You’ve heard it a bajillion times: social media, blogging, content creation, sales, whatever … “it’s all about engagement!”
For Christ’s sake!
No.
No it isn’t.
If that’s the case then dating is all about making babies and NASCAR is all about driving.
Again, no.
Yes, at some point, we all need the people we’re talking to to engage with us—to show us they’re listening to and appreciative of whatever we’re saying because we all need to feel validated in some way.
We all need to feel seen, heard, and valued.
And we all have a deep-seated desire to have our concerns addressed, to get our problems solves, and to get our expectations exceeded, and our needs met.
However, shifting the conversation from "engagement" to "relationships" in marketing isn’t simply a matter of semantics, it’s really a much deeper reflection of a fundamental transformation in how businesses and consumers react to and interact with each other’s attention spans.
Here are some thoughts on why we need to emphasize building relationships over mere engagement:
Long-term vs. short-term thinking: Engagement often implies a short-term interaction or transaction, such as clicking on an ad or liking a social media post.
While these interactions have their place, focusing on relationships highlights the importance of nurturing ongoing, meaningful connections. Building relationships with customers is about creating loyalty and trust that extends beyond individual transactions.
Building trust and credibility: Successful marketing is built on trust and credibility. But it’s also built on belief. Few people will buy from you if they don’t believe you will do what you say you’re going to do.
Customers are more likely to trust and believe brands they have a relationship with. By emphasizing relationships, companies can demonstrate their commitment to delivering value and building a trustworthy reputation.
Trust is a critical asset in today's competitive market.
Creating a customer-centric approach: A relationship-centric approach in marketing places the customer at the center of the strategy.
It involves actively listening to customer feedback, understanding their needs, and personalizing interactions. This approach is a departure from traditional, one-size-fits-all marketing and emphasizes customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Building lifetime value: A focus on relationships takes into account the lifetime value of a customer. Rather than optimizing for a single transaction, businesses that prioritize relationships seek to maximize the value of each customer over time. This often leads to better revenue, profitability, and brand advocacy.
Establishing an emotional connection: Building relationships goes beyond rational decision-making. It taps into the emotional connection that customers have with a brand. Emotional branding creates a stronger bond and helps brands become a part of customers' lives and identities.
Engineering retention and loyalty: Engaging a customer once doesn't guarantee their return. Building a relationship is about retaining customers and turning them into loyal advocates who refer your brand to others. Loyal customers are more likely to stay with your brand, even in the face of competitive alternatives.
Adapting to the customer’s journey: The customer journey is no longer a linear path. It's a dynamic and nonlinear process influenced by various touchpoints. Focusing on relationships allows marketers to adapt and respond to customers' changing needs, preferences, and behaviors along this journey.
Acting on feedback and working on improvement: A relationship-centric approach encourages open channels for feedback. Customer feedback becomes a valuable source of information for continuous improvement. It enables businesses to fine-tune their products, services, and marketing efforts based on customer insights.
Actively building your community: Building relationships can extend to fostering a community around your brand. Communities can be powerful in terms of brand advocacy, word-of-mouth marketing, and supporting customers with common interests and challenges.
In any kind of evolving marketing landscape, where customers have more choices and higher expectations than ever before, if you’re not building and nurturing meaningful relationships you’re heading for failure.
It's essential to create and maintain a two-way channel of communication, trust, belief, and shared values. While engagement remains a valuable metric, businesses that shift their focus to building strong, lasting relationships are better positioned for sustainable success in the long run.
As always, thanks for reading.
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P.S. Next time on Shaking the Tree … Stop trying to bore people into buying from you.