Back in the day, it was sometimes enough to slap up a site and open for business, and you’d probably do okay. Not any longer. Competition is keen, and those that don’t understand that delivering value is the primary goal of any business online are going to end up scrambling to make ends meet. This is especially true in relation to marketing via email or social media.
Let’s look at why this is so.
Why delivering value is job one!
Simply put, in an online marketplace filled with stiff competition, what folks will remember, share and talk about glowingly is the provider who over-delivered. It’s the only (positive) way you’ll stick out from the herd. This can manifest itself in many and varied ways. Whether that means a personal touch with a bit of hand-holding, unannounced bonuses, deals and coupons is truly up to your creativity and ability to deliver. All of these and many more can be very useful. The secret is to consistently surprise your customers with more. It will get them talking, sharing and heading back and again!
Why email and social media are special cases
While your website and other pages you have online have a measure of built-in credibility, you have to work a little bit harder for the same results in both email and social media. This simply means delivering value! The primary difference lies in the fact that while they’re both, at least marginally, permission-based marketing vehicles, each audience is very attuned to being “sold to”, and won’t put up with it. In email, it’s not as negative, as email has long been a marketing vehicle.
What’s different now is the requirement to deliver value as a part of your message, so as to engender enough trust that they will “allow” you to send the sporadic marketing message. In your social media channels, it’s a lot more volatile when it comes to marketing messages. Nevertheless, that means it is a perfect vehicle for enticing them to the next step using a value proposition. Once they opted into an email list from your social media channels, they’re much more likely to be open to your marketing messages.
Important thing here is, make delivering value a number one priority, and you’ll find that more of your prospects, regardless of the medium, will be more apt to respond to you!
