Marketing is a lot like dating. While some people date for fun, many people date to ultimately find the person they are going to marry and have a life-long relationship with.
As a business owner you want your clients to “marry” you. Dating is unstable, and you want stability and predictability in your business which is what marriage provides.
You want to develop trust and loyalty in your customers, but you need to go through the dating process to get to marriage. Let’s take a look at those steps and what they mean for your business.
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Courting
Courting is really the process of getting someone to go on that first date with you, or the process you need to go through to get the first sale. Getting a first date and getting a first sale can be a lot of work. You need to look as attractive as possible, have the right message, be in the right place at the right time, strut your stuff, and have some good conversation: all so that when you ask for that first date they will say yes. This can be exhausting. While some may enjoy the chase in the dating world, many crave stability, loyalty and consistency in the business world.
The First Date
So you finally go on your first date, or get your first sale. Let’s say it went okay. If you want to go on a second date, you can’t just sit around waiting for the phone to ring. You will need to let your date know you are still interested in them and are interested in furthering your relationship. Remember, in marketing your goal is to marry your client so you can have a mutually beneficial, stable and loyal relationship.
The Relationship
By nurturing your new interest, you can hope to get a second date or multiple dates which at some point turns into a relationship. Just because you are in a relationship doesn’t mean you can celebrate the achieved goal and stop working. Your relationship will fizzle out and they may go look for the next shiny thing. You need to continue to nurture the relationship to move it into its final stage.
Marriage
The end goal in this business dating game is marriage. This means that your client is committed to you for life, wears your ring on their finger, and is not interested in going anywhere else.
Commitment can mean a lot of things. They may only use you once every couple of years for a small job but they are still a customer for life, or they may use you monthly for large jobs or sign contracts. They may love you so much that they refer you every chance you get. They are almost guaranteed repeat business.
Now, once you are married, you do not get to slack off in your relationship. You may not need to bring them flowers every time you see them, but you still need to find ways to show your continued appreciation, and a little can go a long way.
Why You Want Clients to “Marry” You
Most businesses want and need loyal customers. It’s easier to encourage a satisfied customer to do repeat business than it is to continue courting and trying to score first dates. If you want your clients to be loyal to you, it makes a lot more sense to nurture existing relationships than to spend all of your time and money on those perpetual first dates. The way to to do this is to have a solid loyalty marketing system in place. If you want to get on the fast-track to customer loyalty, consider scheduling a free 30-minute consultation with one of our marketing consultants in Medford, Oregon.
Do you feel like you are fighting with your competitors to score first dates, only to not get second dates or get into relationships? Schedule a 30-minute consultation with one of our marketing consultants (or should we say matchmakers?) and we can give you some personalized dating advice 😉