Making The Most Of Face-To-Face Marketing
Maximize face-to-face opportunities to build new partnerships and close more business.
In a third season episode of the great mockumentary sitcom “The Office,” hapless middle manager Michael Scott rails against the ever-increasing encroachment of technology at Dunder Mifflin by exclaiming: “People will never be replaced by machines. In the end, life and business are about human connections. Computers are about trying to murder you in a lake. And to me the choice is easy.”
Although right before this we had seen Michael actually drive into a lake after misinterpreting his GPS’s instructions, you can’t entirely dismiss his point. Technology is fundamentally intertwined with business, but at the end of the day, people want to connect, collaborate and work with other people – not machines. This means you must seize opportunities for personal, face-to-face marketing whenever they arise. Let’s look at some ways of doing so successfully.
Choose the right events
Before you can share information about your agency and engage in face-to-face marketing, you first must identify events that will put you in front of the right people. Thankfully, for those in the title insurance and real estate industries, there is no shortage of possibilities:
- Conferences and meetings: Consult your state’s land title association for opportunities. Trade press publications will also frequently advertise professional meetings to their readers.
- Real estate association meetings: Realtor associations and boards represent a fantastic opportunity to market yourself to integral players in the real estate space.Finding out about meetings you may want to attend is also relatively easy by searching online.
- Online webinars: Both educational and social, digital webinars can expand your professional knowledge and industry circle in one fell swoop.
- Chamber of commerce events: Local chambers of commerce provide a supportive environment for businesses and offer resources and tools to help them connect and collaborate.
Know your company’s story
When acting as a personal representative of your agency in a face-to-face setting, you must have your company’s story down pat. More specifically, you must be able to convey your value proposition quickly and clearly.
One way to successfully deliver in these moments is to develop an “elevator pitch” beforehand. Creating easy-to-remember talking points allows you to effortlessly speak to potential customers about how your products and services can improve their lives.
Branded materials
Pulling off successful face-to-face marketing is challenging, but bringing along well-designed marketing materials can make it easier. Let’s look at the following best practices:
- Avoid clutter: While you want to include complete and accurate information, avoid overloading your materials. Remember: when participating in an event, people often don’t have time to digest large amounts of textual information.
- Include the right info: Highlight your communication information in any materials you bring. You are trying to equip contacts with the means to continue the relationship. Include your email, phone, company name, job title and potentially your social media accounts.
- Stay on brand: All marketing materials should be seen as a natural extension of your brand, which means they need to use the right colors, fonts and logos.
Follow up, follow up, follow up
Meeting and pitching someone on your business is not a one-and-done activity. You must also follow up with them. What’s the best way? As we know, some people are hesitant to talk on the phone these days and email is hit or miss. Social media platforms like LinkedIn can be an effective way to follow up. Reaching out on social media can have a personal and real feel, and sites like LinkedIn lend themselves to building organic, long-term connections.
Keep the following in mind:
- Be specific and personal: Even if you have a lot of connections to write, take the time to personalize each message.
- Brevity is best: People are busy and generally overwhelmed with information. If you want someone to read your LinkedIn note, keep it short and sweet.
- Emphasize value: Avoid coming across as overly “salesy,” but be sure to include a value proposition for your message recipient. Give them a reason to want to take the relationship to the next step.
Make meaningful, lasting connections
Personal, face-to-face marketing can yield a high rate of return. Even in our highly digital world, many customers still find connecting person-to-person one of the most impactful forms of communication. By taking these tips to heart, you can grab such opportunities and run with them.
Tags: business, customer service, marketing strategy