Imagine this scenario:
Jack and Diane move to a new town halfway across the country and know zero people.
Over the next few weeks, they join a gym, find a church, go to a local wine-tasting, and regularly visit a popular restaurant. They naturally make conversation with people, and over time, decide they’d like to become better acquainted with some of them. So they extend an invitation to their home for a dinner party.
Now, what sort of things does one do at a dinner party besides serving dinner?
What will be the menu? What kind of drinks and cocktails will be served? Should they go on the patio? What about the ambiance? Music? What topics of conversation would they like to have?
End of scenario.
What’s the point of this little ditty? It’s a metaphor for the first three steps to reach the audience you want and sell your products/services.
I know some of these concepts may sound super basic to you, but it is often when you come back to the basics and observe them again from a different angle that something just clicks in your understanding.
You suddenly get a brilliant idea for doing an old thing in a new way, because now you know why it works and the secret behind its power.
First, Jack and Diane are attracting their people. They go to church, a gym, local events, and hangouts. They’re putting themselves OUT there, getting in front of as many people as possible.
In your marketing, these are your ads, blogs, website, social media posts, webinars, podcasts, and anything else that puts you in front of a large group of people that are comprised of your ideal client.
Next, Jack and Diane interact — or engage, their new friends by inviting them to a dinner party. It’s not enough to have casual conversations in public places. In order to build a meaningful friendship, they need a more intimate engagement.
In marketing, when you invite your prospects to call you, request your book, or register for your seminar or webinar, you are engaging them in a more meaningful way.
Finally, Jack and Diane stay in touch with their friends. They go on the lunch dates — then the birthdays, weddings, baby showers, and so on. They are nurturing new relationships and creating affinity and trust with quality, personalized engagement.
In marketing, nurturing your warm list (AKA your audience) is often done with emails, printed newsletters, or other direct mail.
You can also create a Facebook group or a membership group (VIP program). Some people do creative grassroots marketing by getting involved in community events, philanthropy, sponsorships, or supporting their community in other ways for greater exposure and audience building.
The goal of nurture marketing is to ultimately be the one they come to when they or people they know need your services.
Just like in Jack and Diane’s lives, the more they nurture new friendships,
the more they become more intimate and more important.
- Incorporate style and personality in your marketing and messages. Be authentic, friendly, and conversational.
- Talk about your personal interests and ideas. Remember the dinner party metaphor. No one wants to talk to the dull, stuffy person. This will build likeability.
- Demonstrate your expertise. Talk about your clients and cases. Provide education and information. This
will build trust.
Always give them opportunities to hire you or take the next step. If you’re going through the trouble of sending a newsletter, an email, a sales letter, or posting something, at least give them a call-to-action for heaven’s sake.
Tell them what you’d like them to do next. Make an offer and tell them how to act on it.
This last principle is by far the most missed principle and biggest mistake made in nurture marketing because it is the doorway to conversion! Never assume people will know how to engage you or become your client.
It would be like Jack and Diane waiting for their new acquaintances to make a move on them — or assuming that they will just show up on their doorstep for dinner. If you want people to like you and trust you, you have to invite them to take the next step with you.
If you’ve done steps one, two, and three correctly and consistently, you will then be given the opportunity to convert the prospect into a client.
It sounds like a no-brainer, right? Just sign the dotted line.
But how you implement this step will determine whether you get a high conversion rate, or whether people forever stay in your nurture marketing campaigns.