…relationship marketing will be the “new” driver.
One of the biggest trends I am seeing in 2015 is the fact that relationship marketing will be making a huge comeback. Now, more than ever, people will recognize how important relationships are with respect to gaining people’s trust, making sales and continuing to be more and more innovative.
Today, I am meeting with clients and vendors. People want to know more about our company and what we do. In the past, I have read where this wasn’t the case. Some articles indicated that people just wanted our results and I needed to stop talking about my company. The interest is back!
People are interested in companies that do the following:
- List to their needs,
- Answer their questions,
- Solve their issues,
- Share innovative projects that are occurring,
- Connect on a first name basis and establish a connection.
Developing better relationships is the key to greater success. One client we added last summer, told us they were switching to our company, but emphasized that it probably be a year before they ultimately switched their business to us. With this information, our associates continued to meet with their company representatives and in year one, we had close to $100,000 in business. This was the result of investing in building that relationship. We will see what happens this year after some more visits.
Making these connections and developing these relationships is the key. Today, there are all types of tools and platforms we have access to in order to start the initial contact with respect to building these relationships. This will be my strategy with respect to social media.
I am not looking to engage. I am looking to make connections. There is a difference!
Advocate (Company, Professional, Personal)
Being an advocate takes work. Here are some ways I am going to work at building relationships.
Company
People need to see me and recognize me as an advocate for my company. I believe there will be a huge shift in the way people use social media with respect to being the voice of their companies. People recognize brands. People connect with people. If you can integrate the two, you will have a powerful message
Professional
In addition, I need to be seen in my profession as one who talks from experience, (specifically marketing and management). I also need to grow professionally and see the advice from others and pay tribute to people who have helped me achieve success.
Personal
It is time to be more passionate and speak from the heart. Too many people are just saying the same thing as everyone else. In the past, my marketing results may have showed something that others were not seeing and I often questioned my technique and results. A few months later, others were seeing similar results. I always like to check with others when I see unusual results, but I need to be more upfront and talk more about the results I see. In addition, I am going to try and point out the achievements of others and especially those people who have experienced tremendous results.
Here is to an exciting 2015!
Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: 2015 Will Be A Great Year In Marketing Because…
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