Making the Big Connection
I’ve heard this exasperated question from business owners so many times…“How can I TRULY make a connection with my customers?”. That’s the trick, isn’t it? Do my customers want monthly newsletters? Do they want loyalty discounts? Do they want to be highlighted in my social media activities? Chances are they want all of these things but in truth, I believe these tactics are largely empty without one critical element.
What we ALL want is connection.
It is such a basic, primal drive we as humans cannot separate ourselves from. To me, this is a great thing. To know my potential customers (at least the human ones) are LONGING to connect! Here’s the catch… they (as well as you and I) are very well conditioned to sift through all of the marketing clutter and sniff out the BS – and there is plenty of it in the atmosphere of marketing. Many companies are so desperate for new business, they will try to please everyone and be all things to all people, flailing their gimmicks and tactics around in a squawking cacophony of marketing “noise.” In therapy circles this people-pleasing behavior is called codependency. So, our human customers become skeptical and jaded.
Several years ago I had to take a hard look in the proverbial mirror and get real with a few things.
In my personal life I had gone through a series of circumstances (including divorce, financial struggle, unemployment). Part of that journey led me to a realization that I was putting on a mask everyday. A front. A facade. Not real. Not genuine. People pleasing. Unhealthy. Deception. And the result… very few genuine relationships. How can I connect with people and have fruitful relationships if I’m not being real and transparent?
This is when the lightbulb over my head lit up like the Griswold’s house when Clark finally makes the “connection.”
My customers want a connection with ME!! The real story. They want transparency. They want vulnerability. They want to know I am a single mom who is thriving in my own business. They want to know that my faith drives everything I do, in business and otherwise. They want to know the values everyone in my company holds on to. They want to know I love French Press coffee and rainy days. With a growing sense of peace and a huge smile spreading across my face I knew I had to tell my story in everything I do and make it ME.
To you, I say the same thing.
To enrich your marketing and grow relationships with your customers you need to tell your story in everything you do. Ask yourself…
- What got me into this business?
- Who were my biggest influences?
- What is my motivation to do this everyday?
- What are my biggest struggles?
- What do I like to do for fun?
- What causes or charities am I passionate about?
You know your story.
3:20 Designs wants the world to know it too and we are deeply committed to helping you grow meaningful relationships with a big bowl of transparency and a dash of vulnerability.
I would love to schedule an appointment with you and hear what makes you and your company amazingly amazing! You can check out our marketing plans for any budget here!
Marketing Your Message,
Andrea McNeeley, Owner
www.320Designs.com
972-951-4788
Photo credit: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation film