These mistakes are killing your networking opportunities

‘A lot of time people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.’ Steve Jobs

Steve hits the bull’s-eye with this quote here. A lot of times people are uncertain about what they are looking for. That’s where the skillset of a true marketer comes out. True marketers uses this opportunity to network, to build connections. They use it to connect with the customers and sell their product.

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Marketing is no longer about selling products. It has become more about connecting with your audience. In fact, it won’t be wrong to say that over the years marketing and networking have become synonymous terms.

But, not all marketing teams realize this fact. The ones that do have gone on to the summit in their respective business. And the ones that don’t are still struggling to find their feet in the industry.

I am going to talk about some of the common mistakes marketing teams are making. And how they can rectify those mistakes to carve their niche in the market.

It’s no longer about selling

As a marketer you need to get out of the zeitgeist that marketing is about selling. Changing trends have called for smarter ways of marketing. People get infuriated by getting sales pitches and direct selling tactics.

Instead what they look for is a way your business is trying to solve their problem. They look for emotions and empathy. They look for a more human touch rather than robotic sounding scripts.

Be interested, not just interesting

We enjoy watching interesting things, but don’t always bring everything interesting home. But if there is something interesting and it is solving some problem you are facing as well, then we won’t take a moment to think before buying it.

That’s the crux of marketing these days. You have to be not just interesting, but interested in the users a well. A great way to do it - ask questions. The more questions you will ask, the more chances you will have to make an emotional connection.

Center your marketing strategy around problems faced by the niche audience. And then create attractive content with answers to those questions. This will validate that you are here to solve their problem and not just sell.

Don’t go uninvited

No one likes uninvited guests. Right? Don’t barge into someone’s personal space and start blabbering about your business. For instance, if you find a customer having complaint about your competitor online then don’t start praising your brand.

Try to make some gentle remarks. Ask for permission. Show a little empathy. For instance, you can start of something like this - Sorry to hear about the problem you are facing. Would you like to try something that can solve this problem with ease?

Small gestures like these can create an emotional connection. And, the user is bound to get inclined towards someone who is showing genuine interest in his problem.

Don’t be fake

You don’t have to fake being something that you are not. Getting a user to buy your product by saying that it does something which it does not is a huge mistake. Because as soon as the user will use, he will get to know the reality. And as they say first impression is the last impression, it will put an impression of your business being a liar.

Would you like that? I am sure no business will. Same is the case with marketing. You don’t just have to say things to connect with the customer. Marketing teams need to try being in the customer’s shoes. Only then will they be able to understand their concern and form real connections.

Remember relationships born on fake promises don’t last long. When you are dealing with customers you are building relationships. So, don’t lay the foundation on fake promises.

Sale does not mean it’s over

We humans are gregarious creatures. A bad impression on one customer can lead to a chain reaction that can end up in negative reputation for your business. Marketing does not work that way these days. Tactics where sales was the last step of marketing have gone obsolete.

Nowadays, selling your product or service is the first step of marketing. It is the first step in building a relationship from where you can get plenty. Word of mouth publicity is still one of the best ways to get your sales numbers through the roof. And, that does not come if you just sell the product/service, get the money and forget the customer.

You can check out this amazing post by Kimberly A. Whitler, where she has explained beautifully about how marketers can use word of mouth publicity on social media.

If you look closer everything I’ve mentioned revolves around the basics. But the problem is that we are too busy to focus on these basics. We are occupied with the thoughts of running fast and reaching the zenith as quickly as possible. Running fast is important, but it should not come at the cost of forgetting your basics. Hope you will agree to this.

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Vartika Kashyap is a seasoned marketing professional who is an expert in digital marketing and entrepreneurship. She’s been featured among LinkedIn’s Top Voices for the year 2016. Connect with Vartika on LinkedIn, Medium and Twitter.

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