Valentine’s Day is on the horizon. For many, this is the time to target that ‘special someone’ with flowers, chocolates, or a romantic dinner date. But while Cupid is poised with his bow, will this turn out to be the ‘perfect match’ in the long run?
That depends… we first need to have a clear understanding of our own personality, interests and goals; then find someone who shares and complements these qualities.
It’s no different in business. Matchmaking succeeds when we match our own business persona, or brand, with the persona of our best potential clients. This creates focus, minimizes marketing effort, shortens the sales cycle and adds more value. Ultimately, it’s the smart way to connect with the right clients and convert them into long-term raving fans.
What’s Your Matchmaking Strategy?
Successful business matchmaking starts with having a clear understanding of your own business persona. Your corporate personality. What are your strengths, and what differentiates you and your team from the competition? What is your ‘brand voice’ – the images, communications and language that best project your brand?
The next step is to identify the personas of the buyers you’re targeting – your ideal customers. What are their characteristics, behaviours and needs? What drives their decision making? This can be an incredibly useful way for you and your team to pinpoint your key customer segments. Once you have a clear picture of each customer persona, you can create targeted and compelling messages that set you up for successful matchmaking.
At Impagination, we provide our clients with a step-by-step template to help them build a detailed, relevant buyer persona for acquiring new clients.
Make Everyday Valentine’s Day
In the world of love, a romantic display on Valentine’s Day is great in the throes of a new relationship, but over the long term, we advise making everyday Valentine’s Day. It’s easy to remain attentive, but as time goes on, those signs of appreciation may start to dwindle, with disappointing results. This is something to avoid. The same applies to business. When it comes to turning new business into long-term client relationships, consistent thoughtfulness trumps one-time gestures.
While your steady clients spend more and require less of your time, those relationships still require upkeep, and it can be incredibly easy to let that attentiveness slide. Client attention has to be routine. A single positive experience, no matter how impactful, isn’t going to have the same effect as an ongoing practice of thoughtful interaction.
And each interaction is an opportunity to make your customer feel appreciated. It could be a thank you card or flowers, an invitation to an event of interest to them, or a surprise pizza delivery when they confessed on the phone how hungry they were. It keeps you and your business top of mind, and shows your investment in their success.
At Impagination, we suggest ways to show your clients random acts of appreciation through thoughtful, out-of-the-box attention that they remember, emulate and share with others.
