I’m writing this for anyone that has difficulty acquiring new customers— for anyone that has had difficulty hearing back from people that you have given your business card.
Let’s face it: It can be baffling when one of your best clients refers their neighbor to you after doing a good job and you don’t get a call from them.
Don’t get discouraged.
I’m going to show you what music can teach you about the sales process and client acquisition.
The Power of Repetition
I’m a huge Adele fan. It’s amazing to hear how wide her vocal range is as she sings in perfect harmony with the striking chords of her piano.
Three weeks ago I was listening to her new hit single "Easy On Me" as I drove to pick up pizza. As it played, I was struck by how raw and powerful the lyrics that talked about her divorce were. They were powerful and moving, and fit perfectly with the instrumentals.
Once the song finished, I told a friend about it, and after that, I forgot about the song. The initial hype wore off as my mind got focused on work, powerlifting, and other things that I needed to get done. Besides, even though the song was good, it wasn’t as good as some of her older tracks that were on her album that won Album of the Year.
The next week, I saw the song again on my Facebook newsfeed. This post caused me to revisit the song, and I listened to it a couple more times that week.
After that, I forgot about it again… until this week.
The lyrics had been floating around in my head and they were stuck there.
Today I listened to the song three times. I was hooked and concluded that it was one of her best songs.
This has happened to me many different times with music—I’ll listen to a song, and it takes about 3-7 times of listening to it before the song clicks with me.
You have probably experienced this too, and it’s very applicable to your business.
Buying something is a Process for Your Customers
So, what does this have to do with gaining potential customers?
Just like listening to new music, they need repetition.
It’s very normal for somebody to not buy something the first time they hear about it.
Marketing expert Jeffrey Lant claims that it takes 7 impressions over an 18 month period to ingrain yourself in your customer’s memory.
The buying process is much more nuanced than a knee-jerk decision; oftentimes it’s a process.
For example, think of your experience buying something on Amazon.
Last week I was thinking about buying a pre-workout formula (by the way, if you need a good one, C4 works amazingly!). I was reading the descriptions to see what flavors they had available, then got distracted and closed the browser.
Later on, I pulled the product back up and added it to my cart. Just as I was about to check out, I realized that I didn’t have my wallet with me. I didn’t want to go downstairs to get it, so I decided that I would wait until the next morning.
It wasn’t until two days later that I actually ended up buying the product.
You’ve probably done this before too.
Put Yourself In Front of Your Customer Multiple Times
If you put yourself in front of your customer multiple times, they will remember you and use your services.
Our lives are busy, and people need multiple reminders in order to remember you when they think of using your services.
I’ve written about using multiple marketing channels to connect with potential customers. This is very important; it’s no accident that you’re using multiple platforms to remind them about your services.
Marketers don’t do this to be annoying—they do it to be strategic, and so that people will remember them: you want to plant reminders that your customers will be thinking about.
Sometimes your customers will buy the first time that they hear about you. Oftentimes, they won't use your services until the third or fourth time that they hear about them.
It’s just like listening to a new Adele song: sometimes you need to hear it multiple times for it to grow on you.
Conclusion
If you aren’t advertising your business through multiple channels, you’re missing out on a lot of revenue.
Research proves that your customers are more likely to buy from you, the more often that they hear about you.
The best way to educate your customers about your services and get them to do business with you is by using as many marketing channels as possible.
Spread your business through customer referrals, tell stories about yourself on your social media page, and use email marketing software. Make sure that you use all of the above.
By doing this, customers will remember your service and it will come to mind when they need it.
Best of luck, and don’t forget to share your success stories with us!