When it comes to marketing, there’s one thing that you really have to understand: it’s all about relationships.
Getting someone to hand over their hard-earned cash to you isn’t always easy. There are tons of marketing tips and tricks promising to boost your bottom line, but the single biggest thing that will have an impact on your sales is the Know, Like, Trust Principle.
What Is The Know, Like, Trust Principle?
To put it simply, people do business with people they know, like and trust. If your customers don’t know you exist, have no feeling of connection with you or don’t trust that you’ll deliver, you’re going to get poor results.
Too many businesses miss out on the opportunity to build a relationship with their customers because they’re too concerned about appearing “professional”. Cold, distanced emails packed full of “corporate speak” will only alienate your prospects and won’t help you to make more sales.
So what’s the solution? I’m going to be controversial here – stop selling your product and start selling yourself.
Understanding The Know-Like-Trust Funnel
Everyone wants to achieve the best from their marketing strategy. Failing to generate sales or attract new customers and clients from marketing seeds that you’ve carefully sown can be frustrating and disheartening. If you’ve spent the time, energy and money putting together content, it can really bring you down when it doesn’t get the reaction that you wanted.
So, if you’re not getting the results you need from your marketing, ask yourself the following questions…
Do They Know You?
How well do your clients really know you? Are you sending emails to your list regularly? Are they personal, high-value emails that help connect with your customers or are they cold, distant corporate blurb?
Don’t be afraid to show yourself in your emails, your social posts and your blogs. People respond really well to people. Make yourself a friend to your customers, tell them your story, and share what makes you unique. Don’t take for granted your own origin story, it got you where you are today and it is interesting!
Do They Like You?
Ok, so now they know you, but do they like you? The best bit of advice I can give is don’t be afraid to polarise. Share your opinions and let your personality shine through. If you try to get everyone to like you, you’ll come across as boring and bland.
You’ve got your business to where it is today because you know what you’re doing, whether that’s teaching successful marketing techniques or running your own coaching company. You know your area the best, so share your expertise.
Be yourself at all times, some people might disagree with you and not everyone will think in the same way, but your approach makes you, you. And the right people will love you for it.
Do They Trust You?
Now the super hard part – do they trust you? How can you gain trust from your clients? What do you trust about people you invest time and money in? Think about what a brand does or says to gain your trust. How do they gain your confidence so you use them to buy their product or service?
For me it’s all about consistency, transparency and honesty. I like straightforward, no-nonsense marketing that shows up regularly. Share your expertise, give lots of value and share something that enhances the trust between you and your clients. For example, a great tutorial or existing customer testimonials. Show how you are the expert in your field and your customers will begin to trust you.
Be genuine, likeable and generous and there is little not to trust!
How To Make Know, Like, Trust Work For You
Regular email newsletters are the key to putting the know, like, trust principle into action in your business. Show up and give them valuable content regularly so they look forward to hearing from you in the future. Let them learn a little about your past, your goals and what you stand for.
You will need to be patient. The ability to have trust in any relationship is not achieved overnight. You wouldn’t ask someone to marry you after a first date would you? But your patience will soon pay off with more engagement, more sales and lots of happy customers sending referrals your way.
Want to learn more about what makes an effective email newsletter? Check out my blog post “The 5 Elements Of A Successful Email Newsletter” here…
