“You just don’t understand our industry. The type of marketing you’ve proposed doesn’t work for us.”
Those are not fun words for any marketing professional to hear, but they can be a big wake-up call. I know this because we’ve heard it before (or some variable of it) from prospects as well as those who had already become clients. Upon further inquiry, we usually found out it stemmed from one of two things:
- We really didn’t understand their industry.
- We hadn’t properly explained—in a way the client or prospect could easily understand—why the type of marketing we were proposing really would work.
Both of these reasons had the same basis: lack of connection. Connection in marketing is key. Without it, wires will get crossed, relationships will be weakened, and efforts will ultimately fail.
Connection in Marketing: Why it Matters
What is connection? In the broadest sense, connection is when a person is linked or associated with something else. To take it a step further, real connection is when two (or more) people feel valued, seen, or heard by the other party or parties. Connection is the basis of appreciation, understanding, and the formation of relationships.
So what, specifically, does connection in marketing mean? It can certainly mean that you as a business owner, manager, or salesperson is connecting personally with a prospect or client over coffee, a phone call, or a Zoom meeting. However, it can also mean:
- Customers feeling connected to your brand or mission. A Sprout study found that more than half of consumers will increase their spending with a brand they feel connected with and more than 75% will buy from that company over their competitor.
- Prospects or clients feeling your company knows who they are, what they want or need, and have the products or services to fulfill those needs.
- Customers, prospects, or clients feeling truly valued by your team and that they are unique and “not just a number”.
- Clients feeling they can reach out to you as a “connection” who can refer them to other businesses, people, or resources they need to succeed and vice versa—when you reach out to your clients for help, they also feel valued and connected.
Why does it matter? To put it simply, connected customers buy more, feel better about what they’ve purchased, and are more likely to eventually reach step 8 of the Customer Value Journey and become raving fans of your business and refer you to others.
How to Connect Effectively
Connection is important. But learning how to connect can be difficult, especially in this day and age when it’s incredibly easy to do pretty much anything from behind a computer screen. Here are some ways you can ensure you are connecting effectively with your prospects, customers, or clients.
- Create marketing campaigns and content that clearly shows you understand your audience’s needs. Of course, to do this, you first have to make sure you deeply understand their needs. This means doing research, asking questions, being curious, and knowing who your ideal client is. Once you know this, you can address unique pain points and solve problems that will lead to connection (and sales!).
- Have a well-defined brand and purpose. You can’t expect your prospects or clients to connect to an inconsistent brand or one that has no defined purpose. These are cornerstones of building your business and part of the first step in the Customer Value Journey. Your brand is your website, your logo, your colors, and your mission statement. Your purpose is why you exist as a business. While this can have a charity aspect to it, it doesn’t have to. For example, Ford Motor Co.’s purpose is “To drive human progress through freedom of movement” and Kellogg’s is “Nourishing families so they can flourish and thrive.”
- Use the platinum rule. Your customers are not all the same and they don’t want to be treated the same. Figure out how they want to be treated and do your best to treat them that way. For example, some of your customers may like receiving emails while others would prefer to be texted or called. Another example is that some prospects may appreciate being reached out to on a regular basis while others would prefer to be left alone until they are ready to make a decision.
- Make sure your customers see faces, not just ads. 70% of consumers feel more connected to brands that have CEOs who are active on social media. That’s because it’s difficult to connect to an ad, a stat, or a meme. Make sure you feature yourself and your team in videos on your website and on social, in photos, and in marketing materials.
- Touch base and give value frequently. Giving value is crucial in all steps of the Customer Value Journey. Make sure you are fostering connections by frequently giving value via informative social media posts, newsletters, sharing articles, and producing informational videos.
- Ask for (and implement) feedback. Show your customers, clients, and prospects that you truly value what they think by asking for feedback on your products, services, and way you do business. Implement ideas that have value and thank all those who have taken the time to share their thoughts with you.
Connection matters more than ever as we move into a world dominated by AI, screens, and automation. If you want to take your marketing to the next level, put connection front and center and you’ll set yourself apart from your competition. Need some help implementing a campaign that fosters connection? Reach out to our team at Pixel Fire Marketing! We’d love to help.
