“Our instinct is to trust the judgement of people in our tribe. Let your marketing help people know, like, and trust you”
- Sarah George

The Sweetest Moment

A mom was with her walking-baby in a small crowd. The mom noticed a friend she hadn't seen in a while and gave him a big hug. The child, who was probably 14-months old and stood tall at a foot and a half gave this guy the up-and-down and then hugged his leg with a smile. If mom likes him, he must be ok. 

Building Trust With Strangers

Our instinct is to trust the judgement of people in our tribe. When I talk about the know, like, and trust factor that is what I mean. Your marketing builds you as a person others can trust. It comes easier with referrals but what about extending to strangers? I've had a few conversations lately with business owners who want to expand their reach outside their immediate circle. Here are a couple ways you can do that.

Expand Your Circle

1. Advocate/ Referral appreciation

Advocates are you VIPs, what can you do to treat them special? Have a system or process in place to show your raving fans how much they mean. This can be special events, exclusive access, previews, insider groups, gifts. A friend of mine and his realtor group offer regular client appreciate events and every time I've gone I feel like I am hanging with the cool kids. These invitation-only events position the company as likeable and approachable solidifying their clients choice to refer them. And even seek out opportunities to refer.

2. Collaboration

A favorite tactic of mine because it's so effective. There are two types of collaboration to use. The first is to team with similar partner, a company that offers different services to the same clients. In economic terms this is called compliments. You serve the same pool of customers and offer a variety of services. An example of this is a CPA and lawyer - very different services but often serving the same clients.

The second type of collaboration is to team up with competition, I don't know is this is coined or not but I like it - coopetition - cooperative + competition. In economic terms this is substitutes, customers typically buy one or the other. Real life application of this collaboration is a performing arts venue partnering with other performers to offer their shows. It's direct competition because customers either buy tickets from the venue or from the performing group. It's collaborative because they are exposing each other's fanbase to each other. Every company has a differentiating factor so by working with your competition you are both able to expand your reach and shine where you do best.

3. Be personal

People do business with people, especially in a local market. You'll see high engagement when you talk about your kids stories, personal journey, community service, photos, hobbies. People know, like trust people they relate to. It's part of your arsenal for marketing to show you are relatable.

Another way to do is to create a StoryBrand script so clients can read your marketing messages and immediately say 'That's me.'

I worked with a client to implement the StoryBrand on their website and we saw engagement increase. The bounce rate decrease which means people read the home page and were led to other pages. What they read intrigued them to the next level.

Conclusion: Your goal is to have strangers who want your services read and hear your marketing message and say to themselves, 'This person seems ok and I believe they can help.' Just like that little girl trusted this stranger because mom said he's ok your marketing can lead people to know, like, and trust you. Let your marketing be clear and consistent to do that. Looking for direction to clarify your message, schedule a no obligation discovery call.