Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The concept of “content marketing” has been around for the last two decades, but it’s only now gaining traction because it has become possible to measure the effectiveness of content. A key metric by which content marketers are judged is engagement — how many people are clicking on, sharing or commenting on a particular piece of content?
There are three approaches that can be used to build relationships with your audience: traditional marketing, social media marketing and content marketing. These three approaches have their own strengths and weaknesses.
Traditional marketing is expensive. It includes using TV commercials, billboards, print ads and other advertising methods to create awareness about a product or service. Social media marketing does not require much money to get started, but it’s hard to see who’s looking. In my opinion, content marketing is the best way to get in interactions with your audience.
Here are five ways you can build a relationship with customers.
1. Listen to their feedback and respond to their suggestions quickly
I am not sure why this is such a hard thing for many entrepreneurs, but customer satisfaction is so important. If they want changes to your solution, then do them quickly and don’t discuss. Sometimes I had issues when it comes to the changes and I also communicated them, but I still executed what they expected and changed things completely.
2. Provide great customer service
No matter when my clients contact me, I have this deep responsibility to answer them. Even if they are in another time zone, I try my best to come back to them quickly. That is my main approach when I deal with clients — and also why they come back to me again.
Related: 10 Laws of Social Media Marketing
3. Be proactive and personalize the experience for your customer
I always make suggestions on how to improve things and make them better or save time and money. Strategic advice is key for turning clients into lifelong friends. I see every client that I work with as my friend that I really want to help, so I always share my own experience and give suggestions on how to improve things.
4. Interview them in your podcast
My podcast was a great starting point for getting to know my first clients. We had a great time together and I gave them a platform to present their business. This strategy is great for building deep relationships and connecting with people.
Related: B2B Marketing Strategies for a Post-Pandemic Environment
5. Do a Facebook or LinkedIn Live interview with them
What’s even better than a podcast? A live video show. With a live video show, you not only hear your guest, but also see them. It is such a great way to build a strong connection — and directly after the video live session, I pitch them with my offer.
Resources for building relationships with bloggers and influencers
Bloggers and influencers are an important part of any credible marketing campaign. They can help you reach a much bigger audience by sharing your content on their channels and linking back to your website.
Building relationships with influencers is the only way to make sure that your business will survive in the future, since people are trusting them more than ever before.
The secret of successful content marketing campaigns is the ability to create relationships with prospects in the right way so you can generate trust and build credibility in your product or service.
Related: Why Local Marketing Still Matters in the Digital Age
