Many people have gained success with under-handed tactics, shabby products, poor customer service, and other unethical practices. The success, however, was short lived and people grew tired of being taken advantage of. It became harder for new marketers to step in and see any kind of success because so many others had already tainted the market with bad products and poor public relations.A few marketers came on the scene and set up new standards and catered to their readers instead of putting their pocketbook at the forefront of their business. It took them awhile to overcome the bad publicity of the bad marketers, but they did start seeing success. In fact, they ran with it and created a whole new business model, the relationship marketing model.
This business model puts your followers at the front of your business. You cater to them, give them high quality products, over deliver on your promises and put their needs first.
Why is this model so successful?
Because people want to feel like they matter. They feel good when their needs are being met. They enjoy being catered to and they love to feel important.
Why is this model so important?
Because people are your customers and you want them to depend on you to help them so they will, not only become repeat buyers, but truly loyal customers as well. You should earn that right by giving your customers real information and solving real problems for them.
What can you do to implement relationship marketing?
=> Be clear with your audience. Give them the facts. Don’t try to “pull the wool over their eyes.” Be up front and honest. They’ll appreciate it.
=> Find out what they want and give it to them. You can set up surveys to find out what your readers and customers are really looking for. Create that product and over deliver.
=> Be available to your customers. Let them know they can talk to you and contact you if they need to. Don’t hide behind your computer or product, be out there where they can get to know you. Be friends with them as much as you can.
=> Be yourself. Not everyone will like you, and that’s okay, but the ones who do like your personality will be loyal customers and will tell others about you.
=> Lose the hard sell approach. No one really likes being sold to and a hard sell will make them run as fast as they can. Use the soft sell approach instead. The soft sell approach is basically doing the things already mentioned. Don’t try to sell them something in every email you send out or every blog post you write. Give them great free information. That way when you do want to sell them something they will already trust you and your opinion.
Make it more about the readers and customers than it is about you. Relationship marketing is about people. Without people you don’t have a business.
