Dating Your Potential Customers: The Relationship of Online Marketing
Marketing, branding and advertising are essentially like any other relationships in your life. There are different stages to go through, certain commitments to be made and principles like love and respect are the keys to success. I recently attended a PR meeting here in Asheville where numerous Public Relations professionals gathered to hear Neil Gurney, formerly with Saatchi and Saatchi, Director of Ministry and Promotions at the Billy Graham Training Center speak about branding and the types of relationships companies have with their consumers. The most important comment he made during his discussion was about how a company’s image is not always in their own hands. The brand is not defined by the company who created it, the brand is defined and controlled by the emotions of the consumer.
Neil spoke of the importance of love and respect in your relationship with the consumer. He said respect was the easiest to gain and to lose and love was the most difficult to gain and to lose. The ultimate goal of branding of course is to build a consumer relationship based on these two key ingredients. If consumers feel both love and respect for a brand they often become long term customers and they are the consumers who carry your brand success over the years.
Neil’s presentation really inspired me and stimulated my mind to think about how my company relates to its own customers and how we can better help our clients to relate to theirs. It is all about relationship, not just with branding but in all aspects of marketing. When our clients co-create their company image, virtual reputation and web presence with us realtionship is usually one of my first topics of conversation. Who are we talking to? What kind of attitude do we want to project to them? What voice are we speaking in? Is it personal or professional?
The web portal articles are a great example of building relationship with potential consumers. This tactic is created with education, giving and personal connection in mind. That is why it often leads to more qualified Internet leads. Those who have read the articles have already begun to know who you are. They may have even taken some of your advice so love and respect are growing. This marketing tactic also allows you to work towards attracting your perfect clients since many of us would love to work for clients who love and respect our talents, hard work and creativity.
All in all, everything in human existence centers around relating to one another. Whether it is on a one on one level or a global scale, we are all interconnected. Our personal and professional lives depend on understanding, respect and love from others. Anyone employed in the creative fields can benefit from contemplating their client relationships. It will inspire you to reach even greater heights when assisting your clients with their image, reputation, brand or advertising plan. Understanding the importance of our own relationships will make us better marketing professionals and better individuals. Until next time…
Sarah Benoit
