Many years ago there was a popular song called “Something to Talk About” by Bonnie Raitt. I was listening to the song the other day on the radio and it paralleled issues in marketing. How many times do you leave a potential client and not provide enough substance for them to continue speaking about you? How many times do you allow others to speak to others about you?
Business today is about two things today; visibility and community. You cannot build community if you are not visible and when you are not visible no one can speak of you. What needs to occur is a balance of activity and value that helps to promote your brand.
Here are some tips to aid your success:
-Create an audio logo or value statement. Not an elevator speech but a pithy statement that states what you do with all the value you provide.
-Use emotion just like advertisers. People make emotional decisions not those with logic. Get them itching to listen to you.
-Stop speaking and start listening. When you ask questions prospective clients tell you all they want and need.
-Be strategic not tactical. Think in terms of creating long standing relationships not selling numerous units.
-Put the prospective customer first and you last.
-You must be convinced of your product or service first. If you do not believe it they will not either.
-Network aggressively while promoting your brand stop handing our cards unless you have real conversations.
-The only way to get people to talk about you is to use case study and testimonial. Prospective clients want to hear from others about the results that you provide.
-Be shameless and scream your credibility so that all hear. Good marketers are not shy.
-The greatest compliment for any business is gaining the referrals from others that appreciate your value. Manifest this process as much as possible. This must be a daily habit like brushing your teeth.
Marketing requires a consistent and relentless process so that others know you, become intimate with you and do business with you. Similar to large brands that continually use community to expand brands you must too. It is the only way you get to hear “People are talking, talking ’bout people
I hear them whisper, you won’t believe it”(Raitt 2009) Let them start talk’n bout ya!
