When marketing an online business, your instinct may be to push your service or product in order to sell it.
But that would be a mistake.
Marketing is not about being pushy. It’s about letting your visitor get to know you, like you and trust you. Eventually, your visitor may become a customer and buy from you.
Imagine sitting in a restaurant where you’ve gone for lunch. The waiter is standing by, ready for your order. You scan the menu and start to ask a question, but he interrupts you.
“Ahem. Did you notice the specials on the board today? You should really try the Carrot Ginger Bisque. It’s heavenly.”
But you don’t feel like carrot ginger anything.
“I’m thinking about the Mediterranean dish,” you say.
“The Carrot Ginger Bisque is an award-winning soup,” he says, clueless that he’s making you totally squirm.
What do you do? Blow off his suggestion and order what you want?
You might not choose to stay in that awkward situation and may simply leave. Or, you might order the darn soup, be unhappy about being bullied into it, and never return.
You may not think of your waiter as a marketing person, but he is. He’s in the business of selling food and bevvies. When you go out for a bite, you may not generally think about the business aspect, unless you’re also in the food biz.
Now, envision your favorite dinner joint.
The cozy table by the window, the red lanterns. You know this place well and most likely you feel really comfy here. The owner may greet you by name, or even with a warm hug (if she’s Italian, you can count on it). She knows what your favorite dish is. She’s a natural marketing mama.
- You like it here
- You can depend on great quality and service
- You’re a repeat customer
How is your Web business like your favorite diner? Are you like the pushy waiter trying to get rid of a glut of soup? Are you marketing your online business to visitors before they get to know, like or trust you?
Build strong business relationships online
Our gut instincts are usually right. However, we’re all capable of getting a little panicky from time to time. When sales are low we worry that unless we push, we won’t sell anything.
But that’s where we go wrong.
Allow your customer to get to know you and see for themselves if they like your service or product. Go on, give them a virtual hug when they click on your Web site.
Your online business benefits from building strong relationships slowly, allowing room for trust to develop.
Your gut instinct probably isn’t wrong, so much as misguided. Your sales may indeed be low and you feel anxious about it. If that’s the case, you’ve got an even better reason to lay back, not be forceful, and observe what your customers are saying.
You can’t sell Carrot Ginger Bisque to somebody who’d rather have the lamb with the stuffed grape leaves on the side.
