Marketing is NOT a One Night Stand

?In another life I wrote a book about internet dating. It was so long ago, Tinder wasn’t even around.

(MY IDEA OF TINDER)

While I was collecting other people’s stories for my book, I was also dating. A LOT.

I learned quite a lot about the different feelings you’d get from the guys who were genuinely looking for something, and the others just tapping everything they could. One of the guys I met during this time showed me his records. Not the vinyl kind. The spreadsheet kind.

He had made a very methodical spreadsheet of his conquests - how long he’d chatted to them, where they met, and the time it took for him to seal the deal.

Many a business owner would be impressed with a parallel amount of dedication to recording results from their sales team. Although they’d prefer it was sealing actual business related deals. Far less HR complications!

Besides the fact showing me the spreadsheet immediately prevented me from ever wanting to be a new line on it myself, it made me think about the difference between aiming for the one-night stand, or gunning for the long-term relationship.

One-night stands are easy. (in terms of getting the "sign up") Turn on the charm, show your best side, target people who maybe feel a little uncared for...? and you are in! Sometimes, if you’re lucky you could cut all of that and just ask direct. For the right target market that may be enough.

But relationships are riskier. You’ve got to allow for the fact they’re going to see your imperfections. You’re going to need to follow up those phone calls, answer their texts, and show interest in things they are interested in. You’ve got to be consistent, even if it’s just consistently average. You’re going to have to be present, sometimes far more patient than you want to be, and somewhere along the way there’s going to be some awkward conversations around commitment, and how it would look if something happens between you both.?

And then you give it a go. Sometimes, it’s the perfect match. Often it’s just great for a season - and you both leave the relationship happy about each other, just not needing each other anymore. And if someone asks “Hey, what did you think about that human?” you’ll say something nice, even though they aren’t right for you anymore.?

Sometimes you both jump a little soon. You don’t ask any questions, don’t wait to see if they are really the best type for you. Every now and again it works out great. More often than not, it doesn’t. No amount of sweet talking and love bombs replaces a reality that doesn’t match up long term

The pay off, of course, is having this incredible person who becomes someone in your corner, your biggest fan. And it’s far less effort getting “repeat business” for a long period of time when they're secure that you are both invested. You’ll even get more business after you’ve made a mistake (unless you make too many mistakes and then you may be out of luck!)?

When it comes to marketing, the key is to remember - we're aiming to build LONG TERM relationships. It's easier to grow a business when you aren't burning through your customers, and are instead investing time, energy, and focus into building a relationship with them.

Before hunting for your next conquest/client, perhaps... take a look at who already loves you, and give them a little bit more love in return.

Rachel Klaver is a marketing strategist and owner of Identify where we help small business owners develop a marketing strategy and action plan for their business. This newsletter is based around ideas in her new book MAP IT Marketing coming out in 2022. You can also check out her podcast here