The dating world and the marketing world have a lot in common. They’re both remarkably complex, frequently changing, and require a certain level of social finesse. With all of these challenges, what you’ve known for years about love, could actually teach you a few principles about business. For anyone who has had an awkward first date, a relationship turned sour, or found “the one”, this article will teach you to take the laws of attraction learned from those experiences and apply them to your next marketing venture.
Law 1: Appearances don’t make a person, but they do make a first impression
Did you know that when you walk into a room, it only takes a person 3 seconds to determine if they are attracted to you? If our brains can process the complexities of a human being in such a short amount of time, than imagine how much quicker they can form an opinion about your brand or business.
Of course we all know that having fancy clothes or the best hair doesn’t tell the story of an entire person, but it does make the first impression, and your business is the same way. When a potential customer is introduced to your company (through your website, social media account, blog or otherwise) what type of first impression are you giving? Did you show up to the first date wearing socks and Crocs – or are you presenting your business with style? The online presentation of your business is key, but there’s no one size fits all answer. At the end of the day, in love and in marketing, your appearance matters because it’s your first opportunity to tell everyone what you’re all about!
Law 2: Work on building an emotional connection
Not every dating relationship is able to connect on an emotional level, but the ones that last, usually do. Beauty is skin deep, but the ability to connect on a deeper level requires trust, an alignment of values, and a like-minded view of the world. As these ingredients marinate over time, they can create an emotional bond that is not easily broken; this is great news for your marriage, but also for your customer retention.
Human beings often make decisions based on emotions. According to a recent study, ad campaigns that focus on emotion rather than logic perform twice as well. In a competitive business landscape, the companies that are able to create an emotional bond with their customers will ultimately prevail. The next logical question is, “how do you build an emotional connection with customers?” There are plenty of strategies available to make this transition, but when it all comes down to it, it’s not that different than your love life:
- Show them that you care
- Put their needs above your own
- Empathize with them
- Really listen to them
- Show respect
- Seductively wink at them
With the exception of the last point ;), following each of these actions has been proven to improve the emotional connection with your customers.
Law 3: Everyone has a type (Market Segmentation)
Tall, dark and handsome is every woman’s dream guy, right? Maybe. The world is full of so many complex people, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies. If you’ve dated around for a little bit, you have likely developed a “type”, that is to say that in most cases, this is who you are attracted to – not in every case but in most.
This law of attraction applies to your business as well – every business needs to know their type. What type of consumer are you trying to reach? What’s their age range, gender, interests, buying patterns, pain points, etc.? Any information that can help you reach and serve your customers should be included in your “type”. Some marketers refer to this as a buyer persona, or “a representation of an ideal customer”. If you own a nail salon, your ideal customer is probably very different than a business that sells automotive parts. This doesn’t mean that a gal can’t have French tips and change her own oil. But if you were going to build an ideal customer for each of those businesses, they probably wouldn’t look the same. Every business needs to know their type and then have a plan to reach them.
They say never to mix business with pleasure, but for the sake of your marketing strategy, consider this the exception to the rule. By applying these 3 principles to your business, you’ll be able to turn your love life into new revenue faster than anyone, except maybe Nicholas Sparks.