Try a Little Tenderness

Knowledge and compassion are replacing fear and money Why would you buy a ceiling fan? Because you're scared? You know. The kind you buy from a home improvement center, take home in a box, and install yourself on a Saturday afternoon because that small room off the kitchen is so stuffy. There once was a brochure from an after-market manufacturer designed to lead the reader to believe that their ceiling fan would reduce heating and/or cooling costs (money) and its automatic night light would scare off potential burglars (fear). And you could install it yourself! The maxim in marketing used to be to go for the jugular. For years, we were conditioned to expect and accept marketing tactics that played to our fears, and to a degree some still may. If your teeth aren't their whitest, friends will shun you. If you don't drive an SUV, your family will be trapped in the wilds of suburbia. Times have changed. Now, if we really want to build long term and profitable relationships, we must go not for the throat but for the heart. Read Fast Money magazine, Tim Sanders's The Killer App, and Charlie Stuart's Essence Marketing to learn what people who are on or ahead of the curve in marketing for the millennium are thinking and doing. Here is an example from Fast Company: Companies need to realize that, as economic beings, we behave emotionally most of the time. You can either build your business around that fact or risk losing your customers to somebody who understands and cares for them better. As we enter the millennium, the emotion is compassion. It is manifested by the knowledge you have that may benefit others, especially your customers. Not the common, everyday stuff from Time or Newsweek or the truncated evening news, but tidbits you've gained from your experience. The stuff you take for second nature that the customers on your 'A' list might find interesting and useful. So share it with them. Read a book you admire? Write a brief review and send it off. Trends in the market you gleaned from a trade pub? Summarize them and fax your friends. Heard a story that speaks volumes about dealing with people? E-mail it and make someone's day. You're sharing knowledge, and you're showing compassion about how they do their job and how your knowledge may help them do it better. Sure. An alternative is to call them only when you want them to buy something. But suppose when your competition calls - and they will - your customers remember not only who you are but also how the information you sent them - at no obligation - helped them deal with an awkward situation. They see you as someone who cares, even after the sale. For those who see this approach as just more work, take Charlie Stuart's advice. If writing isn't your thing - hire [someone] to "interview" you and write the article...It won't cost you much, and it will get done faster and better than if you wrote it. At least, that's what I found true for myself and my clients. Otherwise, you may face the fear of losing more than just another sale!