Building Relationships: From Platform to Personal

Meet mobile marketing rock star Amanda Read, who is passionate about the power of building relationships from platform to personal.  She knows that communication is a more effective form of marketing than sales because people buy based on how they feel about your business.  “If you don’t communicate authentically, you . . . won’t be successful.”  

Her journey began when a text messaging marketing idea came across her desk; she instantly knew she was onto something powerful. Although she was ahead of her time in this marketing platform, she persisted and quickly learned how to rock this world of marketing through building relationships and trust, rather than pushing information and products onto customers.

Dive into our podcast to learn how to build relationships with your customers from platform to personal.

Determine Your Platform

• Choose a platform that will work for you.
• Remember technology doesn’t matter as much as strategy.
• No one will know the value of your business until you give value first.
• • Understand opt-in regulations.
  • Promote text to win contest for opt-in.
  • • Follow up with text thank you and valuable coupon.
    • • Open rates are close to 98% on text messages!
      • This is real time marketing as open rate is 77% within 5 minutes.
  • Give them something that allows them to spend time with your brand.

Build Brand Authenticity

• Give more than you ask for.
• Know your brand and your audience.
• Communicate to your audience as they would to each other.
• • Speak in their language; are they moms, teens, professionals, grandparents, sports junkies, etc?
  • • Speak in a voice that resonates with them.
• Invite customers to events you put together just for them.
• • Give value first.
• Communicate that they are valued.
• What is your brand voice?  
• • Know your beliefs, values and what you want to portray.
• Hold to your brand voice; don’t shift your brand in response to what others say you should do.

Build Relationships

• Send text polls to learn what’s important to your customer.

• Polls might ask: do you prefer x or y?
• • Then invite them to check out FB page for results.
  • Add visual interest such as a graphic of results.
  • Polls segment a list of preferences and then you can send a thank you and reward with an offer specific to that preference.
  • This connects with them personally and builds the relationship.
• Remember your customers are real people with real concerns.  
• • Sending info unique to them, not just generic info, helps them feel valued.
  • Customers won’t care what you say until they know that you care about them.
• Your product is only as valuable as the perceived value.

Final Thoughts From Amanda

• Remember that everybody isn’t your customer.
• Learn to move on and let go of the “no’s” even if your product will help them.  
• Focus on those who want what you have to offer.

Connect With Amanda

Facebook: Read Mobile Marketing

Youtube: Marketing Happy Hour Channel