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Archived in A mistake many companies make is to use their marketing as an opportunity to pat themselves on the back and praise their achievements. But nobody likes braggers, boasters and conversation hogs. People like those who take an interest in others, show empathy and offer solutions to problems.
So your marketing should be focused on being likeable because, as every salesman knows, people prefer to buy from those they like.
Being expressive helps you be more likeable
Internet psychologist Graham Jones this week blogged about a study on how people formed impressions of others based on their Facebook profiles. The study concluded that a person’s likeability was gauged by how well they expressed themselves through their words and photos. Those who came across as genuine, personable and open were preferred to those who were guarded about what they revealed.
The marketing lesson from this is that to be more likeable online you need to be authentic, real and transparent, and present a human face to your organisation. A photo of your head office and a blurb praising your sales figures won’t do. People buy from people, not concrete buildings.
How to be likeable
In his popular book ‘The Likeability Factor’ former Yahoo! customer insight executive Tim Sanders defines likeability as a combination of friendliness, relevance, empathy and realness. These characteristics are all as applicable to success in marketing as they are to general life:
Friendliness – what tone of your voice does your marketing use? Is it approachable, upbeat and engaging? Or has it fallen in the trap of using long words and clichés to try and sound impressive?
Relevance – people respond to marketing that’s about their problems, concerns and desires. Your editorial content should be about the shared passions with your customers and focused on their preferences and interests. It shouldn’t be about on yours.
Empathy – people buy products and services to help solve a problem or to improve their lives. So your marketing should show understanding and sympathy for your customer’s predicament and offer solutions.
Realness – authenticity helps you appear trustworthy. Employing fakery, exaggeration and manipulated figures will backfire. Customers will ignore your calls and delete you from their address book when they can’t believe anything you have to say.
The nature of modern marketing is that of an ongoing conversation with your customers. And being friendly, interested in others, empathetic and real are all characteristics expressed through conversation.
So you should approach your marketing in the same manner as how you’d approach a one-to-one chat with your customers. Because being likeable is often regarded as vital to success in life and this is equally true of your marketing.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.