“If people like you, they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” Zig Ziglar
Have you noticed a shift in the way brands market to their prospects? The narrow-minded focus on product and price is a tale of the past. Consumers are now paying more attention to their overall experience with a business. What does this mean for the industry? Dealers will need to place more emphasis on the emotional side of the customer journey.
Humans are driven by feelings. Multiple scientific studies have shown that emotions play a crucial role in a customer’s decision to purchase. “95 percent of our purchase decision making takes place in the subconscious mind” (Mahoney, 2003) according to Harvard Professor, Gerald Zaltman.
If you’re ever stuck wondering why your customers aren’t purchasing, you need address the way you are approaching the selling process. Are you only showcasing a products attributes? By doing this, you will likely produce lacklustre results. If you want a consumer to not only remember, but rave about your brand, you need to create an emotional response.
Nurturing the customer relationship, builds an emotional connection between the seller and potential consumer.
What does nurturing look like for a business?
In its simplest form, nurture marketing is a communication strategy designed to develop and reinforce customer relationships. Nurturing is about humanizing the customer experience. Businesses should regularly be reaching out to leads, updating them about services, providing them with a forum for feedback and strengthening the existing relationship.
“Nurtured leads make 47% more purchases than non-nurtured leads” (Greene, 2021)
What are the main benefits?
Customer retention
Attracting new customers isn’t easy. Fostering customer relationships decreases the chance of customer attrition and avoids the vicious cycle of acquiring new customers only to lose them after one sale.
Your products will stand at the forefront of customer’s mind
How can you avoid losing a sale to your competitor? Cultivating the customer relationship. Customers will remember you when they are ready to purchase if you keep up the dialogue by sharing important updates on exciting new products and services tailored to them.
Word of mouth marketing
Satisfied customers help build your reputation and boost referrals. Customers that view your brand as personal, responsive, and caring will talk. There is no better sales technique than customer reviews. Customers trust the opinions of other consumers more than the word of the seller. Businesses that choose to nuture their existing customers will reap the benefits of positive word of mouth feedback. What’s more, this free form of advertising will cut back marketing costs.
Understanding customers
What happens when you work on building a friendship for a long time and one person makes an honest mistake? You forgive them. Consumers that are nurtured are more likely to be sympathetic when something does go wrong. “77% of consumers will stay with your brand if you address complaints in an empathetic way.” (Perzynska, 2022)
When businesses connect with customers’ emotions, the rewards are considerable. Business leaders should keep in mind that the sales process is more than just pushing products. It’s about the emotional journey of a prospective customer. Nuture your customer relationships and they’ll become raving fans of your business.
Bibliography:
Greene, J. (2021, May 8). The 6 Most Effective Lead Nurturing Strategies of 2021. Retrieved from DataBox: lead-nurturing-strategy
Mahoney, M. (2003, Jan 13). The Subconscious Mind of the Consumer (And How To Reach It). Retrieved from Harvard Business School : the-subconscious-mind-of-the-consumer-and-how-to-reach-it
Perzynska, K. (2022, March 9). How to Use Emotions to Improve Customer Experience. Retrieved from Survicate: 77% of consumers will stay with your brand if you address complaints in an empathetic way.
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