People in general are attracted to those they resonate with. There is a perceived bond – a shared energy that may be subtle, yet nevertheless is often quite powerful for establishing a relationship of mutual trust.
This is why personalization is now an essential consideration for every marketer that expects to build a sustainable business.
The challenge with personalization is that it goes against traditional marketing wisdom. Personalization takes time and attention, which makes it something that can be difficult to scale, though a few mega-sized businesses such as Zappos are proving it is indeed possible.
Your Ideal Customer Most Values One Thing
Apple and Zappos both discovered that giving personalized attention was the one thing that could differentiate their businesses, thereby transforming their prospects and customers into raving fans.
Even if you have never purchased a pair of shoes from Zappos, if you have experienced their legendary service, you may still be a fan that would recommend them to a friend.
There is nothing more powerful than the recommendations of friends, and astute businesses know that every favorable contact creates the potential for influencing dozens of friends.
Friends understand friends. They know what they value most. They understand the nuances that can affect buying decisions, such as a table at a restaurant with a special view, a personalized thank you note, or anything that could be considered VIP access.
Your Marketing Must Communicate Clear Intentions
If you focus on personalizing your business for your ideal clients, your increase your success rate. Before you can accomplish this, you must define your ideal client in terms beyond their economic capabilities.
When I was operating a contracting business, our ideal clients were those that trusted us, respected our expertise, and challenged us to create new and better solutions that were perfect for them. Those that wanted a cookie cutter solution were not our ideal client.
To be clear, we had plenty of prospects that could easily afford our services, which were mostly luxuries, as opposed to necessities. Nevertheless, we were incapable of serving them without that essential trust for taking them where they wanted to go.
Once you know your ideal client, you now have to let them know who you are to create that magical bond of personalization.
This comes in the form of intention – clearly communicating that you know, understand, and are able and willing to provide that one thing they really want.
When you try to be all things to too many people, you resonate with nobody. Intention is a marker that says this is who we can be together in a mutually trusting partnership.
Markets Whisper To Those Listening
If you are not attracting the business you need to support your enterprise, then you either do not understand your ideal customer or client, or you are not communicating or delivering it well.
That’s really all there is to it. Markets don’t shout – they whisper. Astute marketers today have learned to use these new social media marketing channels to listen well, and respond in kind.
In a world where virtually every industry is being commoditized, those that are listening to the nuances and subtleties of the markets are the ones that will succeed.
Consider what is special to you – what you treasure most. It’s most likely not something of great economic value. What is special to most of us is something of intrinsic value that is sentimental, emotional, and thus, sustainable.
When all things are pretty much equal, it’s going to be the little things that stand out – those that one would only know if they shared an intimate relationship.
Intimacy stems from personalization, something that businesses who care about their customers are capable of accomplishing.
How are you personalizing your business for your ideal customer?
For more on this, consider exploring Personal vs Business Social Media Accounts.
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Until next time, Jeff
