Marketing is all about establishing a relationship.  If you've built a website and are waiting for the customers to come see you, you've got a long wait ahead.  If I don't know you, I'm much more resistant to giving you my business.

Let's find out how you can get to know your prospects.

There's a scene in one of my favorite Steve Martin movies, Father of the Bride II. He's in the hospital with his pregnant wife and pregnant daughter, both in labor. He hasn't been able to sleep lately so he's taken a "mild" tranquilizer. When he wakes up he's been taken into an Proctology examination room in a wheelchair by a nurse who mistakes him for another patient. The next thing we see is Steve dashing out of the room, pulling up his pants, yelling "Do I know you?".

Its one of my favorite scenes, not only because its funny, but because it reminds me of I feel when I'm being spammed, when I go to websites that have no credibility, and when I get popups, especially repeated ones (The popup that wouldn't die).

Marketing is the ability to establish a relationship that may or may not result in the sale of a product or service.

When you are in the market for a product or service how do you find a vendor? More than likely you will approach someone within your own circle and ask "Do you know someone who...". We do this to feel more comfortable with the relationship. The relationship you establish in this case is already pre-approved. We recently started re-doing our kitchen. As we have things done, we talk to each of the vendors and ask for referrals for the other tasks we need.

In the Internet world, we establish these referral relationships by providing reciprical links. You place links to other sites on your website, in effect saying "I trust these people". In turn, they place links on their website and say the same about you.

When your prospects arrive at your website, do they have a sense of who you are or are you hiding that in an effort to be business like? Prospects can't establish a relationship with your webpages. They need information on who you really are and what is important to you.

Make it a point to add more information about yourself on your website. Don't just add more credentials, more information about what you do or marketing material. Add more information about yourself and those who work with you. Let people know who you are so they can establish a relationship with you.

Most importantly, follow up with anyone who takes your business card, leaves their email or calls you for information. A relationship requires two people and you, as the vendor, are responsible for establishing it, keeping it going and fulfilling your customer's wants and needs.

(c) 2004, Kimberly Black

Kimberly Black, “The Business Agility Coach,” is the owner of http://KimberlyBlack.com, a network of websites, including http://Coachizer.com and http://BusinessAgilityCompany.com.  To view all of her sites, visit her at http://www.kimberlyblack.com.

You are more than welcome to reprint or publish this article as long as its content remains unaltered, you leave this section at the bottom about me in place and you send a copy to me at contact@coachizer.com.