Is that right? If you don’t talk about your business, how is it possible to market it?
Getting People to Talk About Your Business
No-one likes a sales person; someone who goes on about their business and tries to sell to people who are not interested.
The challenge is to use marketing to get people talking about your business. When others speak on your behalf, it lends credibility to your business. Mostly, this happens in slow motion, through testimonials. But imagine people so excited about your offer, they freely discuss it with their friends. This is hard to achieve but good marketing aims to do this, eg through networking or email lists.
Talking about your business may be out-of-bounds but you can talk about other things. And other things can be your strategy to get others talking about your business. Aim to get others talking and you are unlikely to come across as salesy.
Aim to get people excited about something. Make sure your talking is considered and clear about what you want from people. Maybe something visual will stick in peoples’ minds.
Perhaps the most effective way is to deliver something of such high quality, people naturally tell their friends about it. These customers are satisfied. It is harder to impress people who have not experienced your services. But not impossible.
Talking About Your Business
- What do you do that gets people to naturally talk about your business?
- How do your customers benefit from talking about your business?
- How do people who are not customers understand your business? Why should they talk about it?
Dig Deeper into Why People Talk
Some businesses and organisations naturally open up into conversations. Someone who has a new hairstyle is much more likely to talk about it than someone who has had a massage. Here the topic of conversation is integral to the product or service. When people see something they are likely to ask about it.
Paying it Forward
The real challenge is getting conversations started when there is nothing to see. Perhaps some businesses find it hard to get people talking. For example, someone counselled for alcoholism is unlikely to talk about it. But then again Alcoholics Anonymous is good at getting clients to talk about it – paying it forward is part of their internal discipline.
Social Pressure
This last example, illustrates another reason people talk, through social pressure. The AA does this through generosity, its culture encourages members to be generous and spread the word. Other examples include network marketing and some religions encourage evangelism. Personally, I find this approach difficult but I know people in network marketing who thrive on it.
Self-Interest
A third reason people talk about you is because it furthers their goals, at least in the short-term. You might offer an incentive. Other reasons might include it is something they believe in and want to promote, it helps them meet a goal or contribute to something they support or it might help them make money. There are many more such incentives. Listen to customers and prospects carefully to work out what might get them talking about your business.
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