The reason behind my marketing (social media marketing, new media, advertising, etc.) is to brand the product a certain way and reach the niche segment that can buy my product. Transaction is a big component of that and through the tools present online today, that ROI can be processed and analyzed.

Dawud Miracle draws from a story in the Cluetrain Manifesto to explain how. Think about how it applies to the pharma-consumer relationship in John Mack’s post, Is Big Pharma Shifty?…

Yeah, it gets that way sometimes.

…walk up to someone and say, “Hey, baby… let’s commit.”

I’ve tried that…it doesn’t work – most of the time. Though there have been times…

Yeah, love is foundational – without a doubt. I see love as why we commit in the first place. Yet to love we first commit to getting to know someone – even if the commitment is a soft one.

Thoughts?

How did the relationship get built in the original post’s story? Two people sharing their love about the product at hand.

Why would you want to commit to a relationship (and eventually, perhaps, a marriage) in the first place? I’m certainly not going to walk up to someone and say, “Hey, baby… let’s commit.”

It’s gotta be built on love. In business or in any part of life. No love, no relationship.

Interesting point. I see branding as being about how the relationship develops – and maybe a bit bigger than that even.

Whatever we call it, you can definitely say that you’re in a relationship with Coca Cola – and they with you. You both have a commitment to each other – and you trust them. That’s the stuff of relationships.

Thanks for bringing this point up. I so often think about the person-to-person relationship that I pass right over the person-to-product or the person-to-corporation relationships.

Karin,

Sounds similar to how I operate as well. When someone contacts me, I think of it as entering into a trust. So I do what I can not to break that trust. That’s why I try to get to know each contact personally a bit. Then we can meet as people and not just another inquiry.

Great insights. Thanks.

Secrets? Persistency, fine-tuning, tweaking and as said on the ‘fake your comment post’ patience, for starters. The ‘next’ step in contact is very important: the expectations of our potential customers because of the informative websites/blog is high, when they place a phone call, send an email, come to our shop – is that expectation betrayed or met (or even exceeded?)
Nowadays I can let the facts and figures speak for themselves, but that doesn’t mean we ’sitting-back’, we ‘keep-at-it’ (And that’s the best and most satisfying part of my job)

Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

I also know that if I go to Asia or to Latin America or Europe, the coca cola I get there, at least in bottles, is going to taste the same as what I get at home. That is comfort food to an American traveler.

I’d say so if you’re getting almost 2/3 of your initial client contacts through your site. That’s great. Can you share any secrets to your success?

Mark,

Building relationships is an ever-deepening mystery. And in the mystery lies the fun, the challenge, the intrigue…and the great chance to learn.

So you’ve got me a little confused. I let it go now.

As far as knowing your audience- I’m glad you focus on the individual and the group. Perhaps I’m used to more of the intricacies and details in marketing, differentiating between ‘client profiles’ ‘individual actual contacts’ and ‘audience demographic/psychographics.’

I think there is a value in understanding both as separate- that one’s larger audience has general characteristics/themes/traits in common, and that the individuals within that group have uniquenesses that we all have.

Building relationships, marketing, etc, is like an ever-deeper mystery. At the core there is love and the connection that our hearts naturally feel with each other.

And, there are lots and lots of details that help in different contexts. For me, I like to have both- the simple and straightforward, and the details.

Karin- I totally agree with you- I’ve had the same experience- one at a time, and then noticing common traits, and then focusing in on a particular audience.

Funny you should ask . The truth is that my Kiss blog (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, no more double Dutch in business) on business concepts, books, advice, marketing practise etc and the conversations there has/is helping me to make our Wood You Like FAQ blog and ’static websites more effective.
The number of phone calls from potential customer all over the UK (not just the area where we install the floors = East Kent) is increasing and most say: we found you website/blog and that is most informative. I have a specific question on… etc.
Our statistics (I am also a passionate bookkeeper ) show that from 60% of our sales the first contact has been made through our website. So something is working

Karin H.

Yes, there is no magic bullet – not even in Dallas. What I’m talking about has nothing to do with ‘the most important thing.’ What I’m referring to is just a foundation. But the foundation isn’t the most important thing – rather, it’s the beginning point. It seems, perhaps, that you’re back with the question I asked you above the what do you feel is the most important thing. This conversation, for me, has branched well beyond that one question.

For fun…And you could say the most important thing is that your body knows how to process the atmosphere into unable elements to sustain your life. Having the atmosphere doesn’t matter unless you can utilize it.

Mark,

I don’t understand how knowing your audience doesn’t take into account each individual person, their needs and their readiness. For me, I can’t separate ‘target audience’ from the individual and their needs.

Karin,

Great example of how the conversation is adding to your business…and to the lives of your customers. How effective have your blogs been in creating that conversation?

You responded to me quite a while back up the chain there and the conversation has quite gone on without me, but I wanted to answer your question, how do I start my business relationships? All of my clients have come to me through word of mouth. I currently work full time for a non-profit and the non-profit community tends to be tightly knit; many CEOs and the like from “this” NP are on the Board of “that” NP, or at least know the people in their equivalent position. I also help my husband with his clients, who have come to him through recommendations as well. We both have day jobs and freelance as the work comes in.

The question about ‘knowing your audience’ doesn’t quite hit it for me either, at least how I understand it. When I read ‘knowing your audience’ that, for me, refers to knowing the general characteristics of one’s target market- knowing the commonalities in a group, such as in giving a speech or presentation to a certain group.

Our business aim – very simple – is to provide the best suited wooden floor for our customer. Best suited to their unique interior design, their unique -building-circumstances, their unique budget.
In order for us to know that we have to engage in conversation (with permission, so just ‘want to browse’ and find their own answers – for which we provide sufficient info on our websites and blog). That’s how we come to know our audience, one at the time

Karin H.

One more point… boy, I’ve got my conversational switch on today. Thanks for suffering through this with me.

The question about ‘knowing your audience’ doesn’t quite hit it for me either, at least how I understand it. When I read ‘knowing your audience’ that, for me, refers to knowing the general characteristics of one’s target market- knowing the commonalities in a group, such as in giving a speech or presentation to a certain group.

It doesn’t take into account, for me, that some of the audience may be ready for a conversation, and some may not. I can know my audience, and some of the audience is jumping up to the microphone to ask me the hard questions. And others are sitting at the back, hiding behind notebooks. Yes, I want to know my audience, but I also want to know the individuals in the audience, and to take into account that people are in a lot of different stages.

I know you know this Dawud. And I know you’ve said many times that blogging isn’t a be-all, end-all, which I agree with. I just had to make that point- the different between knowing one’s audience, and taking into account different stages an individual may be in.

Okay, time to get some work done.

And, as far as the commitment- you’re right, it’s absolutely necessary. But, it’s not sufficient. You can have a hangdog, bitter relationship that lasts 50 years because you’ve made a ‘commitment’ but that’s not what I want in my life.

I’m not arguing about the importance of the commitment, understand me. And, I don’t think I’m missing you- but this is an important point for me: looking for the one most important thing is a ‘chasing your tail” kind of issue. One could also say that the ’single most important thing is that the earth has an atmosphere that sustains life (for now).”

I’m being a little ridiculous for a reason… I just want anyone out there that’s reading to not get caught in the ‘most important point’ syndrome.

I’ll also argue the point that someone who gets divorced in a year never had a commitment- I don’t think that’s true. I think they had a commitment, but perhaps felt hopeless because they didn’t have communication tools to get through a struggle- and their hopelessness had them changing their commitment. In which case the missing communication tools were more important than the commitment because they dragged them down…

Sorry to be a stick-in-the-mud about this- I just have worked with so many, many people who start out striving to find the ‘one big thing’- and so it’s a red flag for me.