Establishing & maintaining rapport with your online audience is perhaps the single most important ingredient in marketing online. Actually in marketing period, but even more so online because of the lack of personal contact. Rapport is at the core of selling, always has been, always will be.
Let me tell you a little story.
Earlier this week, I got a call from a salesman after leaving a message about getting my stereo repaired. My expensive, but aging Nakamichi CD player is on the fritz, & I'm virtually tuneless. Not good.
It was a notable conversation for anybody interested in the art & science of persuasion. And in particular, the role rapport plays in that process.
My apprehension was this.
I bought the unit about 8 years ago, & I'm thinking. OK, this is going to cost me some money. I could probably now go out & buy a new CD player for the same amount. Just getting an estimate is going to cost me.
So the guy calls up, & immediately starts building rapport with me. How does he do it?
After introducing himself, he says, "So you've got an MB-1s, awesome unit, what do you listen to?" I tell him, "I'm into rhythm & blues & jazz". He probes a little to see what kind of blues I dig, & we find ourselves rapping for a bit about how much we both love the music of Stevie Ray Vaughan.
And then without missing a beat, he says "So I suppose you're wondering whether technology has advanced so far in 8 years that you could replace your MB-1s with a new unit for pennies on the dollar?
I say, "yes".
And then he goes on to tell me. "Unless you're prepared to fork out a sizable chunk of change on a relatively high end unit, your going to lose some of the raw analog warmth & character that oozes faithfully from Stevie's Fender Stratocaster every time you slide a CD into that Nakamichi".
And I'm like, Wow, thanks for saving my life dude.
This wasn't the only guy I called, but I can tell you this. He was the only one I considered doing business with. And it came down to the rapport he created.
So what can we learn from this?
First off, let me point out that while this was a personal interaction, you should take the principle of rapport very seriously when it comes to your marketing.
The fundamentals are thus.
I liked this guy. Because I liked him, I listened to him. Because I listened to him, I believed him. And because I believed him, I bought from him. Sure it wasn't a huge purchase. But what happened in those few minutes on the telephone takes place in virtually every sale you make, whether you're an active participant in the process, or not.
You are developing an unspoken relationship with your customers, as a result of both your personal interaction, & every piece of online marketing you deliver.
The challenge is this. How do you generate rapport, when you don't have the expensive luxury of personal contact with all of your clients at every stage of the buying cycle?
Here are a few ideas.
1) Be a person in your online marketing. Far too many businesses make the dreadful mistake of coming off as stuffy, corporate, & boring, in the name of professionalism. Your business can be professional, & still have character.
This is just as true in b2b & technical sales, as it is in consumer sales.
One of the best things you can do is deliver your marketing message in the first person. You should voice a friendly, rapport-building persona in virtually every kind of direct response advertising you do.
2) Communicate with your prospects, in their own words. If you're marketing to engineers, & you know they use acronyms, use acronyms. If you're selling to the CEO, speak in plain English. Just common sense, but so often ignored. If you're selling b2b, understand that there are multiple decision makers involved. Find a way to speak to them all. Use multiple campaigns if need be.
3) And finally, give your customers more than they expect. It is rare to do business with a company that demonstrates a genuine concern for the actual outcomes that their customers experience as a result of a purchase.
This is very different than simply being committed to the satisfactory performance of your product or service. You build rapport by showing your prospects exactly how what you're selling "fits in" to what they are already doing.
In the final analysis, your prospects & customers should feel like they know you as a person from your marketing & advertising. More importantly, they should know you as the kind of person they would call a friend, & look forward to hearing from.
Copyright 2005 Daniel Levis
Daniel Levis is a top marketing consultant & direct response copywriter based in Toronto Canada. Recently, Daniel & world-renowned publicist & copywriter Joe Vitale teamed up to co author "Million Dollar Online Advertising Strategies ? From The Greatest Letter Writer Of The 20th Century!", a tribute to the late, great Robert Collier. Let the legendary Robert Collier show you how to write words that sell...Visit the below site & get 3 FREE Chapters! http://www.Advertising-Online -Strategies.com/ad-strategies.html
(1) Create a Direct Response Website, with the minimum number... Read More
Are you confused by the flood of information on how... Read More
Creating a lucrative online business is not an easy task.... Read More
Web site marketing is the most important part of your... Read More
You are now reading Part 2 of my article the... Read More
The advent of the Internet has made this world an... Read More
Multimedia here and multimedia there. Is it just a flashy... Read More
When first starting out in internet marketing, I was afraid... Read More
Web marketers see it all of the time.Companies of every... Read More
Regardless of what you're trying to sell, you can't sell... Read More
Search engine theory is great but most Web Masters Say... Read More
I believe it is a principle of human nature that... Read More
The Internet has changed how people do their business. Even... Read More
There are certain magical tactics that work so well that... Read More
Did you know that, on average, only 2% of visitors... Read More
Would you like to accelerate profits at your website?Here are... Read More
There is a trend going on in the world of... Read More
According to Google.com there are over three billion web pages... Read More
Volume-based filtering may be pre-sorting your marketing messages to the... Read More
Are you looking for something unique or unusual that you... Read More
When I mention, "flavor", I mean the appeal of the... Read More
Copyright 2005 Richard KeirIn a recent article I talked about... Read More
Do you own a web site that is continually failing... Read More
The average person today is exposed to a never-ending deluge... Read More
There comes a time in your efforts to market your... Read More
The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius" meaning "Swifter, Higher,... Read More
Not long ago, industry pundits were touting B2B marketplaces or... Read More
The basic principles used successfully by brick and mortar storefronts... Read More
Freebies. Freebies. Everyone loves getting things for free.You can increase... Read More
What is one of the main keys to a successful... Read More
As well you should. New business is what makes the... Read More
There is one piece of software that is always going... Read More
It's well known that internet marketers are in the business... Read More
There are hundreds of ways that you can promote your... Read More
We know once you have a room full of guests... Read More
Online advertising traffic leaves when advertisers don't make it... Read More
I have become involved with many network marketing companies the... Read More
Tell your readers what they are probably thinking, feeling or... Read More
There are many people every day jumping into the online... Read More
If you want to go far in business, and be... Read More
Its become fashionable to bash marketing "gurus" nowadays.There are some... Read More
So you've been thinking of doing some internet marketing or... Read More
OK, you've been bustin' your butt trying to make money... Read More
Yeah, TOO ethical!? Lately, with some of the issues I've... Read More
The advent of the Internet has made this world an... Read More
I was privileged to have a good friend and great... Read More
Everyone is talking about blogs these days as the magic... Read More
I hate reciprocal linking.It is such a hassle. Even specialized... Read More
If you are on a shoestring budget and need to... Read More
I started as an internet marketer, like I am sure... Read More
The world of entrepreneurship is a difficult one full of... Read More
There is a trend going on in the world of... Read More
I read recently that every human thought originates from either... Read More
There is a particular web site where I regularly place... Read More
Here are the 10 heavy duty online sales tactics that... Read More
There is no reason to be afraid of creating an... Read More
Uniqueness is what separates each business, its services and its... Read More
Creating mini-sites that grab your browsers and prime them into... Read More
It goes without saying that all of us would like... Read More
There's a great interest among the Internet entrepreneurs about how... Read More
There's no doubt that one of the things that excited... Read More
As we look at building our online businesses, many of... Read More
What is the Best Kept Secret on the Internet?This is... Read More
'Hype' is now an often used slang word which is... Read More
In the last year I have met people that have... Read More
How many times have you... heard that running solo ads... Read More
Internet Marketing |