Most of us have done this at some point during our business journey. You are so eager to sell your product or service that you become trench coat Traci. Open one side of your coat and you’ve got an answer for this and the other has a solution for that. You are not yet sure of who wants what you have, so you keep the bullhorn close and keep flashing your offerings all in hopes of landing that customer. You give up by the second or third try and never make the sale. Then, you are left wondering what went wrong and if you and your product are good enough.
The marketing rule of 7 says that before someone begins to entertain the thought of purchasing, they need to see you at least 7 times. It’s no wonder that big companies have commercials, billboards and ads in newspapers, magazines or wherever they can get them. Customers need to become familiar with your brand, begin to like your brand and then trust your brand. The more visible you are helps your potential customers become familiar with your brand and determine if they like you and will become supporters of your company. Have you allowed your customer to get to know you?
Build Familiarity
Allow your market to get to know you, not just as the person that has something to sell, but one that has something meaningful to say. Shoppers love to be informed, often making decisions based on what you teach them.
I was a part of a network marketing company. I was trench coat Traci-ing it all up and down my work place. It was hard to sell the product. Even though my colleagues knew me, they didn’t know me associated with the product. Once I took to social media and began to educate on the uses and benefits of the product by giving them a window into my life, sales began to come in. They got to know me in association with this product. They saw that I was knowledgeable about the product. The information that they received wasn’t at their expense. It was free and it built curiosity which caused them to return time and again to hear what I had to say.
Become Likable
The more your market interacts with you, the more connected the will feel to you. When they feel connected to you, chances are they will like you. When you are liked, there is a comfortability that invites your market to respond to you. They will begin to show themselves as friendly and interested.
Once my colleagues started to gain interest in my experience with the product I was offering, I found ways to get them involved with the product, no strings attached. I would provide small sample or DIY recipes which created the opportunity for in-depth conversation. I would continue to educate them. When they made the decision to purchase, I kept them engaged in a private social media group where they could interact with other members, enter raffles and take part in weekly trivia. I wanted to give them a reason to return that wasn’t tied to them making a purchase. I wanted them to know and feel that they were more important than the purchase they made and the sales to come in the future.
Your market wants to be connected to you. You can build the connections by letting them peek behind the scenes of your business, telling personal stories or even taking poles to get their input. Whichever way you choose to do it, find ways to involve your market in the conversation and respond. This will show that you care more about them, than selling a product.
Be Trustworthy
Fortunately for us, today we don’t have to have a huge budget to become visible. There are many platforms on the web that we can utilize to increase our visibility and build brand awareness. You can have a website developed to represent your brand, you can blog on your topic, or you can educate on the various social media platforms at will. The key to it all is to present your authentic self. Let what you are representing be present in your lifestyle.
My colleagues were able to trust me because the ideals the I relayed to them were not just lip service, but evident in my lifestyle. That peep that I gave them into my life allowed them to see that I not only talked the talk, but walked the walk. Become your own guinea pig, reporter and ultimately the champion of your brand. Do it with vulnerability and truth.