Is Your Marketing Pushing or Pulling People?

I was talking to a client the other day about the difference between push and pull marketing and why you want to use pull marketing.

Briefly, "push" marketing is as it sounds - you're pushing the prospect or client into buying your product or service. Your marketing communications are all about why your product and your service are so great and why they should buy now, purchase now, get it on sale now, talk to you now.

With "push" marketing, most of the focus of marketing and communication is on the company - not the client. It's all about how great the company is and what their features and processes are. There's not much time spent getting to know and understand the prospective and current clients.

"Pull" marketing is more about drawing people towards your business. Prospects and clients come to you instead of you chasing them. They want to contact you and find out more, get more, buy more - from you.

What makes the difference between each of these two types of marketing comes down to relationships. With push(y) marketing it's a very one-sided relationship, while pull marketing is a two-way street of sharing information and having communications back and forth.

The means to start and foster a relationship between your small business and your prospects and clients, centers around value. When you go out of your way to provide value to people you are viewed with trust, credibility, authenticity, and as an expert.

All of these traits are necessary for a prosperous relationship between you and your customers. As well, it will help ensure that people come back again and again - because they're getting something, not just always giving something (their time, their money, their attention).

The value I'm talking about is not offering 2-for-1 sales and giving away something gimmicky. It's about becoming a valuable source of information and knowledge who helps prospects and clients be better, feel better, use your products and services better, keep growing and learning, and so on.

There are many ways you can offer valuable information to people and show that you are someone who shares what they know (and others know) with them. A few things you can do are pass along useful links and informative free reports, or send them tips & tricks and how-to lists.

Businesses and companies that build their marketing around constantly and consistently providing value to everyone who comes in contact with them will enjoy constant and consistent profitable relationships with their clients and customers.

It's pretty well that simple!