Smart marketing by building a community

Imagine you were building a support community for your client base. Imagine it was not based on products bought or fees paid, but on value for the time spent with them by you.

Imagine this community that you were building was not necessarily on the transactional dollars spent with you but on the value they placed on having you as the trusted adviser they automatically turned to for advice, direction and help.

By building a community with your clients from the perception of a long term relationship rather than a transactional driven business you will be able to offer a lot more to them and receive a lot more back!

This idea of building a community has great virtue because it will help you retain existing clients as well as attracting new ones to you from happy clients through referrals.

• Being different. What is your offer that sets you aside from other suppliers of your service? Would you buy it? Are people attracted to you? Why?
• Being persistent. You will need to regularly and reliable contact, interact and directly talk to your clients both face to face, electronically and by the written word.
• Being reliable. If you say you are going to do something by a certain time, then make sure you honour that commitment.
• Establishing trust. In a world full of uncertainty, people are looking for leaders they can trust. How can you establish trust that supports the relationship you have with your clients?
• Earning respect. Doing good work on a regular basis for people earns you respect, even if there is sometimes no direct financial reward involved. What can you do that would genuinely help your clients?
• Being loyal. Just as you expect your clients to be loyal to you, return the compliment to them.
• Being sincere. Tell them the truth about products, service levels and fees or commissions.
• Just being there! Regularly communicate with your clients and invite them to tell you about their hopes, dreams and fears.
• Developing professional competence. If this means going back to complete required certification or skills courses, then do it.
• Relating to your clients on their terms, not yours. It is not the transaction, but the interest shown in why the transaction is made or needed that builds your relationship
• Engaging with your clients by showing them how and why others do business with you and why it such a beneficial experience. Remember you are there to help, educate and lead.
• Talking benefits, solutions and advantages with clients, not features or products. People buy what the product will do for them.
• Preparing for them. Show them that you have done your homework about their needs not yours.
• Not wasting their time. Be upfront. Tell them why you do things for them, what is right about your advice and service, not why they should not do things.
• Showing them the value of your products or services, not just how it works. People don’t buy products. People buy what products will do for them.
• Make doing business with you easy for clients and potential clients. Give them options and choices. Give them multiple ways to contact you. Give them a range of solutions based on need, value and price
• Making service available when they need it. Respond to their calls for help, advice, education and calls to action
• Staying in touch with them. Just because they don’t take new products or services doesn’t mean they are no longer of value to you or of you to them or their families
• Keeping them regularly and reliably informed of change, opportunities and the pitfalls of inaction
• Making your messages about the client not you. You and Your are two of the most powerful and interactive words in the relationship building business. Utilise these words over and over again.
• Letting them tell you where you can improve. Understand the value of offering reviews to your clients of how you can be better at what you do for them. Ask their opinion on your ways of doing business.

Activity:

What new aspects of helping to build a community can your team develop?

Which ones of these characteristics are you using?

Which ones could you adapt for use in your business?

Which ones could you improve on?

This article is reprinted with permission from Jim Prigg CEO and founder of Knowledgemaster International (KMI) Pty Ltd. KMI is an online resources company that delivers practical communications, interaction, sales and soft skills tips, tactics, techniques THAT WORK.

Learn more about winning business programs by calling Jim at mobile 0408 520 453 or [email protected].