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In a saturated market where the competition is rife, having a higher and consistent marketing strategy is all you need. You need to remain innovative in your marketing strategy, otherwise your competitors will throw you under the train. 
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The most important of marketing strategies is building relationships between you and your customers. Imagine your love life with your partner. Companies that enjoy a level of closeness with their customers will not have to struggle to sell. This is big truth. I, as a person, am a big fan of Apple products. Every day, I root for Apple because it always meets my needs. I love everything about Apple, from its top-notch products to its customer service. These days, many brands are trying to win over more customers through building relationships. Building connections with customers will give you the necessary soft landing you need when you want them to buy your product or use your solution. The truth is that you can not sell to people with whom you have no form of connection whatsoever. Smarter companies leverage existing relationships to get more sales and quality referrals. The goal is not to sell, it is to build a form of quality connection and sustainable relationship with your clients and customers. Although, sales might be a one-time event, the relationship is a lifetime. I usually advise brands to seek to build relationships with customers, rather than just trying to get them to buy their products. With a relationship, you can sustain customer loyalty. Treating your customers as your significant other can be very interesting.  While the transaction may get you paid today, the relationship will get you paid every day that you maintain it. Relationships bring successive purchases, testimonials, valuable customer insights and high-quality referrals. All of which allow you to get more customers, faster and cheaper. In this article, I am going to show you how to build relationships with customers and use them as a marketing strategy to outsell your competition.
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  1. Be Consistent. 
Being consistent means being constant in all of your business operations such as maintaining a standard of quality, publishing content regularly, and having great customer service. Although, being consistent is a tough job, it is consistency that builds trust. The truth is this: only a few brands are consistent. Becoming a consistent brand is like a farmer who plants a seed and inherits a massive tree. A conglomerate is built on consistency. From Dangote to Golden Penny to Zenith Bank, it has been a journey of consistent steps. Don’t just show up daily, but show up with a purpose.
  1. Use Social Proof.
Is your product working? Then show us proof. This is the mind of an average customer. Dishing out contents of the promise of good quality is not enough to convince several customers. These days, just like on App Store where we download our apps, we often read the recommendations of past users before we can decide to use them or not. We see past users rating apps from 1 star to 4.9 stars. Just like bestsellers, they come at very high praises from renowned critics, well-known authors and newspaper houses. Social proofs and endorsements can easily attract new customers, they can assure them that your product works and that you’re a trustworthy brand. 
  1. Be Vulnerable.
In an age where many brands brag on social media, being vulnerable as a brand communicates empathy and creates trust on an emotional level with your audience. Further, being vulnerable is a mark of emotional intelligence, which is very pivotal in building a deeper connection with your audience. As a brand, showing vulnerability is a way of showing openness and understanding. Audiences one way or the other want brands that show some sense of empathy and not some brands that feel too important sitting on their high-horses. Through vulnerability, your audience can easily spot your brand’s values. People naturally throw their weight behind brands that have a sense of openness. 
  1. Create More Content. 
Content is king. The more you consistently create content, the more you earn the confidence of your audience. People are naturally in love with consistency. When you are constantly dishing out entertaining and relatable content, you’re likely to captivate customers and earn their loyalty.
  1. Share Rituals.
Sharing rituals is a way to build a tighter bond between you and your audience. Just like a family having dinner together or praying together, which creates intimacy, brands must also engage in rituals with their audiences. These rituals could be victory chants, a virtual or in-person timeout on Fridays, or simply a coffee time together. What counts is that everyone believes in the symbol it embodies and participates together. Many world religions have used rituals to maintain devout audiences over thousands of years. Featured image: Ally Marketing
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This article was first published on 2nd February 2022

nnaemeka-emmanuel

Nnaemeka is an academic scholar with a degree in History and International Studies from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is also a creative writer, content creator, storyteller, and social analyst.

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