Think Humans NOT Consumers (The Importance of Authentic Customer Relationships)
They may be relaxing but they are all potential customers. They are the people reading your website, talking to you on the phone or watching your video.
When you think of your customers as a consumers you strip them of their humanity! In your mind they become a statistic and not real people.
1: A happy customer experience
On the weekend we were enjoying a relaxing day with friends in Margaret River. My friend and I found our wives in a souvenir shop.
My wife was holding a hat. I needed a hat. The sales lady had personality plus and, after much laughter and fun, we purchased the hat.
She didn't sell the hat – we bought the hat!
2: An unhappy customer experience
The variety of ice-cream flavours available was extensive. So I asked the assistant if I could taste one of the more unusual flavours to see if I liked it.
With a surly expression on her face, she said, “We don’t do that”. Then stood there waiting for us to make up our mind. Zero personality. Zero communication.
What makes your life worth living?
If it’s your family, friends, and work colleagues then welcome to the vast majority of the human experience. The relationships you have with the local store owner, school, work, club, or the people at your favourite coffee shop are what makes your life worth living.
Your customers are no different.
The question is…
What type of experience do your customers have when they interact with your business?
Do you even know?
Is your website human to Human?
Not sure? Then let us buy you a coffee and we'll give you objective frFree appraisal.
Creating a positive customer experience
Obviously you will want to create a positive experience for your customers so they will return or at least recommend you to colleages and friends.
Which leads us to the next question. Is your marketing driven by data or your customers experience?
If you marketing focus is business to business, then you may leaving out the essential ingredient. People. Remember, there is a person in every department of that business. Regardless of the department, you are always dealing with a human. They are Just like you living their life and with all it brings.
When you implement some of these changes and take your marketing from B2B to H2H, you will notice a shift. Your customers will be more engaged, new customers will be attracted to what you have to offer, and you will gain more repeat customers. David Reimherr from MagnificentMktg
In a LinkedIn article, Neil Morgan describes how he changed from B2B to H2H and the difference it made to his company…
I’ve been part of the digital marketing tech movement for about fifteen years now but often wondered whether the focus towards technology is drawing our attention away from what matters most in any marketing -- the person whose business we’d like to earn.
So we re-wrote our creative briefs starting with insights from our customers, and it really helped us put the human element back into our marketing.
Author, blogger and world-renowned marketer Seth Godin makes these observations
Describing two kinds of marketing Seth warns businesses not to get hooked into artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven marketing.
This kind is "...data-driven, grind it out, systemic, digital marketing."
"The room for humans here is very small."
Seth describes the other type of marketing in his book The Purple Cow.
"The other kind is the 'Purple Cow' kind. "It is the poetry, the magic, a human being doing what no one expects," he said.
The level of Human involvement in this kind of marketing is significant.
Seth also predicts that because data-driven marketing will be fully automated before long, serious marketers are now focussing on the other kind of marketing. The human aspects of delivering the message to your audience.
Strong Authentic connections
Human to Human (H2H) is creating a genuine connection between your business and your customers.
H2H is all about establishing an empathetic relationship with your customers at every touch point.
Our experience at Walkabout Souvenirs in Margaret River was fun and we talk about them recommending them to friends It was a highlight of the weekend.
Unlike the the ice-cream vendor? We do talk about the smooth and tasty the ice-cream but the surly attitude of the staff and the business is also mentioned.
Watch out for our article on how to talk to your prospect's subconscious mind.
Get your Free appraisal?
At the very least you'll enjoy a free coffee! So what have you got to lose?
Snippets
You can learn from their experiences (both good and bad) and avoid making the same mistakes.
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The Role Of Emotion In Building Trust (And How You Can Leverage the Emotion)
Emotion is Contagious...
Have you ever laughed, cried, felt sad, afraid or even terrified while sitting comfortably in a cinema watching a movie?
My bet is that you have experienced these emotions while engrossed in a movie. But...
The Role of Emotion in Building Trust
BECAUSE your body reflects the emotion of the person or situation on the screen the feelings you experience of fear, love, dislike, frustration, and happiness are real. They are yours. They belong to you.
That is how a movie captivates you.
Does online video generate the same connection?
Yes, online video evokes an emotional but has a more difficult task.
People watching a video online have many distractions. Among other things they are often surrounded by other people, their environment is noisy, and your video is competing with heaps of other visual distractions.
The movie theatre environment is fully controlled. the seats are comfortable, the temperature is controlled. Sound wraps around you like a blanket. The sound startles you or soothes you. The lighting, actors, music and editing work together to build tension.
And of course it is dark.
In short the director of the movie has your complete attention for the duration of the story. And you reflect the emotion they want you to feel inside your body. There are zero distractions for the viewers.
What about online video?
Online video does evoke emotion in your viewers which is why video is so powerful.
But, while movies have the luxury of a captive audience, a controlled environment and mind blowing music, your online video doesn’t.
How to lose your viewers in the first 7 seconds
What emotional investment do your customers have in your logo?
Well, unless you are a Sony or Toyota I have zero connection with your logo. That may change but only after we have connected. So I am constantly amazed at the number of videos that start with a logo.
Back in the 90s I advised my corporate clients to resist starting with their logos.
Your logo is important but...
Yes, your logo is important because it tells the viewer that they are on your website. But keep it simple preferably at the top left of the screen.
Remember, you have 7 seconds to grab your viewers attention. Do this with your headline. Name the clients problem. Make a bold statement. Be controversial if you can. And then offer them hope.
I have seen some companies spend the valuable first 10 seconds displaying an animated logo.
And another thing…
Having your logo front and centre means that the video is all about you and NOT your potential customers. Video encourages people to stick around for a while which helps your bounce rate.
So don’t waste it.
Moving right along...
Where is the best place for a video?
That depends on the type of video you create. As this post is about establishing a very strong connection with your viewers we recommend placing a video on your About Us page.
When people see you talking about your experience, your passion, your values and your motivation for starting the business, your viewers get a feel for you. You know what I'm talking about.
When you meet someone for the first time sometimes you get good vibes and others negative vibes. We may say to a colleague
“I don’t know why but I trust the guy.” Or, maybe you feel uneasy. “I’m don’t know why but it doesn’t feel right.
These feelings are all come from behind the scenes. They are generated deep in our subconscious minds.
What does this mean for you?
First we need a bit of background. If you want even more information on a particular section the read more gives you details of the research this article is based on.
Cinema takes viewers through an experience that evolves over time, grabbing their attention and triggering a sequence of perceptual, cognitive, and emotional processes. Read more…
When we watch a movie or video we “connect” to another human being before us because our brain mimics—or creates a bodily representation—of what that other person is doing. Read more
Trust is an emotion
If we see a person smile we reflect that feeling of happiness within ourselves. If they are sad we feel sad. If they are happy we feel happy. If they are confident the viewer feels confident.
This is demonstrated with several experiments using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) Read more
Your customers want to know about to and your business. They want an insight into your values. This is your opportunity to let them see your passion for your business and how you want to help them.
This is why it is so important for you to get a video of you and your staff talking about what you do, what motivated you to start the business, maybe some of your early struggles and how you overcame them. This is your company story.
Your target market want to be confident in your ability to perform the services you promise. They want to know you are committed to a long-term relationship.
Your customers are seeking answers to questions such as:
- Can I trust this person to guard my best interests?
- Can I trust them to develop and maintain our relationship? Or...
- Will they let me down?
Trust involves courage
You are asking a lot of your potential clients. You must give them the confidence to overcome their fears and have the courage to engage your services or buy your product.
People who are looking for the service/product you provide must feel confident in you and your ability to perform before they consider entering into a relationship with you.
Strangely enough your prospects want to trust you. They need a solution to their problem and they hope (want) your service/product will be the answer they are seeking.
You will find heaps of common sense tips, rules and strategies for building trust with customers.
Suggestions like be honest, have a reliable product, provide value, be consistent, and be accessible are excellent tips. Even if you manage to win the trust of your website visitors they won’t stay long without these basic qualities.
So, the burning question your may be asking is…
How can you establish trust with strangers on your website?
The best way is to use video!!!
Some of you will not like this next piece of advice.
But you must get a video of yourself on your About Us page. (Before you freak out completely, we have a solution that helps you overcome any inhibitions you may have. Keep an eye out for our interview style videos.)
Consider the benefits you will reap.
When you let your potential customers see who you are they reflect your emotional state in their body. They develop an emotional connection with you.
When your viewers are watching and listening to you on video they are working hard at the subconscious level. They are not aware of this process but it is happening.
Trust is primarily a positive emotion.
When people trust you they confidently rely on the integrity and the ability of people and organisations…
Ok, you know that video is exceptionally powerful but you aren't convinced it's for you. Check out our post
5 reasons why people don't use video
If you want more evidence that video triggers the trust emotion and influences how we all make decisions.