Dateless and desperate: Why companies fail to attract customers
This is a guest post by Leili McKinley, an Internet branding architect and social media marketing strategist who enjoys the enviable benefit of living in one of the most beautiful places God ever created, Maui.
I came across Leili through a comment she left in response to one of my posts, started reading her blog and was immediately impacted by her knowledge, expert opinion and writing style. A few sentences into this post and you'll know why I felt that way. It is my privilege to introduce her to you.
Imagine stepping into an elegant restaurant. You’re prepped and ready for a night out. Dressed in your best, you have primped and preened for the affair. You even know some of the things you want to say. Actually, you realize, you have an agenda. You secretly cross your fingers. You want everything to go right.
It’s a blind date.
Doing business as a first time customer is a bit like being on a blind date. We have trepidation. We have made ourselves vulnerable in a universe of uncontrollable variables. We have unspoken expectations coupled with high hopes. It takes courage. But we pursue the event because we need to. Whatever the outcome, we have decided now is the right time “to buy.”
The outcome, of course, is decided by one thing and one thing only. Are we attracted to who is across the table? Not just physically, but do we believe? Do we believe they will know and understand us the same, as we believe we know ourselves? Do they have our values? Do they carry the same ambitions? In other words, can I trust you because you are like me?
We are attracted to what we know and value. Does this mean we are all a bit narcissistic?
Possibly...But, at it’s core attraction is based on our aligned beliefs. I will buy what you say, what you do, and who you are as a person, company or brand based on aligned beliefs. That alignment makes or breaks trust.
No trust, no sale.
So how does a company win customers? How do you increase sales?
Be true to your core values. Show you care about those values. Demonstrate them on a daily basis. Lip service won’t work. Trumped up PR events to make you look good won’t work either. You actually have to demonstrate a bit of self-sacrifice for it to mean something. Yes, give of yourself, as a person, a company, and a brand.
That’s magnetic.
Demonstrating the willingness to sacrifice for one’s core values is esteemed beyond measure. Look at any martyr for social proof. And what do martyrs have? Believers. They are followers who have aligned themselves to the cause. Evangelists, if you will.
If you want to attract the same, then understand what would motivate such loyalty. Speak to your market about it.
Pull people in.
Recent Comments