This last installment of Relationship Building will give you the main three components of every message, whether they be Promotional, Informational, or Seasonal. These three components are Relevance, Timeliness, and Usefulness.
Relevant
Your messages have to be relevant to your target market. A main function of being relevant is understanding your target market in the first place. Too often we communicate with our prospects the same, regardless of their differences.
If you sell a product to two different groups (or more) that are very different it makes sense to tailor your presentation to the circumstances and needs of each group individually as opposed to having one basic presentation you use to sell the whole group.
So, do your homework and make sure you understand the wants, needs, biases, etc of your target market before you try marketing to them.
Timely
All of your messages, but especially your promotional and seasonal messages, must be timely. That means that your messages need to reach your target market at a time when it is needed or wanted most.
Since you may not always know when this is, it helps to have a messaging system that delivers your content consistently and evenly over time, as discussed in the previous post. Over time you should be able to recognize patterns of when the information you are delivering is most timely. (Think of tax firms sending out promotional material to prospects just after they receive their W-2s)
Useful (Valuable)
The content or information you deliver needs to have some sort of perceived value attached to it. And I don't mean "value" in a monetary sense necessarily, although it could mean that.
For promotional messages it could be a discount of some sort or special pricing. For informational messaging it should be something that is difficult to find elsewhere or has an application that is particularly helpful to your target market. Seasonal messages that help build rapport or trust… that feeling that someone cares about them… may be the best value you could offer.
Not all of your messages have to contain all three components but if you can construct them that way it's all the better. The main key is to put yourself in your prospects' shoes and ask if you would want to receive the messages you are creating for your prospects and customers. Good luck and continued success!
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