One of the lessons that is repeatedly emphasized by all of the Sales trainers and Marketing masters out there is the importance of personalizing your business.
As the world started to convert more and more time to online interactions 2 things happened:
1) everything became easier to get / learn / "know". The Internet can educate people on just about every subject, creating an environment that will sometimes help you, and sometimes bring you great distress. Your products, your services, your staff...all online. The real question is how true is all this information?
I will elaborate on point number 1 next week, but right now I want to focus on the 2nd thing that the Internet Revolution as done to human life:
2) people began to lose touch in a very literal sense. I know every retailer out there has had at least one moment (and probably a great deal more!) where they have cursed online shopping carts and everything they represent.
As people began to spend a huge portion of their lives online, the physical element of a hand shake disappeared and symbols began to replace a warm smile. :-)
But now...people want the personal back. I am tired of not knowing anything real about anyone / anything online, aren't you? Also, the reality is that we can't always trust what we read online.
So these days, even though the global community is certainly NOT moving offline, people are demanding more personal interactions. Social media, you've all heard of it.
People are demanding personalization; they want to get to know YOU before the decide to trust YOU. This is true both online and offline.
If you look around your business today, what can you pick out that screams your name, your personality, YOU?
The next time you get your hair cut, look around the salon and ask yourself why you have chosen to go there. Stylist are notorious for being incredibly personal and you know what? Even the people who complain about chatty Kathy's tend to be loyal customers for years, sometimes for life. My Grandma has been going to the same stylist my entire life, even after she moved an hour away. Why? Because she knows and trusts her.
That trust has to start somewhere, and that is by personalizing your business and offering pieces of yourself for the world to see. Online that might mean a profile picture and an great bio. Possibly presenting your company in a way that feels natural, instead of "corporate." In your store it might mean a welcome sign that you wrote on poster board or an "I recommend" product section.
What are some other ways you can personalize your business?
Comments
The point that I guess I am trying to make is that we have no choice but to get face to face with people to explain and test their water, and they seem to enjoy it. Faxing, texting, tweeting, etc. all have their merits, but person to person does carry an awful lot of weight and value. Some days all I do is test water and educate people on proper water chemistry, and I don't sell anything. But, I truly believe that the meeting and the time spent is way more valuable than our website. Tools are great, but face time is critical!