| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
The Fine Art of Relationship Marketing
The buzzword these days is "relationship" marketing. Just what is it? And why is it important? Relationship marketing is so much more than "networking. It's gathering support of your friends, peers, and business contacts. It's developing strong, lasting, unique relationships with your most valuable asset, your customer. It's what keeps people "coming back for more." It's an excellent way to shorten the traditional routes of building trust, create opportunities, increase valuable contacts, to achieve success and excel in business. Every opportunity you have to meet new people is an opportunity to grow your business! If you are willing to invest your time, networking is a process, and the payoffs are almost immeasurable. It's not realistic to expect instant success. It takes time. You can plan your networking opportunities to shorten the time it takes to build those relationships. What do you want and need to accomplish? Do you want to develop lifelong individual customers, land large accounts, or make an impact in your community? You will accomplish all three by getting involved in your local civic organizations, Chambers of Commerce, Business Associations, Non-Profit organizations, etc. One of the best ways to get to know people "up close and personal" is to volunteer to serve on a committee; give your time and talent to a cause. People want to do business with people who have similar interests and values. Whom do you need to meet to accomplish your goals? And where do you meet them? Angel Cicerone, Associate Editor of the South Florida Business Journal says, "If you're going fishing, go where the fish are." Focus your efforts by being in the right place at the right time. It's not just who you meet, but how and where you meet them. Meeting people in the "right places" adds credibility to that meeting. That's not to say that striking up a conversation in the supermarket has no value. It does. It's just that if you want to develop first class contacts, you must fly first class. If you are flying first class, those sitting in the same section will view you as a peer. Of course, there's no guarantee you'll make those great contacts. However, if you don't fly first class, you'll never know. It may be worth the investment. The same people flying first class can also be found at those events, fundraisers and conferences in which you participate. Go where the people you wish to network with will be! Are you willing to invest the time it takes to achieve your goals? How much time is enough? Begin with the end in mind. The key to relationship marketing's success is to know what it is you want to accomplish. To start networking, you have to set your foot in the door. Excerpted from The PMS Principles - Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business © 2004 - Heidi Richards is the author of The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business and 7 other books. She is also the Founder & CEO of the Women's ECommerce Association, International www.WECAI.org (pronounced wee-kī) - an Internet organization that "Helps Women Do Business on the WEB." She can be reached at www.HeidiRichards.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
So You Want To Cut The Crap And Get Into The Money? So, you´ve been around for a while, and maybe even made a few bucks, but you still need something.. Moving a Business Relationship from Free to Fee: Power of Freebies - Part 2 In the last issue we looked at 5 reasons why giving stuff away is a great tactic for filling your pipeline.Now let's take a look at the kind of things you may want to give. Cause-Related Marketing Altruism. Corporate responsibility. Direct Mail Do you have a website? A Web Newsletter? A mailing list of e-mail addresses for customers? Do you track and test everything? You can use the web to get sales in lots of exciting ways which are dependant on technology that's available at the time. Whether you budget is £600 or £6000, I can show you how it's done effectively time after time after time! So here's what I do when I start working with clients and I would like to offer it to you as a gift now. Meaning and Marketing -- The Links You know who you are and what you want and what it means or will mean for you to be FULLY ALIVE and you also know that you can change it it -- your definitions. If you don't, you will. Why You Buy Behavioral economics is a new science that sheds light on some of our most important decisions. It is the study of how and why people make money-related choices. Marketing Success Defined How do you personally define success? High income? Substantial net worth? A fine home? Peer recognition?On a personal basis, there are likely almost as many definitions of success as there are people in the world.In marketing, though, there are just four measurable elements of success:Profitability, Market Share, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Retention. 10 Tips to Grow Your Business Plain & Simple "Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value." Albert EinsteinRecently I heard a statistic that the majority of businesses operate at 60% of their potential. GoogSpy: Business Counter Intelligence for Everyone So, you want to know what your competitors are up to these days, or maybe you want to research a keyword campaign that will rank you at the top of the heap for whatever product or service you're selling? Meet GoogSpy, a special search engine that not only shows you what Google AdWords your competitors are buying, but it will display all of the search terms that rank them in the top 10, PLUS it even displays their top 25 competitors.What search engine does it base all of its intelligence on? Well, with a name like GOOGspy, there can only be one. Target Marketing - What Are You Aiming For? Is Advertising Viable?At the turn of the 20th century, department store magnate J.C. 8 Instant Ways to Create Consistently Successful Marketing Campaigns It's almost a given that when I speak to a new client, she tells me how much she's always hated marketing herself. "I'm no good at it" and "No matter what I try, it doesn't work" are common complaints. Beyond the Booth With the advent of spring, trade shows begin to blossom. Research suggests that tradeshows are where today's businesses invest much of their marketing budgets. Top 10 Benefits of Hiring a Marketing Writer to Write Your Marketing Materials 1. It costs less to delegate to a professional than to waste your valuable time trying to do it yourself. How To Sell To Howard Stern... Oprah Winfrey... And Paul McCartney! Do you know what Howard Stern.. Full Color Postcard Marketing: 7 Reasons Why They've Become the New Direct Mail The most crucial aspect of having a high response rate to any direct mail marketing list is to keep your business' name in everyone's mind, constantly. But how do you do that without annoying your business customers, or divvying up a lot of time and money?A full color postcard can easily fit the bill if you send one every month or so. Non-Aggressive Marketing Ideas for Enterpreneurs Do you cringe at the thought of trying to promote your business ? Does it feel like "selling yourself" or egotism? Many individuals are not comfortable with marketing dimension of running a business.This leads to an inner frustation for many and inner conflicts. Getting Ideas for Your Postcards If you're going to do postcard marketing on an ongoing basis, it's a good idea to have a collection of cards to inspire you. In advertising and marketing circles, this is called a "swipe file. Attract More Clients by Raising Your Profile One of the most common issues I'm asked about is how to raise the profile of a business to attract more clients.This is an important issue no matter how small or large your business may be. Make Out Marketing What is the single biggest fear of teenagers, business owners and CEO's alike?The answer is simple. Making out for the first time, with an attractive partner or customer you really want to be with. Why Do You Need to be in the SERPS? Why does your business need to be in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS)?Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing both have the same goal, which is to help visitors find your website. Ten years ago there was probably nobody searching online for your product or service.
|
| Article List | Index | Site Map |
|
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved. |