Conversation Marketing (More Than Just Word of Mouth Referrals)
by Nancy Matthews
Conversation marketing has been around since the beginning of time – well, ever since someone shared an opinion or excitement about something they purchased or experienced. We know it best through word of mouth referrals. Someone knows you, likes you and trusts you and tells their friends about you and your services.
The bottom line – people talking about you (in a good way) is one of the best ways to create new business. In recent years conversation marketing has grown immensely and in order to maximize your marketing efforts, creating ways for your prospects to engage in conversation about you and your products and services is essential.
The days of static one way marketing are going by the wayside and being in conversation has taken the lead as the primary way that people make decisions. TV Ads, Magazine and Newspaper ads, flyers and all the existing media outlets have had to shift the focus of their campaigns and their call to action to create engagement and conversation with their audience. Notice now that all ads on TV direct people to websites and/or facebook pages. Even the news shows – have twitter conversations and facebook pages and conversations happening during the live shows to increase audience participation and interest.
Fortunately, there are lots of ways you can create opportunities to engage in conversation with your clients and prospects. For example:
- Do you have a blog (like this one) that includes the opportunity for people to post comments?
- Are you engaged in Social Media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)? Note: Engaged means you actually participate in discussions, posting comments on other people’s discussion threads, posting interesting information in your status feed?
- Does your website offer a free gift to people who come to your site?
- Are you sharing your expertise (by way of conversation) on tele-classes, internet radio shows, public speaking, etc?
- Do you send a regular newsletter or email campaign providing topics of interest to your market?
Once you recognize the plentiful opportunities there are to engage in conversations with your clients and prospects, the next questions that arise are:
- How do I maximize my conversations (both in person and in print)?
- How do I convert those conversations to cash?
- How can I be sure my conversations are being heard by the right people?
I recently taught a tele-class on “Conversation Marketing: How to Create Conversations that Count” where I answer all of those questions in detail. I even offered some great tips on sales conversations and how to create copy in email campaigns that will support you in having powerful and profitable conversations. To find out more about “Conversation Marketing” Go to: NancyMatthews.com/Conversation