Blue Mine Group

People buy products and services in order to solve problems and get their needs met. In doing so, they want to ensure they choose a solution that will properly solve the problem, that gives them good value, and that minimizes complexity and risk.

People normally do one or both of two things to learn about options to solve a business problem: they do research, and they talk to other people. Research is primarily done online, through reading relevant publications, and through attending relevant events. When speaking to others, people typically have a strong preference for talking to someone in a similar position who has faced and solved a similar problem successfully.

Based on these research activities and conversations, people want to find a few recommended companies that they believe offer the right combination of products and services and price and “fit” with them to help solve their problem with a minimum of risk, complexity and cost.

As a company, your objective should be to get to know your target customers before they are out looking for vendors, to build a relationship with them based on value, visibility and trust, and to be their trusted source when they experience a need or problem.

Following these guidelines will help your company to build a pipeline of prospects through relationship marketing:

Increase your sales pipeline through lead generation campaigns
Produce a steady stream of integrated lead generation campaigns that directly address your target customer's key business concerns and communicates your product or service value proposition through targeted messages.

Build a network of prospects through relationship development activities
Develop and participate in an active informal network, or community, of target contacts - corporate decision-makers and their peers. Building this community will give you insight to the essential problem your company solves with its product or service and help you develop a steady flow of new business opportunities.

Consistently provide information to your target market
By having a solid understanding of your target market’s core business needs you are able to develop a consistent stream of value-based information to help them solve their problems. As an example, providing opt-in newsletters allows you to build a relationship with your readers while proliferating brand awareness and status as an industry leader.

By integrating these guidelines into lead generation and valuable knowledge-sharing programs, you can quickly establish a valuable network of significant business relationships.