4 Ways to Build Great Relationships with Freelancers

Working on a freelance basis is an increasingly popular alternative to the traditional 9-5. In fact, nearly 50% of millennials already freelance. There are several reasons for this. Some people like the flexibility freelancing offers. Others realize that it’s a great way to earn a side income.


This present certain challenges for businesses though. Managing relationships with freelancers is very different from working with permanent staff. This is partly because the relationship itself is fundamentally different. The crux of this is that you aren’t a freelancer’s line-manager, you’re their client.

The problem is that many businesses don’t adapt their approach to reflect this. They treat their freelance workers the same as their staffers. The danger here is that you waster everyone’s time and harm your relationship.


At the other end of the spectrum, some businesses take a completely hands off approach. This is just as bad, as it makes it impossible to establish a fruitful long-term relationship. This means you’re likely to find your contractors moving on, causing all kinds of problems.

Today, I want to take you through 4 important tips to help you manage relationships with freelancers.

Communication is Key

This sounds pretty obvious right? If you want to build a good relationship with anyone, you need to have decent channels of communication. But what should this look like when your working with a freelancer? Of course, it depends on the individuals involved. Whether you prefer to work by email, or through scheduled Skype calls, there are two main mistakes when it comes to communication.

The first is bombarding your contractor with irrelevant information. It’s good to keep your freelance workers ups to date with what’s going on in your company, but they don’t need anywhere near the same detail as your permanent staff.

I like to work in a little bit of small talk. Adding personal touches to your communication is a fantastic way to build a friendly and mutually beneficial working relationship, but people are unlikely to want to hear what you have for dinner every night. It’s about finding the right balance.

The second mistake is just the opposite. That is, not communicating at all. This means you’re not giving freelance workers the information they need. Then, they either have to find it themselves or make assumptions about what you need. This is extra work that you aren’t necessarily paying them for.

A Little Understanding

If you use a little bit of perception, you can figure out a lot about the working habits of freelancers. It’s easy to assume that just because someone doesn’t have a 9-5 job, they don’t have a routine. This is unlikely to be true though.

Freelance workers usually have very well defined working habits. For example, it’s pretty common to block off part of your schedule for admin tasks, like invoicing or keeping up with emails. This isn’t difficult to work out. If one of your contractors always responds your emails between 9 and 10am, this is probably why.

Understanding a worker’s habits can cut down the need for back and forth, as you’ll have a clear set of expectations. All you have to do is pay a little bit of attention.

Provide Resources

Freelance workers love it when you provide a decent set of resources. Exactly what these are depends on the nature of the work. Writers like to have a well defined style guide. Designers want a nicely catalogued set of assets to work with.

Basically, giving your workers an easy to access and navigate set of resources to refer back to just makes their lives an awful lot easier. This is a sure fire way to become their favourite client. This is the position you want to be in, as they’ll be more willing to go the extra mile.

It benefits you too of course. Particularly if you’re working with a number of contractors. If you want to have consistent work, you need to establish a set of standards. This also cuts down the number of questions each worker needs to ask.

Show Some Appreciation

This one will get you far in life, not just when you’re trying to manage relationships. People respond well to praise. If something’s going well, you should let your freelancer know. A couple of words of appreciation can make the difference between a freelancing arrangement which lasts a couple of weeks and one which lasts for years.

It goes further than that though. Appreciation stems from knowing what someone’s time is worth. As such, you’re unlikely to see good results if you try and lowball someone. Freelancers, by their nature, know exactly what their time is worth.

By the same token, you should always try and avoid unnecessary scope-creep. Of course, it’s perfectly normal for new areas of work to emerge. That’s only a problem if you try and sneak extra work in for free.

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Final Thoughts

My goal is to always try to be a worker’s favorite client. This doesn’t mean I want to be their best friend. Rather, I want to establish a long lasting and mutually beneficial arrangement. The key to this is proper relationship management.

The importance of this is too easily overlooked. The cost of doing so is high. On-boarding a new freelancer and bringing them up to speed is extremely time to consume. So when you find someone good, you should do everything in your power to make them stick around. Luckily, with a little bit of human touch, this shouldn’t be too difficult.

Maintaining a good working relationship has other benefits too. If you establish an arrangement which both parties find beneficial, you have a better chance of receiving some good will. This might come in the form of leniency if anything ever goes wrong on your end. It even is a potential source of new contacts, as freelancers tend to talk to each other. If the stars align, this can even lead to new business opportunities.




Source: https://www.business2community.com
Photo Credits: Pixabay

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3 Ways To Rethink Customer Relationships In The Age Of The Consumer

I think we can all agree that the world of buying and selling today looks drastically different than it did as little as 10 or 15 years ago. With the advent of the internet and the proliferation of content, consumers are more informed than ever. And the byproduct of this easily accessible information? A shift in the balance of power in the brand-consumer relationship.

Early in my book, “Top of Mind,” I talk about how this shift has necessitated the transition from “Me Marketing” to “You Marketing.” Instead of only considering their brand, their product, and their pitch, businesses are building trust with audiences by taking a more customer-centric approach — essentially shifting their messages from being all about them to being all about the audience.

These days, pushing a message out will only get you so far. Instead, companies must focus on all the ways they can help customers, drawing prospects in when they’re ready to convert and retaining them once they do.

It sounds intuitive because it reflects the way most of us prefer to interact with brands. But actually implementing a plan to act on it is another story. Below are three tips to help you rethink your relationships with your audience members and succeed in the age of the consumer.

1. Prioritize the post-sale experience.

A lot of companies have an obsession with landing sales. This mindset is understandable, given that even the best product or service will completely flop without customers. The problem arises when companies become obsessed with always trying to get more new customers and fail to invest in the experiences of the customers they already have.

Growth and success are about more than landing new clients; they’re also about retaining current ones. According to McKinsey, “even small differences in net-revenue churn have very real implications for a company’s top line.” In fact, a 5 percent increase in customer retention rates can increase profits by 25 to 95 percent.

Taking care of the customers you already have is a win-win. By improving retention rates, you’re simultaneously driving new business.

2. Focus on customer success over customer service.

It’s mind-blowing how many companies resort to a reactive customer service approach. This traditional method of customer support naturally highlights problem areas because customers don’t interact with your brand until they’re having an issue.

No business is perfect, but if you spend all your time putting out fires, you'll have a hard time demonstrating how easy it is for your customers to work with you to reach their goals. A proactive approach focused on truly helping your customers succeed and adding value to your relationships with them can turn an entire business around.

When interactions with customers focus on helping them achieve as much as possible — as opposed to quickly fixing a problem to quell a complaint — they’re bound to be much more positive. In the long term, this can strengthen your relationships and highlight opportunities for revenue growth.

3. Use the right tools and resources.

Hopefully, you’re starting to understand the value of a customer success methodology over one centered around customer service, but if you think you’re going to clap your hands and simply proclaim the change in your organization, you’re mistaken. To really make the shift, you’re going to need the right tools.

One place to start is by taking advantage of customer success platforms such as Gainsight that leverage predictive analytics to monitor customer health. Managing relationships effectively is incredibly valuable, and using the right tools can help you maximize customer lifetime value.

Your company content is another essential tool, so consider updating your content marketing strategy to align with a customer success mentality. This means retiring those traditional Me Marketing tactics that put you ahead of your customers and focusing on providing authentic, educational resources to your audience. This kind of content not only helps you continue to attract new customers, but it also helps your current customers get the most value out of working with you — effectively killing two birds with one stone.


In business and in life, we tend to follow tried-and-true approaches, but sometimes this limits our growth potential by enforcing certain boundaries. The most common interpretation of customer service has been around for years, but it’s time for a change. By making a commitment to put customers first and ensure that they know how to take full advantage of what you have to offer, you’re making an investment that will ultimately benefit your business.

Source: https://www.forbes.com
Image Credit: Pixabay




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Strengthen Your Customer Relationships Through Branded Content

In the world of social platforms, attention spans are often short. In turn, brands are forced to adapt at breakneck speeds. Out of this strange brew of ever-evolving consumer preferences and marketing strategies, branded content has emerged as the new king of marketing and public relations (PR).

Branded content (sometimes referred to as branded entertainment or branded journalism) can involve videos, articles, podcasts and other media. Unlike commercials, social ads and more formal advertising, branded content brings value to people by entertaining and/or informing them. It’s a more effective, direct form of advertising that has a strong uplift because of its efficacy.

Big brands -- including the likes of Disney, Dove, Discovery, MTV, Red Bull and others -- rely on branded content as a primary saturation mechanism. This branded content stands out and has a substantial PR reach and social media effect.

Make no mistake, producing branded content that is memorable and impactful requires that businesses deeply understand the values they share with customers. The objective is to create and strengthen that bond through a shared narrative.  

A great example of this in motion is Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches series. The company’s overall objective was to, “Inspire every single one of the 80% of women who feel anxious about how they look to reconsider their view of their own beauty and remember: You’re more beautiful than you think.”

The cosmetics maker produced a film centered on having FBI forensic experts draw portraits of participating women based on self-descriptions while separated by a curtain. In turn, the same women were drawn based on the descriptions of others. The unveiling of the final portraits was captivating and profoundly moving.  

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According to Dove, the video saw more than 50 million views in the first 12 days and has since reached nearly 180 million views. The series was covered by The New York Times, ABC News, Bloomberg and The Guardian, to name a few outlets. How’s that for PR outreach?

While viewers of branded content may be well aware that they’re being advertised to, the method of connecting them with a brand is successful because of the strong narrative and storyline. I've seen this success firsthand, as my agency focuses on creating strategic branded content for our clients, among other brand-building initiatives. 

From my perspective, setting your brand apart in these turbulent, shark-infested waters is critical. In order to reap the rewards of your efforts, there are some important things to keep in mind.

Create a seamless story that speaks to your audience. 

To cut through the clutter and make your branded content truly stand out, there are some tricks to the trade. Marketers must be sure to: 

• Create content that welcomes people, instead of relying on emotional filters or a sense of urgency.
• Understand that content is created for people, not a consumer or a member of a demographic.
• Tell a story that’s thoughtfully created and highlights the values of the brand.
• Make branded content seamless -- the voice of your ads, social channels and site content should carry over the same message.

By following these simple rules, you can expand your digital reach faster. Moreover, you’ll be connecting with people who are encouraged to act based on the content they’ve enjoyed. Above all else, branded content should leave the viewer with a sense of solidarity with the brand.

Insert personality into your story.

Content that lacks personality is stale and boring, and it is essentially a waste of your time and that of the readers. Instead, evoke a strong, personal flavor in your content -- one that carries on with residual value in the mind of the reader long after they’ve already mentally ingested it.

Whether your message is humorous, boisterous, empathetic, emotional or downright serious in tone, maintaining this theme across all your branded content channels is imperative. The goal is to interact and reach consumers who appreciate the message your brand is conveying.

The more your brand speaks in its natural voice and talks about the things it believes in, the easier it is to connect with audiences that believe in those same ideas.

Remember the three must-haves of branded content.

Finally, like any marketing method, you’ll see better results if you follow a few simple rules of the trade. Based on my experience, the following three rules should be a part of your strategy:

1. Create stories for people, not for sales. Doing so makes your content more valuable to the consumer and rewards them for viewing it.
2. Syndicate your content far and wide. Don’t just plop it on your website and expect sales to skyrocket.
3. Use PR to share your content. PR isn’t dead. Tell the world about your content by issuing a press release and using social syndication services to gain reach.

The marketing paradigm has shifted. From my perspective, the average user now abhors ads, pop-ups, click bait and wasted time spent on shoddy content. To gain reach and saturation -- and, ultimately, an uplift in sales -- you’ll need to create amazing content that shines. Doing so will deliver measurable results to your ROI in the long run.

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Source: https://www.forbes.com

Image Credit: Pexels



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How to Strengthen Your Client Relationships So Customers Stay With You for the Long Haul

A business is only as good as its customers. But how you interact with your customersafter they become customers is perhaps the most important part of the business-client relationship.

Sure, you want your customers to be happy and loyal, but so often we focus on getting a new customer, but don't have any real strategy on the customer services experience once that client is signed. The result: customers leave, and you are left with a lot of time invested without the benefit of the long-term potential revenue. How can you strengthen your relationship with your customer so it can grow and flourish for a long time into the future? Here are four steps that can help:

1. Watch and listen

If you haven't done this before, you need to have a deep understanding of your customers' needs and goals. Many times, we assume what they want, but we actually don't ask them.

Ask yourself and your customers "Why do they need you?" For example, in my yoga studio, we want to offer certain classes on the schedule. However, if people don't show up for them, the classes won't be successful. So before we offer new ones, we send surveys and engage with our most loyal customers in our private Facebook group to get their feedback on class format offerings, days and times. We then listen to what the customer wants and decide if that is the direction we can go.

We also observe their actual behavior--they may ask for a class and then never show up. We watch and observe to determine the reason why that occurs. You can do the same. This can help you see signs that your client doesn't and develop a strategy to help match your customer's goals.

2. Take a team approach--with an assigned leader.

Managing the customer relationship involves not just you, but everyone in your company. The most effective customer experience spans your entire team. It is what differentiates your company culture from other businesses when each person in your company is involved in some way.

We spend a great deal of time in our yoga studio to ensure that every touch point for a customer is a caring experience. I assign different people on my staff to lead different initiatives and programs in the studio. It becomes that person's job to communicate information back and forth from the customer to my entire team and for them to work together on getting the outcomes they want in each situation.

You can try this in your business, too. This way your customers have the confidence that no matter who they work with in your business, they will have a consistent experience.

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3. Make Net Promoter Score your guiding light.

You always need to keep tabs on how your customers view your services. I use Net Promoter Score (NPS). The NPS rates how willing customers would recommend a company's products or services to others.

The score is calculated by how customers answer specific questions and range from minus 100 to 100. The NPS is great because it gives you unfiltered feedback where customers can outline possible flaws in customer service that they might not communicate with you.

It also doesn't take your customers a lot of time to respond, so it's easier to get responses. With the results from the survey in hand, you can make changes in how you and your team approach customer service or future offerings.

4. Make your customer experience exciting.

If your team is not excited about your services, your customer won't be either. In my studio, I meet with leaders of different programs to brainstorm what is going well, and not so well, at least once a month. We also create new ways to engage customers and get them engaged with the yoga community. When they are a part of the creation of ideas, that enthusiasm carries over to the customer during interactions in person.

When your customers see and hear how energetic you and your team are about your services, they are much more inclined to join you and best of all, recommend you to others.

Providing excellent customer service is perhaps the hardest part of business growth. But by having a customer service experience strategy in place early on, you'll be in a good position to secure customers who are happy, loyal, and complimentary about your services. A little effort in the right places can make all the difference in whether your clients stay or go.

Source: https://www.inc.com

Image Credit: Getty Images




ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

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Want to Build a Great Marketing Strategy? Start by Making Human Connections. Here's How

Hearst bought Rodale. Meredith bought Time. But these major magazine unions will look relatively small if AT&T acquires Time Warner and Sinclair Broadcast Group manages to take over Tribune Media. And now, CBS is in talks with Viacom to combine. While the valuations in this wave of M&A vary, one thing remains constant: a quest for scale.

Facebook and Google eat the lion's share of digital advertising and practically all the growth. So this wave of mega media mergers illustrates one route to combat the dominance of these internet giants: scale. Each of these mergers amasses an enormous audience in an effort to extend companies' reach in order to compete. And while it will be exciting to see what these mergers yield in terms of advertiser appeal, there's another approach that many marketers should be thinking about.

In today's mass-reach world, it is easy to be blinded by scale. Even in the case of each of these massive mergers, there's something that media brands mastered long ago that still matters: individual relationships. It might sound counterintuitive that corporations like these would know their customers, but the reality is that consumers interact with individual titles, programs, and media personalities. The way that media companies maintain their popularity among consumers is by understanding their interests and serving them. In fact, while consumer trust in the media continues to be low, trust in journalism and journalists is on the rise.

In a world of seemingly infinite reach, that one-to-one connection is more valuable than ever. Here are three things you need to keep in mind so you can get personal with your customers.

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1. Make honest human connections.

Humans are literally wired to connect with one another. When we treat our customers like data or personas or demographics, it can be easy to forget that they are individuals. The really confounding thing about our ability to collect nearly infinite information about our customers is that we don't treat them as well as we did before we interacted digitally.

Trust is essential to form human connections. While it might be tempting to use tracking tools to gather data about our customers, trust is more important. Opting in is the bare minimum for data collection--transparency and consent must be given. Be sure that you treat your customers (and their data) with respect to deepen your customer connection.

2. Exchange ideas.

As a marketer, it can be very easy to focus on one-way messaging. Let's face it--a lot of work goes into creating those marketing messages. However, genuine relationships are based on interaction and dialogue. Find opportunities to listen. Ask questions and for opinions. Give your customers input and not only will you deepen your relationship with them, but you will also probably receive feedback, criticism, and ideas that you can use. Who would know better what your customers need than they do?

3. Socialize.

Yes, you can incorporate social media. But this requires actively listening, exchanging ideas, responding to positive and negative feedback, and all of the qualities required in genuine human connection. However, while it can be easy to fall back into the internet-scale trap and view social media as the most efficient way to reach your customers, genuine relationships are rarely based on efficiency.

One of the most effective ways to connect with customers is face to face. Many marketers (and media companies) are adding live experiences to their mix. Work with your customers to understand what sorts of real-world events would be useful, fun, or interesting to them. And if creating your own event seems too daunting, you can find out what events they already attend and what sorts of causes matter to them, or interests they have, and create a custom experience within an event just for your audience. What creates a deeper bond than shared experience?

So, yes, there are many ways to reach your customers, and the internet spawns new and increasingly targeted ones all the time. But as you consider the most effective methods for your marketing objectives, consider whether your topmost objective is scale or if you are looking for the kind of lasting customer relationship that will sustain you in the long run.

[WATCH VIDEO]

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Source: https://www.inc.com
Image Credit: Getty Images




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Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

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3 Ways to Better Build Relationships with Customers in 2018

Let's face it; none of us are perfect with respect to building relationships with customers. How can we do a better job at this all-important task over the next year? Here are a few ways:

#1: Build a Brand That Matters

"There's no place for mediocre content on the Internet," advises Neil Vogel, CEO of Dotdash, and one of the experts I was able to interview for Firebrand Group's current ebook, Big Ideas for 2018. "If your brand doesn't mean something to people, you are not going to thrive (or survive) on the Internet today. You are seeing that in publishing right now - brands are all over the place because they don't mean anything to anyone or have any real value to users." Vogel's one who knows from experience, having famously split About.com into a number of different high-value properties over the last two years, culminating in About.com's rebrand as Dotdash.

"People want expertise," advises Vogel. "If your brand can communicate that, then you have a much better chance of succeeding today."

Going out on a limb to build a brand that resonates isn't risky; playing it safe is probably the riskier move, Vogel argues. "If you disappear from the Internet today, and no one is upset, you probably didn't build a brand that mattered to enough people, or you tried to build a brand on top of a flawed model."

To build a brand that truly serves a purpose, you need to stand for something, Vogel stresses. "Once you determine what you stand for, that will dictate everything after that. You need to identify the true value of what you are doing, and focus solely on delivering on that value." Case in point: Dotdash's home and food-focused brand, The Spruce, is now one of the strongest properties of its kind on the internet, simply because Dotdash set out to do something that it didn't believe was well-served in the marketplace.

#2 Obsess Over Understanding your Users

Although it is quite difficult to truly understand your customers, it is also one of the best ways to foster innovation. "You can gain an entirely different perspective by speaking with people directly and better relating with your users," explains Jamie Albers, head of product for Jigsaw, a tech incubator started by Google, and now operated as a subsidiary of Alphabet. "This can help you create lasting and meaningful connections between your organization and your users, which can in turn help you create better products that reflect what people actually want. It aligns your company around a specific shared goal while also communicating your values to your customers."

"It can be easy for a few users to skew your understanding, so it's critical to consult other sources," advises Albers, who looks at resources like AppAnnie for basic app metrics to understand user engagement and demand. She also analyzes user comments on app store pages, social media sites, and blogs to identify unique user sentiments and use cases for different products. Unsurprisingly, she cites Google Consumer Surveys; they're an insightful, inexpensive way to engage with users at scale and help validate findings."

It is also incredibly helpful to review specific metrics to look at how users are engaging with your products and services. On this front, Albers recommends, Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Heap, Looker, Tableau and Periscope Data.

#3: Crystallize your Brand Voice

Another way to build better relationships with customers is to work on your brand voice, especially for emerging brands. "Voice is part of the fabric of digital-first brands and in many respects how they differentiate and challenge the more conventional incumbents," argues Brendán Murphy, a Senior Partner at global creative consultancy Lippincott. "Looking at industries from insurance to healthcare to financial services, brand voice is the megaphone they use to frame their differentiated purpose and experience."

Murphy, another participant in the Big Ideas for 2018 project, shares that "to build emotional bonds, [brands] are realizing that they need to dig deep into their origin story and recommit to their purpose to engage employees, recruits, and customers."

"As more and more of the service components of brands leverage bots and AI, the verbal experience is an integral part of how customers experience, relate and define brands.

While brands like Oscar get high marks for expression, the best brands walk the talk by using their voice to deliver on their promise.Southwest Airlines does an excellent job of keeping the voice real and engaging across all channels, from flight attendants to social media. Patagonia and Everlane are others brands Murphy cites for being very clear and transparent with their customers about their value proposition, leading with clear and purposeful actions which their customers appreciate.

"The first and most important thing brands need to do is define their purpose," advises Murphy. Character, he explains, is an expression of purpose, values and offering as a company, and shouldn't be something disconnected from who your company is at its core. Figure that out, and you'll be well on your way towards acing the year ahead.

Source: https://www.inc.com/
Image Credit: Getty Images


ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business organization focused on providing our members and guests with an extraordinary networking experience, bringing business professionals together for the sole purpose of generating new relationships and developing new business opportunities. Not a member, learn how you can become a member and join this awesome group of professionals to connect and grow your business.

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4 Ways to Build Relationships and Avoid 'One-Night Stands' With Your Customers

Did you start your business to have a "one-night stand"? Did you launch your company, found a startup, or join an organization just to make more money? If so, stop reading this column now.

I'm about to share the four ways to create truly meaningful relationships with your customers that will take your startup to the next level. Having "one-night stands" with customers may have worked for some startups before, but in this hyper-competitive age of technology, I've seen firsthand how customer churn can kill a company.

Entrepreneurs know that the success of their companies is dependent on customers. Without paying customers, your startup will never get off the ground.

To help find these customers, businesses have traditionally relied on marketing to generate a bunch of new leads at the top of the funnel to find qualified prospects for sales. But what resulted from generating all these leads was that marketers became bad dates only looking for one-night stands!

Marketers would never greet a prospect at the metaphorical door, on their own terms. Instead, they opted to honk the car horn incessantly in the driveway (i.e., blasting out emails) hoping maybe the prospect would come out (replying to said email).

Think about it: a sales development representative (SDR) or account executive (AE) is constantly calling a prospect while marketing sends email blasts, and maybe immediately, maybe tomorrow, or maybe a year from now, that prospect will hopefully say, "Okay, let's talk."

These leads would shuffle through a buyer's journey (or courtship if you will) to hopefully become paying customers. Who wants to be courted like that? There's no flowers or candy, no meaningful conversations, and no foundational activities for establishing a relationship.

And in reality, this is no way to build your business. According to Forrester Research, less than 1% of B2B leads will ever become paying customers. That means if your company's marketing team is focused on lead generation, you could be wasting up to 99% of your marketing dollars trying to engage with people who will never have a relationship with your company.

Here are 4 ways to build customer relationships instead of having "one-night stands". 

1. Focus on engagement, not leads

People who still think leads are the be-all and end-all KPI for marketing are starting to drive me a little nuts. Kind of like that obnoxious guy or girl at the bar.

In our modern, tech-savvy world, why would you continue to count new leads as a success metric for your company? It's like if you were dating and you counted getting tons of phone numbers as a successful night. If you followed up on all of those phone numbers, how many great dates would you get? It sounds like a waste of time and a recipe for heartbreak.

You have the capabilities to find that right person for you, and your company, then try to have a conversation. Both marketing and sales should share the common goal of trying to engaging prospects instead of generating leads. The world is a much better place when sales and marketing are aligned on goals.

2. Drive conversations vs. conversions

Let's say you're tracking conversion rates as a success metric. Most digital marketing professionals still are. You love driving people to your website so you can cheer when a form is completed. Yeah! Score! A conversion!

Then what happens? You try to engage this person with a follow-up phone call, drop them into a drip campaign or add them to a nurturing email. Do you ever hear from them again? If not, that sounds a lot like a one-night stand.

3. Generate revenue instead of registration numbers

Like flowers and candy, content marketing is a great way to start off a date. Your prospect gets to hear from thought leaders about the problems in your industry and how your business is a solution. Your marketing team plans regular webinars and invites anybody and everybody to register and attend.

Big registration numbers are exciting, but what does this actually do for revenue? That's what sales and your executive team care about. Sure, you got the prospect's attention with your webinar, but what happens next to turn that prospect into a sales opportunity is what truly matters.

When I was Head of Marketing at Pardot (now Salesforce), I recall how we saw 33% higher win rate when someone attended a product webinar after the opportunity was created. Now that's the kind information that can shape your marketing programs. It's all about knowing what is working to drive new revenue and more new customers.

4. Plan great dates

The way you design activities to engage your potential customers should be like planning a date -- personalized based on who that person is instead of using the same old pickup lines. The content and activities should align with not only the account's stage of the buyer's journey but also to the individual buyer personas.

Your prospective customers deserve special "dates." You can't expect someone to open the email you just blasted to thousands of people and actually respond. That's not marketing. It's just "spray and pray." Instead, show the love to your prospects and customers by designing personalized marketing experiences.

Think about it this way: you should not bring thousands of frogs to your door, "kissing" each one with a form completion. Focus on defining what your perfect partner's qualities would be. Those are the customers that will help your startup to grow and your company to flourish.

Source: https://www.inc.com
Image Source: Getty Images

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8 Essential Qualities Necessary to Be Great in Relationships

The variable we most control in relationships is ourselves.

 Great businesses are built upon a foundation of great relationships. Do you ever wonder how some people seem so natural and at ease in relationships, while others really struggle to maintain them? Is it a difference in temperament, like introversion or extroversion?

It could be, but as a psychologist, I can say the approach to relationships for each temperament is different; yet, both hold the same core beliefs. To follow is a list of the things we need, regardless of temperament, to be great in relationships.

1. Not defined by our past.

We all have a past. It is only when we cannot accept, have not yet healed or forgiven our past that it has the power to negatively impact our relationships today. We need to use our experiences to grow so that we stop repeating negative or unproductive patterns.

We run our own lives. It is imperative we acknowledge and work to mature the more unrefined and defended aspects of our personalities, where we tend overcompensate for the insecurities developed from our experiences.

Use your past to positively change your future. Establish the self-awareness necessary to create mutually beneficial and reciprocal relationships.

2. Know who we are.

To be great in relationships we must have emotional depth. To develop that depth, we must soul-search and be unafraid to show our imperfections.

We are all human. We all bleed the same color. When we accept this, we will expect less perfection from ourselves and stop demanding perfection from others.

When we’re authentic, we don’t need to try so hard to look good in the eyes of others. We can show up as who and what we are, flaws and all. When one of our flaws creates an issue, we must acknowledge this with ownership, an apology and a plan for what we will change in ourselves to not let it happen again. When we know who we are, we can self-correct, which serves to build trust.

3. Independently content.

A person who is content on their own is the best type of person to be in a relationship with. Relying too much on other people to build us up or make us feel valuable makes us difficult to be in a relationship with.

It is our responsibility to feel good enough about who we are, on our own. We cannot enter relationships putting the responsibility of our success or happiness onto anyone else. We must respect that each and every person we connect with also needs to be responsible for their own success and happiness. The formula for relationship success is: We take care of ourselves for other people, and we expect other people to take care of themselves for us. This way, each person brings a whole, intelligent, educated, and responsible Self to the table.

4. Contribute rather than criticize.

One of the most common reasons people leave relationships is because they feel someone is constantly trying to change them. Relationships cannot function well under constant criticism.

The more we focus on inspiring, the more likely other people are to manifest the change we desire from them. The more we micromanage, put people down and ignore what they’re doing right, the more unhappy, unproductive and rigid they become. When we contribute, rather than criticize the motivation is different; we are giving people information to help them, rather than to change them to serve us.

When we focus this way, the changes inspired in others are the productive changes all involved are looking for, including the person who is making changes.

5. Show vulnerability.

One the best ways to establish positive relationships is to be vulnerable. When people view us as perfect, we come off as less approachable and more intimidating. This is not a relationship-building formula.

We must allow ourselves to be vulnerable. Letting our flaws show makes it easier for others to connect with us. When we show our vulnerabilities, others feel more open in expressing theirs without fears of recrimination. Why would we open up to someone who is not ever open about who they are? We wouldn’t. We must allow others a peek into our humanity. This open quality builds a trust that cannot be reached with a thousand words.


6. Generous.

Nurturing others, making deep connections and building solid networks is how we grow a great business.

To nurture means to give. We must give willingly, and not make our giving seem like a major unwanted sacrifice to our receivers. We can look at giving in two ways: as sacrificing something we don’t want to share and subsequently being bitter; or, we can give generously and view it as something positive and necessary that can only serve to benefit all parties, including us.

This shift in our mindset allows us to give without strings of hostility or resentment attached. When we give in this manner, we get to enjoy watching what we give help others to become more successful. People in great relationships uplift each other.

7. Let things go.

Forgiveness is the marker of a healthy relationship. We cannot be good with people in tandem to holding grudges. There is nothing productive in continually punishing another person into feeling guilty or ashamed for a past wrongdoing.

If some unforgivable deal-breaker has occurred, cut ties with that relationship and move on. If a relationship can stay intact after a mishap, we must keep in mind people cannot work to their full performance if we are micromanaging every little fault they have, or every little thing they aren’t doing perfectly. We must not sweat the small stuff in our relationships. We must make room for imperfections and areas of weakness, and do what we can to support people in those areas.

8. Lighthearted.

Relationships that are too serious are not enjoyable to be a part of. Yes, business is serious stuff, but to build successful teams and develop great networking relationships, the work environment must have a sense of playful lightheartedness to it.

Make work a place you and others look forward to each day. Strive to make meetings, business trips and other engagements as interesting and enjoyable as possible. Humor bonds people because humor is almost always spontaneous and impulsive. It’s fun to share positive experiences and memories with our colleagues, so it’s important to smile and to be friendly.

When we are lighthearted, people want to be in our company and to play along. No one wants to be left out of what is fun, growth-promoting or exciting. To be great with people, and to build lasting networks and connections, we must be attractive to others from the inside out.





Source: http://www.inc.com
Image credit: Getty Images

ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business networking association dedicated to helping small businesses and entrepreneurs develop, expand and grow. We offer affordable opportunities to help create a positive impact and advancement in your business interests and personal quality of life to take you to the next level.
Stay Connected with WNFP!

How to Strengthen Customer Relationships When Time is at a Premium

As a small business owner, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations of your business. And while the things that go on behind the scenes certainly matter, you can’t focus on them at the expense of your relationships with customers.

Small Businesses Are Built on Relationships

When people think about small businesses, a certain image is conjured up in their minds. They picture a quaint storefront on a main street in a small town. They see friendly storeowners who know customers by their first names and interact with them as they walk in. They picture handshakes, smiles, and promises that are always honored.

See, small businesses are all about interpersonal relations. They thrive on connections and conversations. But somewhere along the way, companies moved away from the heart of small business. With so many different forces and distractions competing for attention, small businesses have started spending less time focusing on relationships and more time dealing with “important” administrative tasks and responsibilities.

The problem with this shift in small business management is that nothing is more important than customer relationships. While payroll, accounting, digital marketing, website analytics, paid media, hiring, and training matter, they can’t take away from the focus on customer relationships. As soon as relationships erode, the business follows closely behind.

Do yourself a favor and conduct a quick analysis on your small business. Are you so wrapped up in the day-to-day tasks and managerial responsibilities that you’re no longer fostering healthy relationships with new and existing customers?

If this is the case, you aren’t alone. It’s an epidemic in the business world and you’ll find thousands of other business owners in the same boat. However, at some point, you have to make the conscious decision to get out of the boat and return to what made you successful: relationships.

4 Ways to Strengthen Customer Relationships

You can’t snap your fingers and wish your way into stronger customer relationships. What you need is a customer relations strategy that targets particular weaknesses in your business and builds on the strengths that you already have. And while every business will have different needs and action steps, the following tips should provide you with a solid footing on which you can build for the future.

 1. Use CRM Software

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a term used to describe the handy tools small businesses utilize to streamline the management and nurturing of customer relationships.
“It’s usually a cloud-based system that stores information about your clients, potential clients and contacts in one central safe place that everyone in your team can access and update wherever they are,” small business expert Nadia Finer says. “A CRM can also help you grow your business and keep customers happy by keeping track of interactions and tasks, and giving you a clear view of your sales pipeline.”

What Finer is really getting at is this: CRM makes it easier to manage customer relationships when you don’t have the time to manually handle every task.

As a general principle, most businesses extract 70-80 percent of their profits from 20-30 percent of their customers. One way to maximize the value of your CRM system is to use the built-in analytics tools to keep track of who your most valuable customers are.

As marketing manager Christopher Meloni explains it, “This sort of tracking, with the help of your CRM software, will in-turn enable you to allocate your resources in such a manner that those 20-30% of your customers get the best customer service, always. This is called target-based allocation, and it can prove wonders for you and your business organization.”

CRM can also be used to help you handle customer complaints in a swift manner. By delivering fast responses, you can deal with problems as they arise (instead of letting them fester). Other valuable uses – depending on the CRM system you use – include the ability to analyze customer buying patterns, send out automatic updates, and keep track of who customers are and how they’re likely to respond in certain situations.

2. Invest in Business Intelligence

Are you currently invested in business intelligence? This is the fastest developing trend in small business and you have to make it a priority if you stand any chance of acquiring and maintaining a base of loyal customers that continue to come back time after time.

“Business intelligence for small business helps to gather data about your customers’ behavior and structure it in a clear form so that it can be analyzed fast and easy,” explains Heiko Troster of datapine. “With insights about your customers’ behavior you can make effective business decisions.”

Data is the ammunition of your communicative efforts. When you understand who your customers are and what they want, you can effectively forecast needs and satisfy their desires. You still have to strategically act on the information you have, but at least business intelligence tools can provide you with valuable data that you’d otherwise miss out on.

3. Gather More Information on Customers

Customers want to be known as more than an invoice number or receipt. They want to be seen as individuals with personal lives, needs, and sensitivities. When you have advanced CRM and business intelligence tools in place, you can tactfully gather more information on your customers and gain a fuller picture of who they are and what their needs are. This will benefit you in the long run by allowing you to interact with customers on an individual basis.

4. Reshape Your Social Media Strategy

What does your current social media strategy look like? If you haven’t made a conscious effort over the years to make your social media presence about your followers, then your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram profiles are probably self-serving. All of the content you post is about your brand and you aren’t adding any real value to your customers. Sound familiar?
If the goal is to strengthen customer relationships, you’ll need to reshape your social media strategy and make it less about you and more about them. Make it an avenue for two-way conversations to take place.

“Unlike a one-way conversation where a company typically dominates the narrative and doesn’t really acknowledge or interact with visitors/followers , a two-way conversation directly connects brands and consumers,” says Carolyn Edgecomb of IMPACT. “A two-conversation is a dialogue, where brands speak and listen to their audience, responding directly to their wants and needs.”
The classic rule of thumb is that 80 percent of your social media posts should add value to your brand without directly promoting your products and services. Try your best to meet this goal.

Make More Time for Customers

Forging strong relationships with customers takes effort. But thanks to the technologies you now have available to you – such as CRM systems, business intelligence tools, and social media – it doesn’t have to require a ton of time.

Now’s the time to create a game plan for success. How are you going to handle the many needs of your company without compromising on the customer relationship front? It’ll take some trial and error, but you can find a solution.



Source: http://smallbiztrends.com
Image Credit: shuttershock 


ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business networking association dedicated to helping small businesses and entrepreneurs develop, expand and grow. We offer affordable opportunities to help create a positive impact and advancement in your business interests and personal quality of life to take you to the next level.
Stay Connected with WNFP!

How to Send the Perfect Thank You Email and Create Long-Lasting Relationships

Here's a script you can use when sending the essential follow-up email. 

You nailed the meeting with a key VIP. Now, the first step in building a long-lasting relationship with this key player is to write a great thank you note. But should you text, send an email or write a card? What should you write, other than “thanks for the meeting”?

Depending on the meeting and your relationship with the person, these details may or may not matter. But at GrowthLab.com, where entrepreneurs go to launch and grow their online business, we believe in stacking the deck in our favor with a crisp thank you email, standing out from the 99 percent of people who never bother.

Here’s a script you can use. Not only are you being thoughtful by including a link to something that genuinely interests the VIP, but an email like this requires no response from them. For any busy person, not feeling obligated to respond is music to their ears!

If you’re hoping to develop an ongoing relationship, this script is a must use.

click image to enlarge

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com
Image Credit: Getty Images

ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business networking association dedicated to helping small businesses and entrepreneurs develop, expand and grow. We offer affordable opportunities to help create a positive impact and advancement in your business interests and personal quality of life to take you to the next level.
Stay Connected with WNFP!