Some food for thought

A farmer provides three distinct selling methods to move his produce: sell the occasional passerby fresh produce from his fields, truck bulk produce into the major supermarkets, sell to the locals at the farmers markets. All methods reach different numbers of people at different cost structures in different ways.

One thing applies to all three – whether finding new customers or satisfying existing ones, stronger relationships will always drive a more favorable outcome for the farmer.

Each method presents unique advantages and challenges

The farmer who’s able to engage each individual at his produce stand sends away a completely satisfied customer – one he’ll probably never see again!

Farmers who negotiate large contracts with supermarkets engage back office personnel but are subject to thin margins, costly crop management, cost- conscious buyers only looking for the best deal, and added transportation costs. Those who are tenured customers can expect some loyalty over time but at what cost?

How do you fish?

The farmers who travel to farmers’ markets once a week are fishing where the fish are. They get to engage with the same locals week in - week out and foster relationships beyond the task of just selling their goods. Eventually, the goods sell themselves amidst the conversations. A satisfying experience for the customers, for sure. STILL, it’s difficult for the farmers to sustain and strengthen the relationships.  There’s also micro-competition with other farmers at the market and the major supermarkets are close by and open 24/7.

How do you engage and sell optimally?

Imagine an approach that provides the best of each scenario – individual attention and engagement at the exact time you have an interested buyer, optimal reach and engagement across large audience segments without having to sacrifice margin and profit, and gaining loyal, long term customers by regularly attending to their interests not yours.

Consumers are in control

Today, it’s trickier than ever to build relationships with your potential customers online let alone sell them something. Consumers get their information from a variety of places and are in control of what, when and how they consume it. Gone are the days where prospects come to the corporate websites first. They get their information from peer groups, search engines, blogs and friends and may not get to the corporate websites until well downstream in the customer lifecycle.

Today, it requires a completely different thought process and approach

My Social Markets is all about helping you recognize this fundamental shift of power and to adapt to a new way of thinking. By doing this, you can leapfrog your competition and ultimately sell more of your goods and services on your own terms. Whether we all like it or not, consumers control buying behavior. It’s better to work within these newly-defined boundaries than keep applying the same old antiquated approaches. These are transparent to consumers – they just know you have their best interests in mind.