How well do you connect with your customers and prospects? Do your customers feel that you really understand them? Could that area of your business use an upgrade?
Let’s start by thinking about connection with others in a general sense. What comes to mind? Maybe your family or close friend? Neighborhood get-togethers? Or even business colleagues? Interactions can increase your bond with each of those people.
Author Brene Brown wrote in The Gift of Imperfection, “Connection is the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued.” Definitely fits with those we feel closest to, right?
What about your business? Do prospects and customers feel seen, heard, and valued? Have you thought of applying those same qualities to your business to build better connections with customers?
Everyone wants to feel valued. When someone has a problem, they hop online to search for any answer to that problem. And Entrepreneur.com says, “ you have eight seconds to hook your customers before their short attention span whisks them away.”
Eight seconds – that’s shorter than the attention span of a goldfish (which is only nine seconds)! If you don’t connect with that visitor when they first land on your website, they may not be back.
Here are 5 ways to connect with customers or prospects
1. Put yourself in their shoes
If you needed to find a solution for neck pain, would this get your attention? “Can’t sleep because of stabbing neck pains and throbbing headaches? 1,000s have found quick relief with this simple technique.”
If you’re a mom looking for a tutor for your 10-year-old dyslexic daughter, which page would make you want to learn more?
A: Tutor with 20 years of experience helping elementary kids read easier.
B: I understand the struggles of elementary kids with dyslexia – I was one.
Web visitors have thousands of options, which can create information overload. When you speak directly to their problem and offer a real solution, that’s a huge first step.
Ask yourself, “How are they feeling, and how can I help?
2. Provide value and be of service
All businesses need to make sales to stay in business. But so many people get everything backward. They pitch you the second you accept a connection or friend request.
I had someone the other day message me saying he knew his service would help increase my sales. He never even attempted an initial introduction or asked any questions.
Zero points on that shot and any interest I may have had in his service plummeted.
3. Your home page shouldn’t be all about you
There’s a place for all your successes, but that should not be the first thing a visitor sees when he lands on your site. There’s an old saying from Teddy Roosevelt, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” That’s still true today.
4. Ask questions to understand
Don’t assume you have all the answers. To learn more about your customers, ASK questions.
In business, you can post a survey online to gather more information. Or when you are talking to your customers, ask questions to help you learn how you are helping them and where there are gaps. Don’t let your ego get in your way. Learn from your customers. They can give you a different perspective on what’s missing.
And this also applies to any conversations personally. In order to prevent miscommunictions, ask to clarify so you understand their perspective.
5. Don’t be afraid to let them see YOU
Sharing your unique experiences lets people know who you are and what you’ve been through. Show glimpses of how those experiences have shaped you and why you offer your services or products.
If you went through a bitter divorce, that might not directly help you sell your graphic design services. BUT showing your resilience to start over and do something you love WILL resonate with many readers.
When visitors feel you’re a real person who’s been through challenges, they connect with you. Write in a way that readers say, “She gets me!” Show them everything wasn’t perfect in your world, but this is how you got here and why you want to help them too.