“Know you, Like you, Trust you” is a concept that every high-end service provider should be aware of and take to heart.
Moving yourself along the continuum from where prospective customers are just knowing who you are, to them liking and appreciating what you do, to totally trusting your brand and not only buying but recommending you to their friends is an arduous process…
If you own a restaurant, it’s easy. Just produce a good meal in a clean environment Every. Single. Time. and you quickly move along the continuum. A new restaurant opens…everyone always wants to try a new restaurant…so you go. The food is unbelievable, fairly priced and the place is nice. You go again, the food is awesome AGAIN and there’s a good atmosphere. You’re delighted and you tell literally everyone you’ve ever known. Job done.
For a Granite Countertop company, a Realtor or a Med-Spa, it’s a different story. The cost of the transaction is higher and there may only ever be one transaction. It’ll also take a while for the buying decision to be made.
In this case your marketing efforts should be directed towards breaking down the barriers between you and the customer, de-mystifying the process, answering the unknowns.
You have to select a wide variety of advertising media early on to get your name out there, this is the “Know you” part. As time goes on though, you should select media that allows you to take your time and tell your story. Your website/blog, social media, email marketing, articles, print ads and video all provide a place where your prospective customer can slowly absorb information and further get to know you.
Of course you’ll detail your services, hours, an FAQ, your staff, credentials. It’s also important to let your current customers tell their story through reviews, testimonials (on video, if possible), before and after photos etc. If you can do this with great graphics and a little personality, they’ll start to “Like you” and enjoy your brand and eventually (once they’ve had a successful experience themselves…they’ll TRUST YOU.
Daniel Wainwright is the owner of Obvious Advertising. Daniel knows a lot about Marketing. Be like Daniel.
