5 Ways to Engage with your Customers and Clients

Whenever I go to see a client for the first time, and start to discuss their business, one of the key questions I ask is "Why would a potential client come to you as opposed to one of your competitors?"

If I received £1 every time I was given the following list as a reply, I would be a rich man indeed:

- Professional;
- Efficient;
- Provide good service;
- Good on Price

I also ask every client I meet to list their Unique Selling Points, and the list is pretty similar.  What is UNIQUE?  Your personality, and the personality of your business, is probably the one thing that is genuinely unique, and so many people ignore this when they consider the ways in which to market their business.

Let's face it, every business is fighting for their share of the spoils in a rapidly changing marketplace, and new marketing techniques are being thrown at you left, right and centre.  No wonder so many companies struggle to keep up with the pace, but keep up you must.

That said, take a step back and have a look at trends in marketing.  I have said it often enough, but one of the main threads that runs through all the new marketing methods that have burst onto the scene is that of "engagement".

Engagement is nothing new.  A market-stall holder is an expert at engagement - tempting passers-by to buy a bunch of bananas with a twinkle in his eye.  The old-style corner shop would be nothing without the personal touch that was always so valued - knowing the items that his regular customers had week after week.

These principles of good old fashioned customer service are as important today as they ever were, if not more so.  It's just that transactions take place in a much larger arena and at a much faster pace.

The key to success then is to embrace the latest technologies and use them to engage with your customers.

Here are our 5 suggestions for the best ways to engage:

1.  Get your website working properly for your business.  Allow your website to reflect the personality of your business: consider video, movement and audio to share your story.  Know your target market and ensure thay can identify with you.

2.  Encourage website visitors to leave their calling card (email address at the very least), and then use this to start to build a relationship with those people.  Don't grab hold of the first piece of data you can find and then ram hard sales messages down their throat - not the best way to market your business.

3.  Chat about your business.  Don't dictate or tell, but show your personality and give potential customers the time of day.  Start using Social Media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to share that personality and really demonstrate the ways in which you are unique.

4.  Write about your business.  Write??  It's a shame that the art of writing seems to have disappeared with the advent of texting, but writing compelling information is such an important part of business marketing these days.  Concise and relevant text is paramount if your website is to promote your business successfully.  A well-written story can get you powerful publicity in the press.  An engaging and interesting blog can get your business talked about and remembered by prospective clients, and demonstrate that there is more to you than just "professional; efficient; provide good service; good on price."

5.  Think carefully about what makes you unique.  If necessary, ask your existing customers why they do business with you.  Be different, think differently, look at doing something innovative and stick your head above the parapet.  Ask existing customers to share their reasons for thinking you special and unique.  There is so much marketing "noise" out there at the moment, you have got to make a slightly different sound just to be heard.