Many businesses make the mistake of trying to look bigger than they are, sound more corporate than they should, or spend more time planning their marketing than actually creating it. The best marketers will tell you that marketing is a great experiment, and without running tests and launching creatives, no amount of planning will replace you pushing content out and seeing what works the best. That being said, here are a number of different ways you can immediately make your business more relatable and start building more trust with your audience.
At the end of the day, your customers will choose you because of what you are, not because of who you pretend to be. These marketing exercises will help you showcase the best parts of your company, while potentially discovering what your customers love about working with you the most!
#1: Take a Video of How You Make Your Product or Service
In a world where businesses seem to expect perfection from every marketing release or announcement that goes out, it’s refreshing to see a business take you behind the scenes to show how their product is actually made, the process that goes into their production, and what skills go into creating their product or service. Many times the story of how you make your product or service is just as if not more interesting than the final result. And this serves as an opportunity for you to show-and-tell, walking your audience through why you make the product the way you do and what that means for them.
When other businesses say “Buy Our Product” you can say “Here’s our product and we’ll show you how it’s made and why it could work for you!” There are other ways you can use this show-and-tell method, but a quick video can give your target market more information than dozens of pictures or a long-written email. And if you’re telling a story about any other part of your business, video is always a good way to tell that story.
#2: Write an Email Telling the Story of Why You Started Your Business
People buy from businesses based on emotion and then justify with logic. They’re not buying your product, they’re buying your story. And especially if you started your business with the goal of serving your target market and providing value to them in a way your competitors haven’t, this type of story becomes another reason for them to buy from you.
Whether you started in your garage and came up with an idea or you inherited money and wanted to use it to create something useful for your audience, your future customers will appreciate your authenticity. They don’t need a perfect story, they want to hear your story and what that means for them.
Then make sure that it goes out to your entire database. Not everyone needs to be a prospect or an existing customer. Sometimes it’s the person who reads your story and passes it on to their friend that brings in your next purchase instead of reaching your target customer directly. Authentic storytelling is the factor that makes this kind of marketing so successful.
#3: Make a Post about How Your Product or Service Changed Someone’s Life
Now here’s where your marketing really gets fun. Every great product is great only because it directly solves a problem or need that your customer has. That’s why “product” is actually a function of marketing! You need to make sure that your products change according to how they will provide the most impact to your customers.
When a customer tells you a story about how your product was “life-saving” or how they “couldn’t live without it,” that’s your sign to document their story. Ask if you can take a photo with them. Sit with them and listen to their story. Ask if they wouldn’t mind your team sharing that story on social media. You’d be surprised how many other people might share the same story if they have the same need or the same problem that needs to be solved.
The best kind of marketing tells stories that are relatable and help your future customers see that other people have already walked in their shoes and have made the decision to work with you. We call this concept “Social Proof.”
#4: Tell a Story About How a Team Member Went Above and Beyond for a Customer
There is nothing that humanizes your business more than talking about interactions between your customers and your employees. The thing that should separate you from your competition is customer service. And the best way to show your great customer service is to highlight how your team members go above and beyond (past what your competitors will) to create truly special experiences for the people that entrust you with their business.
And the side benefit of doing this is that it improves your team morale while attracting better talent to work for you! Better experiences mean happier customers, more enthusiastic staff and the cycle continues upwards and onwards while you keep growing your business! Momentum is real, and capitalizing on these stories puts you in position to reach customers that may have never heard about you before. Celebrate the extraordinary in your business.
#5: Ask a Happy Customer to Go On Camera and Talk about Their Experience With You
When done authentically this may be the best marketing of them all: a customer of yours that wants to share their story of how you helped them, even without financial compensation. These are your biggest fans and you want to do everything you can to bring more customers like them into your business. And if there’s no one in your business that would be willing to give you a review on camera, it’s likely a sign that you may need to improve your product or customer service so your customers feel that much more excited to be working with you!
You don’t need a fancy production studio. All you need is an iphone, some decent lighting, and a quiet area so people can focus clearly on the story your happy customer is telling them. The more of these videos you can have, the better!
For more helpful tips on operating or starting your business see our industry specific business formation guides!