Customers are the lifeblood of any business. Finding them might be a daunting task if you’re just starting out in a new business. And I feel you… It is hard! This post, Online Marketing: 7 Rules for Customer Engagement is aimed at solving your marketing questions and helping you make a success of customer engagement.
When I first started my business, it was sort of like a hit and run. I got so overwhelmed with so many things and it’s even harder nowadays if you are starting. Digital media and online marketing mean that the race to gain attention is crazy. Also, the average attention span is getting smaller.
That’s why you need to master these tips, and consistently make sure you are following through to continue to be successful. As a business owner, your goal is to help fill a gap that people struggle with. There are two aspects that you need to nail before you start doing anything:
-
Your Success Mindset
Your mindset is crucial to your success in everything you do. It will determine whether you build a small, okay or massive customer base. The choice is yours. That’s right – you get to CHOOSE!
A success mindset means that you are focused on achievement rather than failure – it’s simple as that! When you are focused to win- it doesn’t matter if you achieve less than you set out to gain. Every mistake or loss is a stepping stone that carries you to your ultimate success.
So for example, if you think you have a shitty product that no one wants, believe me you will not sell anything. If you believe you could help save time, save money, bring happiness, bring wealth then your going to have a much easier time selling.
If you want to get inspired about how powerful mindset is, read our story on Sally, co-founder of Soul Kids.
2. Your Target Audience
Do you know who your customer base is? It might be mothers, but that’s is just such a wide scope… Are you looking at working mothers, stay at home, well-to-do mothers, young mothers, or older mothers? Let me tell you now…. many businesses don’t know their customers. When you don’t know your audience, you can’t appeal to them through your online marketing and engagement opportunities.
Mindset right? You’ve identified your target market? Great! Here’s how you’re going to engage your market.
Engaging Your Target Market to Build a Loyal Customer Base
There has never been more innovative and instant ways to draw an audience towards yourself, your business or your URL. Social media, video sites and online advertising can all funnel consistent traffic to you. In turn, you can convert into buyers. The key is to embrace creative and innovative techniques to inspire people to follow the breadcrumbs left by your online marketing methods.
Take a look at the companies you follow on Facebook. How do they stand out from the rest? Once you know how to create that continuous footfall of customers – your success is then just reliant on how well you engage them and fulfill their needs.
Tips to Make Your Online Marketing Stand Out from the Crowds
Online Marketing Tip # 1 – Stay Connected:
Introduce mechanics to stay in touch with your future, past and present customers. I am not sure about you, but I personally don’t like the hard sale. I don’t find it very sustainable because the idea is to build long term partnerships. No hard sale, no sales pitch, no conversion, no landing page- just a regular chit chat. Newsletter, quizzes, blog post (just like this one), webinars and freebies are all ways to show your customers that you care and that will put you at the front of their thoughts when they need your product or service.
Online Marketing Tip # 2 – Fill the Gaps:
We recommend that you do a viability study before you start a business and that would show you where the
gaps in the market exist. Fill that gap with your unique value proposition, superior product and clever marketing strategies that appeal to your target audience.
If your target audience is first-time moms, speak directly to them about their hopes, their fears and their dreams. Answer their questions. Provide them with products and services only first time moms would need. Make them feel special! It also saves you a TON of money because you know where to market to them, what they want and what they don’t want.
Internet Marketing Tip # 3 – Offer Value:
Value proposition is key to your success. We have everything at our fingertips and clever marketers offer incredible deals (and even freebies) to draw the attention to them. This means that we all go where we get the best value. Tremendous value brings word-of-mouth referrals and viral marketing. The cost per lead becomes lower when the leads spread the (good) word about your business, saving you advertising bucks. Now all you need to do is provide a superb customer experience and top quality product or service and you’re set for return business and more free marketing by happy clients.
Online Marketing Tip # 4 – Plug Into Your Customers:
There should be a intuitive bond or instant connection with your customers in context of your offering. If it isn’t there – you need to find a way to forge that connection. You need to find the common grounds in order to create interaction, bond or where it becomes spontaneous to associate with your customers, be it online or offline. Find a cozy environment – where you and your target customers will link, gel in easily and then tap on it. Somehow you must relate and connect with your target market. That’s the best way of customer retention and growth. Explore and develop any interactivity that invites and attracts plausible grounds to generate customers.
Online Marketing Tip # 5 – Attract Your Market:
Otherwise known as attraction marketing, there should always be a sense of well being attached to the way your project your being and your business. What attracts you to a person or a brand? That sense of winning. Everyone wants to be around a person who portrays a sense of accomplishment, pride, prosperity, growth and expansion. Heck, we want to BE that person! Would you like to exploit the better parts of who you are to attract more customers? You can do it!
Online Marketing Tip #6 – Be Precise:
Google has made the world switch to a context economy mindset. Now you don’t have to sort through endless documents or books or screen through to find what you’re looking for. Just type in your search terms and BOOM! – you get a list of all the relevant results. Precision is key when you are targeting your target market and when you are creating a niche for yourself. Accuracy is the key to gathering a customer base that will convert and expand exponentially.
Online Marketing Tip #7 – Respect Personal Space:
No matter how closely you get yourself linked, connected or interact with your customers- you need to keep a 
professional distance and not blur the lines. Successful entrepreneurs will tell you that – even if you are delivering massive value with a ground-breaking product, chances are- you will face a hard time convincing even your immediate family or close friends. For that reason it is good to get in the comfy zone with your target customers, but keep a professional distance. You can’t let friendship and business overlap. Make them your customers and extend your circle of clients, but never at the cost of your friendship or vice-versa.
Customers are the lifeblood (this is not an underestimate), the fuel the only reason to carry on a business. As long as you keep getting them constantly and as long as you keep fulfilling your promises, your business boat will keep on sailing to new territories. And new territories mean new customers and bigger revenues.
What do you do to keep your customers loving you? What one of these online marketing rules resonates with you and why?
