, customer who will tell others about you. You can’t force this though building relationships always takes time especially in marketing.
Giving Value in Marketing: Building Relationships
Giving value to your customer in marketing is a key designed to get the customer to come to you looking for information.
It basically is a matter of making it personal. Allow the customer to feel important and that what matters to them is important to you by providing the solution to whatever it is they need.
Do not make it about money. You need them to see you as a person that gives value to their life regardless of whether you make money.
A customer that feels you care will come to you and want what you have to offer. Doing business with you will cause feelings of value in them because they are supporting the “good guy” and getting what they want at the same time.
Marketing and Technology
Technology today allows us to reach out to our Marketing prospects without ever seeing them in person. This can expand the area we can cover and enlarge our relationship base world wide.
Some ways you can use to reach out are:
- Posting quotes in social media sites and on your blogs.
- Creating notes on social sites such as Facebook about important topics that give value.
A few great topics for someone just developing their online Marketing presence are:
Blogs about staying safe on the internet, things that are funny or interesting, or simply talking about things of interest to you like how to cook or garden. Using a blog for your business allows your followers to find you easily, follow important things about the business, and connect on a more personal level which really fosters the customer/business relationship.
A Simple Marketing Rule
I have learned that there is only one simple thing to remember if you are to be successful 
with building relationships and that is give 95% value {content that is important to the customer} and 5% take, {posting a call to action such as an invite to go to your business website.}
This puts the customer in control of when and how to view what you have to offer and is less offensive. Giving value can take a little longer than spamming but is much more effective in the long run.
Marketing to build Relationships
You can build your Marketing business through building relationships. It may take a little longer, but once you establish yourself and your purpose in the lives of your target audience, the rewards make it more than worth the time and effort. People will appreciate you more and in turn spread the word about you. One day you will find your business is exploding, almost taking on a life of its own.
Which is a much more effective way to build a long term business with staying power than the old school method of “It’s all in the numbers, spam your market to reach the masses!” Now with your new found Marketing skills you can ask them:
“So how’s that going for you?” Then start using your new Marketing Skills to build a relationship with them. Who knows, maybe they will soon be asking you what you are doing and wanting to follow in your footsteps.
Ciao Everyone!
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P.S. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
This was excellent Catherine! The “why” is the most important reason behind a businesses success. I think about Apple and why I buy their products. They believe in what they do, their employees believe in it and I believe it too. If a company, blog or business can’t tell their “story” about why they do what they do, they are simply just trying to sell me.
I remember when TIVO came out and how cool their product was, but I never really understood why they created it. Then when other cable companies developed the same technology and showed what I can do using their product, it made it more believable, fun to use and I wanted it bad.
Another example is Blackberry and their long demise. I use to be a huge believer in BB and their products. Once Apple came out, they started to falter, and fall behind when they should have did whatever they could to revamp, change and move in the direction everyone else was going. Instead they started to not “believe” that their product wasn’t any better and so did everyone else. No confidence.
Hence, why I can’t wait to get out of this contract and move over to Apple. I want to buy from a company that not only stands behind their product, believes in what they do and knows “why” they do what they do. Excellent post Cat! As usual girl you always bring it home!
Sonia recently posted..Blogger Spotlight: Nicole Moulton, herSocialNetwork.com
Twitter: catherinealexa
June 7, 2012 at 10:59 am
Hey hey Sonia,
I love your insights into Apple! This is such a perfect example to share. Ya know, I had a similar experience when TIVO first came out. I think I just didn’t “get it” at the time either. It seems like the “social proof” of seeing other companies promoting a spin-off gave it credibility for me too. Interesting how that works.
I also had similar issues with BlackBerry. For years I would only buy BlackBerry, but with the release of Android and the iPhones, it seems like BlackBerry just chose to stay in the dark ages! I gave them one last shot when OS7 came out and they released the 9900 series, but it just paled in comparison to what Android and Apple brought to the forefront. I had never considered this to be a lack of confidence on RIM’s part, but I think that it’s an interesting suggestion you bring up here. – Certainly thought-provoking.
It’s a good thing for consumers to “feel good” about what we’re getting for the hard earned money we spend. I consider consumerism as a form of voting, so I know I always like to feel as confident as possible about what I enable with my dollars.
Thanks so much for sharing such great personal examples Sonia! I really appreciate it and hope that you’re having an outstanding week!
Cat
Thank You
The given information is very effective
i will keep updated with the same
Twitter: catherinealexa
June 11, 2012 at 11:27 am
Hi Indra,
So nice to meet you. I’m happy that you enjoyed the info here and hope that it helps you in your business! Please let me know if I can help with anything and do come back again soon!
Best regards,
Cat Alexandra
Hi Cat, this is so true about posting “other things” and not just about products and prices. I noticed it on one of our retail Facebook pages. We would post sales and discounts and get no likes. Not a one! Then I started posting some quotes about their industry and got a lot of likes and more people to like the page after others shared it around 100+. It really was an eye-opener for me. I have read that people once liked Fan pages for the discounts but we haven’t found that to be true yet. The seem to like the fun stuff that takes them away from their daily grind. Sonia really makes a good point too about Apple and how they know their why. Great topic!
Lisa recently posted..Can Social Media Heal Your Scars?
Twitter: catherinealexa
June 7, 2012 at 11:09 am
Hey there Lisa
Great to see your smiling face!
Thanks for sharing your insight into mixing up the marketing with some fun things that people enjoy like quotes. All this sociability in marketing seems to unite people a bit more than just sales pitch. When we can apply something more universal that causes people to think or feel more connected because it elicits a response from them (sharing, commenting, liking, et cetera), we make ourselves a bit more memorable and personable.
I think you summed it up perfectly in saying that: They seem to like the fun stuff that takes them away from their daily grind.
I also loved Sonia’s insights about how Apple is leading the way by letting the why drive the machine!
Hope you’re having an excellent week!! Thanks for the great comment!
Cat
Cat it certainly sounds like you’ve nailed this whole marketing thing. I agree with you on all these points and especially about providing value. There are more and more options every day for choosing a company or person to do business with, so it’s more important than ever to be valuable.
The other thing that I think is becoming of the most vital importance is moving far away from “reaching the masses” and narrowing your niche as far as it can go. Thirteen years after starting my business I’m still weeding people out and getting super granular about who my customer base is. There is so much noise so you’ve got to create your value, your persona, and be able to capitalize on your own uniqueness so you can appeal to people who “get” that instead of trying to appeal to the masses. reminds me of that book “Unpopular”. Now that’s the way to go!
Good job on showing you value here and how much you understand the important parts of marketing.
Carol Lynn recently posted..Build A Better Website: 8 Tips For A Contact Page That Converts
Twitter: catherinealexa
June 7, 2012 at 12:11 pm
Hey there Carol Lynn,
Always so nice to see you.
I love your comment about narrowing one’s niche. This can be an interesting process for sure. I can’t claim to have widdled mine down to the granular level, as you call it, but over the past year, I have noticed that things have become so much more focused. My point of reference for this is in the amount of traffic that converts into money. It’s a cool thing to have your Eureka-moments where you discover that the work you’ve been doing is indeed “paying” off.
I haven’t read “Unpopular” but did just look it up, seems like one to add to my list of to-read-books-2012! Thanks for mentioning it!
Cat
Oh, oh, oh… Good one Cat, I agree as well.
I’ve often heard people say that the reason people quit this industry is because their “why” isn’t big enough. For instance a lot of the top income earners are where they are because some of them were on the verge of bankruptcy while others were fixing to lose their home. Think that will get you to doing things you normally wouldn’t? They had no choice but to step outside their comfort zone and do things they weren’t use to. Their why was pretty darn huge.
I’ve learned that although building relationships is a slower process, it’s the road worth taking. I know for a fact that I would much rather work with someone who has my back then someone who won’t be there for me. Or I’d rather purchase a product from someone I know because I know I’m helping them out down the road and they would do the same for me if I needed them but it’s not a requirement.
Breaking up what you share and having fun with this is what it’s all about. Do you want to only see plug after plug from someone when you visit their page on Facebook or their blog? Not me and as you know, I have a pretty good sense of humor so I love to make people smile and inspire them as well.
Great advice Cat as always. We’re all learning from you.
Have a great weekend.
~Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted..How To Blacklist Spammers And Intruders From Invading Your Blog
Twitter: catherinealexa
June 7, 2012 at 1:00 pm
Dear Adrienne,
You always know how to bring some perspective to the comments!
I agree with you on the need for a “darn huge” why! If it ain’t big enough to move some emotions (yes, tears count), it’s most likely not enough to push us to be productive when our energy is low, the chips are down, and life is giving us a whomping. I think it all boils down to the emotional leverage of the why and that’s what makes them BIG!
I think we share a similar philosophy on building relationships and who we do business with. Some of the people I work with today are people who I have 10+ years of relationship all ready. It’s kind of like choosing that ideal family for ourselves…the ones you just love a lot and get along with, share similar values with, and who you just know are watching your back as much as you are watching theirs.
What you said about breaking up what we share is such sound advice. I think that we have to be open to mixing things up so that we’re not just seen as pitchsters or as constant goofballs. It’s a delicate negotiation to figure out what works for us, but I think that adopting a healthy attitude about discovering what mix works for us is a really great idea. You truly seem to have perfected the mix for yourself. I find that I’m always taking a juicy nugget of wisdom and/or a dose of smiles from you! – That sure does make it all go down nice!
Thank you so much for being such a generous spirit willing to share her wisdom and insights, Adrienne!
Cat
Relationship marketing is a topic that will never end, recently and after I launched my ebook, I found that the relationships I created during the first day I started blogging are worth it, they helped me to spread the word about my ebook and gave me a huge support.
marketing relationships could do a lot more than that
Faissal Alhaithami recently posted..Tutorial: How to connect your Facebook page with Pinterest account
Twitter: catherinealexa
June 8, 2012 at 10:47 am
Hi Faissal,
Great to see you!
I agree that relationship marketing is something that will certainly be around for some time! I’m not at all surprised that the relationships you have spent time nurturing showed you some value when it came time to spreading the word about your book! That’s how it should definitely work! Kudos to you!
Thanks for stopping by Faissal!
Cat
Hi Cat,
Your are definitely the marketing lady out there. This is an excellent explanation.
Relationships is everything and not only it’s almost impossible to pull people in your business without building relationships, but you can even drive them out when they’re in because of lack of maintaining the relationship or such relationship may have gone sour.
I know all about this because it happened to me, and I was just talking about this to a network marketer over Skype today. We should never take people for granted as long as we need them to build our business.
Thanks for this post, Cat
Sylviane Nuccio recently posted..A French Jewel – The Palais Idéal Of Facteur Cheval
Twitter: catherinealexa
June 11, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Dear Sylviane,
So great to see you!
I’m happy you enjoyed the explanation too!
I think you’re right that we must always keep our relationships on our radar. When we can be open to what kind of vibe we are sharing with others (and what is coming back in our direction), we can tailor our approach to keep things on a good level and you’re right, if we slack off on this, we could truly drive people away.
People are precious and we should always remember this. I try to keep that in mind a lot, while also giving my associates the benefit of the doubt first (it’s important to do because in the online world, it’s too easy to mistake action/inaction and being overly sensitive can also cause some chaos). If there are questions between people I think it’s always so good to reach out in some fashion and reconnect, rather than taking that person for granted.
Thanks for your great insights, Sylviane, you’re a valued person in my circle and this comment was one of many reasons why I appreciate your perspective so much!
Cat
Great post, Catherine. I really like your 95/5 rule and will definitely start using it on my websites. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and teaching me so many new things.
Chuck
Twitter: catherinealexa
June 13, 2012 at 10:32 am
Hi Chuck,
Great to hear from you.
Please, by all means, employ the 95/5 rule if you see the logic in it. You know how this all works – we must test and re-test to find out what’s working, keep copious records so you know what to do more or less of, then repeat the process!
Hope you are having an excellent week, Chuck! Reach out to me if I can help with anything!
Cat
In every field of business relationship is most important thing which takes the business to the next level.
Ehsan recently posted..5 Great Blogging Infographics To Enhance Your Knowledge of Blogging
Twitter: catherinealexa
June 15, 2012 at 7:48 pm
Hi Ehsan,
So nice to meet you! Thanks for your insightful comment and please do come again soon!
Cat Alexandra
Cat,
You really outline why a large amount of people, just don’t get it.
It doesn’t really matter what area of business you’re in. I’ll refer to make money online niche.
Where people think that you can just send countless sales emails everyday to their subscribers.
Lots of marketers go wrong by thinking about the situation from the wrong perspective. They are all about the money and don’t care less about what value they offer – they provide 0%. Like you say its about building a strong relationship and not about. I like your 95%, 5% rules, it gives longevity and more lasting results.
Simmeon recently posted..Case Study: Warrior Forum Increases Your Conversions and Sales!
Twitter: catherinealexa
June 12, 2012 at 11:10 pm
Thanks Simmeon! You are definitely right on track with your understanding of what causes a lot of marketers to go awry. We need more Marketers out there like you, that care about giving value.
Cat
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