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Five Keys to Creating Customer Relationships that Sell
I hate sales. I don’t know why, but every time I pick up the phone my whole body starts sweating. When I try to convince strangers to join an event, buy something, or even support a cause I begin to stammer and take to rubbing my hands. I can’t even begin to describe the myriad of nervous habits I employ when I’m talking to people. Knowing all of these things, you might wonder why I decided it was a good idea to take a job selling rubber mulch for my cousin’s landscaping business a few summers ago. As you can imagine, it was a disaster. I didn’t sell a thing. I had zero training, no real position, and no idea what to do except call golf courses and stumble through a few pricing structures.
Why was it so hard for me? I think the reason is simple: no one likes to be contacted by strangers. People don’t want to buy from people they don’t know or trust. The only way to be trusted by people is to get to know them, and the easiest way to do that is inbound marketing. Inbound marketing is about bringing the customer to you by meeting needs and forming relationships. If you want loyal, lasting customers, you must to have these 5 essential elements in your marketing campaign.
1. Content Creation
Customers want answers. They want to buy from companies that add value to their lives, free of charge. Gone are the days of “build it and they will come.” Today, consumers will only buy from companies they trust, companies they feel they have a personal connection with. The easiest way to connect with the consumer is to add value by creating content that is relevant to them.
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2. Lifecycle Marketing
Not every customer is ready to buy right now. In fact, even from your existing customer base you will find people in different stages of interaction. Follow-up is perhaps the most important step in the sales process. Your existing customers need to know you still value them and your leads need to know you care enough to get back to them.
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3. Personalization
Personalization is closely tied to lifecycle marketing, as well as content creation. The whole point of following up with leads and providing custom content is to make the consumer feel catered to. Personalizing your message puts a human face to the brand. Remember what I said about customers buying from people they trust? People can’t trust the inhuman.
4. Multi-Channel
This one you almost don’t even have to work on consciously. One of the biggest advantages of inbound marketing is that it hits people where they are. You don’t have to be in front of a prospect, pushing your product. He can read your blog from the leisure of his home, hear about your company from a friend at lunch, or see your video on an email from a coworker—all completely without your interaction. The beauty of inbound marketing is that it is the ultimate soft sell.
5. Integration
I touched on it in the last point, but the best thing about inbound marketing is that it all works together. Your written content can serve as a conversation starter in a networking event or your video could go viral and spark a flood of traffic to your website. It really has a snowball effect. Publishing the right content to the right people helps your marketing go from being a distracting nuisance to a thought-provoking fountain of useful information.
Not everyone has had such a dramatic failure in outbound marketing as I did, but I think we all sense how unnatural it is. If you have ever been called by a telemarketer or cornered by sales rep, you know what I’m talking about. Outbound marketing is uncomfortable and discouraging, which is why the inbound marketing revolution is so exciting. If you integrate these five core inbound ideals, your customers will learn to know, like, and trust you. Unfortunately, it won’t happen overnight. Like any relationship, it will take time and effort. For true success in inbound marketing, you must have a vast store of patience and perseverance. I won’t lie: inbound marketing is both a longer and harder process than outbound marketing, but it is infinitely better. Would you rather have a one sell wonder, or a lifetime customer? Inbound or outbound? The choice is yours.
What are the biggest challenges you have with Inbound Marketing? Tell me in the comments below.
