Consumers want greater transparency in their everyday purchases. As our technology grows, we have become more and more educated about our decisions and where we do business. In decades past we relied on advertising to inform us about our decisions.
The concern with advertising was that truth in advertising was rare, and the honesty and trust of the advertiser was often questionable. We are no longer limited to one-sided communication from the company we patronize, now we have community and can seek opinions and details in advance of our purchases through reviews, websites, and our own viral inquiries.
Create needs-based expectations for your brand in the mind of your clients and you'll be the brand of choice every time. The top needs based categories to consider are: make money, save money, save time, eliminate pain or struggle (gain comfort), eliminate effort, gain recognition. The first step is to identify your client's most important need, and persuade them that you are the source to meet their demand.
Most of your competitors will skip this step. They will market their services according to how they make their purchasing decisions, or without doing any research. One of the common mistakes I see is that a business is waiting to achieve a certain level of success before they are transparent to their clients. Here are some ways that you can pull back the curtain, be completely honest and transparent, and open the door to winning the business:
1) Take your clients through your thought process. As you grow in business and discover new ways to serve your clients, include them at every step. Take them along for the ride. Often we want to wait until we are ready to launch before we introduce our clients to a new way to serve them. Then, we course correct and improve the service after the first round. The alternative is better. The alternative is to take them through the process as you're building the service, getting their feedback
2) Be honest at every step. Of course, this goes without saying when it comes to the service you offer, but I believe it's also true when you encounter roadblocks in your journey. I remember a popular business coach hosting a teleclass last year that totally bombed. She had a series of technology complications, and then to compensate she went into "recovery and sales mode" and ending up delivering a call that was criticized across the net.
After just a few hours of contemplation, she decided to record the call again, blast her mistakes to her followers using social media and describe to them her emotional struggle with the call. The result? She continued to be a trust brand in her industry, and garnered the respect of her critics.
3) Share your opinion. One of the essentials needed for developing a brand is to establish your brand's tone of voice. With this voice it's important to express your opinion without censoring it. Be authentic in your expression, while maintaining a high level of integrity and respect, and you'll resonate with your ideal client in a deeper way.
4) Don't be the man or woman behind the curtain. Remember how at the end of the Wizard of Oz (one of my favorite movies) the wizard lost all credibility? He was too busy broadcasting demands and too insecure putting up a false sense of results to care. When we was "found out" he did more than let his people down, he let his nation down. Your decisions may not carry that much weight (yet) but if you truly value your customers, pull back that curtain and include some photos and videos in your marketing.
Transparency is expected in today's marketplace. The more intimate and common your service, the more your clients will come to expect it. The transparency allows you to gain more credibility and also allows you to connect with your passion at every level.
Beatrice Johnston, Director of Brand Excitement, is founder of the Brand Visibility System, the proven step-by-step program that helps you to gain more visibility, opportunity and prosperity in your small, service based business. To get your F.R.E.E. Beginner's Guide and receive her weekly tips and exercises on boosting your brand visibility, visit http://www.BrandExcitement.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Beatrice_Johnston
The concern with advertising was that truth in advertising was rare, and the honesty and trust of the advertiser was often questionable. We are no longer limited to one-sided communication from the company we patronize, now we have community and can seek opinions and details in advance of our purchases through reviews, websites, and our own viral inquiries.
Create needs-based expectations for your brand in the mind of your clients and you'll be the brand of choice every time. The top needs based categories to consider are: make money, save money, save time, eliminate pain or struggle (gain comfort), eliminate effort, gain recognition. The first step is to identify your client's most important need, and persuade them that you are the source to meet their demand.
Most of your competitors will skip this step. They will market their services according to how they make their purchasing decisions, or without doing any research. One of the common mistakes I see is that a business is waiting to achieve a certain level of success before they are transparent to their clients. Here are some ways that you can pull back the curtain, be completely honest and transparent, and open the door to winning the business:
1) Take your clients through your thought process. As you grow in business and discover new ways to serve your clients, include them at every step. Take them along for the ride. Often we want to wait until we are ready to launch before we introduce our clients to a new way to serve them. Then, we course correct and improve the service after the first round. The alternative is better. The alternative is to take them through the process as you're building the service, getting their feedback
2) Be honest at every step. Of course, this goes without saying when it comes to the service you offer, but I believe it's also true when you encounter roadblocks in your journey. I remember a popular business coach hosting a teleclass last year that totally bombed. She had a series of technology complications, and then to compensate she went into "recovery and sales mode" and ending up delivering a call that was criticized across the net.
After just a few hours of contemplation, she decided to record the call again, blast her mistakes to her followers using social media and describe to them her emotional struggle with the call. The result? She continued to be a trust brand in her industry, and garnered the respect of her critics.
3) Share your opinion. One of the essentials needed for developing a brand is to establish your brand's tone of voice. With this voice it's important to express your opinion without censoring it. Be authentic in your expression, while maintaining a high level of integrity and respect, and you'll resonate with your ideal client in a deeper way.
4) Don't be the man or woman behind the curtain. Remember how at the end of the Wizard of Oz (one of my favorite movies) the wizard lost all credibility? He was too busy broadcasting demands and too insecure putting up a false sense of results to care. When we was "found out" he did more than let his people down, he let his nation down. Your decisions may not carry that much weight (yet) but if you truly value your customers, pull back that curtain and include some photos and videos in your marketing.
Transparency is expected in today's marketplace. The more intimate and common your service, the more your clients will come to expect it. The transparency allows you to gain more credibility and also allows you to connect with your passion at every level.
Beatrice Johnston, Director of Brand Excitement, is founder of the Brand Visibility System, the proven step-by-step program that helps you to gain more visibility, opportunity and prosperity in your small, service based business. To get your F.R.E.E. Beginner's Guide and receive her weekly tips and exercises on boosting your brand visibility, visit http://www.BrandExcitement.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Beatrice_Johnston