{"id":3261,"date":"2011-07-06T17:16:27","date_gmt":"2011-07-06T17:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=3261"},"modified":"2011-07-06T17:16:27","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T17:16:27","slug":"12-most-important-ways-to-build-relationships-and-get-ror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2011\/07\/12-most-important-ways-to-build-relationships-and-get-ror\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Most Important Ways to Build Relationships and Get ROR"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>If you want to continue to reach your market in this social media age,\u00a0the marketing focus needs to be on\u00a0building relationships,<\/em><\/strong> <\/strong>and metrics\u00a0need to expand beyond ROI (Return on Investment) to include ROR: Return on Relationship.\u00a0So how do you build and strengthen relationships with your audience<\/strong> <\/strong>(as a whole, and as individuals)<\/em> <\/em>to increase your ROR? Here are 12 ways to do so:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Listen<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to be heard above the growing social media \u201cnoise,\u201d you need to first listen <\/em><\/strong>to your consumers <\/em><\/strong>so when you\u00a0do<\/em> speak, you get it right.\u00a0 What are they saying, what are they feeling, what are their pain points, what solutions do they need?<\/p>\n

2. Don’t just Listen, but Hear.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks to social media, brands can gather vast amounts of valuable information about consumer preferences\u2026 but to build relationships you need to go well beyond data gathering and actually\u00a0hear, and react to what your consumers are sharing.<\/em> True listening requires a willingness to place consumers\u2019 opinions above the brand\u2019s own (usually biased) view of itself<\/strong>, and to even make product\/service changes based on that feedback.<\/p>\n

3. Know the People in Your Audience<\/strong><\/p>\n

Short and simple:\u00a0 if you are only focused on the money, you risk completely overlooking the people.\u00a0 Don\u2019t make that mistake!\u00a0 If you don\u2019t know who\u00a0your<\/em><\/strong> people are, you might as well toss your marketing money down the drain.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Make it be about\u00a0THEM<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

First think about and first address what matters most to\u00a0your audience<\/strong>.\u00a0 Give them a platform to show you what they need, want, are interested in, and expect.\u00a0 Whatever matters most to\u00a0them<\/em> should become what matters most to\u00a0you<\/em>!<\/p>\n

5. Be consumer oriented (whether that be retail consumers, b to b prospects, or those who consume your personal brand).<\/strong><\/p>\n

We marketers like to think that social media is primarily a set of tools for\u00a0our<\/em><\/strong> marketing purposes, but in reality, social media is also a strong set of tools\u00a0our consumers<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>use to share and influence opinion about our brand. \u00a0Our consumers\u00a0now have\u00a0\u201cthe channel of\u00a0me<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong> Consumers\u2019 opinions now create the \u201creality\u201d of the brand \u2014 if enough consumers say negative things about your brand, your brand loses its credibility, and (thankfully) vice versa.<\/p>\n

6.<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>Ask<\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>\u201cHow can I serve you?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Taking the \u201cME\u201d mentality one step further, when we are\u00a0advertising<\/em> instead of\u00a0building relationships<\/em>, we are focused on what our consumers can give us instead of how we can best serve them.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0Aim for\u00a0Ongoing<\/em><\/strong> <\/strong>Engagement<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your consumers will recognize in a heartbeat if you are simply trying to\u00a0get<\/em> something from them \u2013 and they will not stick around.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that you aren\u2019t allowed to want anything from your consumers, it\u2019s that there must be a\u00a0give<\/em> to go along with every\u00a0take<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 If you truly want to make an impact, aim to always put more energy and attention in your \u201cgive\u201d column than in your \u201ctake\u201d column.\u00a0 It\u00a0will<\/em> pay off.<\/p>\n

Traditional advertising is going for instant impact and hoping and praying you make an impression:\u00a0 splashy billboards, off-the-wall Super Bowl television ads, eye-catching graphics, even shock factor (images of gore, poverty, nudity, animal cruelty, etc.).\u00a0 While those methods are effective in catching a consumer\u2019s attention, they fall short of\u00a0retaining<\/em> that attention. \u00a0Building relationships is about starting meaningful dialogue and taking the time to thoughtfully and genuinely engage in ongoing conversation.\u00a0 Relationships focus on getting to know your consumer and giving them reasons to stay engaged \u2014 not just getting them to react. This needs to be all the time\u2026 not simply campaign or initiative based. That is the biggest mistake being made today by marketers and brands\u2026 with consumers, and especially with influencers.<\/p>\n

Brands tend to fall short on this one because real engagement takes time, attention, and overall effort, but I can assure you that working in a vacuum is one of the biggest mistakes a brand can make! \u00a0A one-time Tweet, a quick Facebook posting, or an email here and there is an announcement, not engagement.\u00a0\u00a0Engagement requires a brand to reach out to consumers\u00a0by asking questions, offering useful content and solutions to relevant consumer issues, providing useful community forums and feedback venues, etc.<\/p>\n

8. Authenticity will set your brand apart from the rest in today\u2019s highly competitive market.<\/strong><\/p>\n

True authenticity in marketing requires brands to change their public filters.\u00a0 It used to be that a whitewashed image was the way to get consumers\u2019 notice and buy-in (literally)\u2026but now, if brands filter out any and all slight imperfections, consumers quickly get wary.\u00a0 If the only product\/service reviews you allow the public to hear are about how amazing your product\/service is, you quickly lose authenticity points.<\/p>\n

9. \u201cLESS fabrication, MORE facilitation.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In other words, don\u2019t waste resources whitewashing your brand.\u00a0 Put your resources instead into giving\u00a0Advocates<\/a> the tools to tell\u00a0their<\/em> truth about your brand\u2026because that is what consumers trust and what they trust, they will buy.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cLESS fabrication, MORE facilitation\u201d = a boost to your ROR.<\/p>\n

10. In today\u2019s market, REAL trumps PERFECT because real is what creates TRUST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Give consumers ongoing chances to interact with you and your brand, so they can see that you always tell the truth. Don\u2019t waste your valuable marketing time making things up because your consumers\u00a0will<\/em> sense that you are not telling the truth.\u00a0 Do your products and services have all perfect recommendations, as your brand claims?\u00a0 Maybe \u2013 but unlikely.\u00a0 100% on-time delivery?\u00a0 Maybe \u2013 but unlikely.<\/p>\n

Of course you don\u2019t need to announce your errors or be proud of performance inconsistencies, but if consumers bring them up publicly, consider NOT filtering those conversations out of the media.\u00a0 Speak directly to any issues consumers have with your brand, and let your problem-solving conversations be public.\u00a0 These authentic conversations are the ones that build ongoing relationships \u2013 the ones that create Brand Advocates.<\/p>\n

11. Integrate Customer Service with your social presence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Use social media for instant and ongoing engagement with your customers. \u00a0Pay attention to them and address their needs early, often and\u00a0publicly. \u00a0Make sure your social team and customer service team are on the same page and communicate regularly and easily.<\/p>\n

12. Focus on the relationship\u00a0before the sale.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When a brand adopts the marketing philosophy that it is all about relationships, they automatically begin paying more attention to the consumer needs and preferences to learn who the consumers really are. Consumers who feel valued by a brand will in turn assign value to the brand by buying the product\/service and passing recommendations on to their networks. The sale then becomes a natural part of the ROR\u00a0instead of a \u201chard sell\u201d effort.<\/p>\n

Relationships ARE the new currency \u2013\u00a0honor them, invest in them, and start measuring your ROR!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ted Rubin<\/p>\n

Originally posted at <\/em>12most.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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If you want to continue to reach your market in this social media age,\u00a0the marketing focus needs to be on\u00a0building relationships, and metrics\u00a0need to expand beyond ROI (Return on Investment) to include ROR: Return on Relationship.\u00a0So how do you build and strengthen relationships with your audience (as a whole, and as individuals) to increase your … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,7],"tags":[1370,32,358,480,479,566,30,3],"class_list":["post-3261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","category-tedrubin","tag-ronr","tag-marketing","tag-relationships","tag-return-on-relationship","tag-ror","tag-social-marketing","tag-social-media","tag-ted-rubin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3261"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3267,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3261\/revisions\/3267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}