HOW TO STAY TOP OF MIND
The Book … and the Benefits
Your customers make their buying decisions based on sellers (people!) they know and trust or who are referred by a trusted advisor. Your success in attracting business depends on being at the top of the list when a buying decision is to be made. That’s what top of mind awareness is all about.
So the issue and the objective is to ensure that when its time to buy your product or service, or a referral opportunity surfaces … your prospects and referral partners think of you first as the primary choice. The principle is the same whether you are an accountant, printer, restaurateur, provider of portable johns or a clothing store.
Avoid the six words that spell disaster. Out of Sight – Out of Mind.
Networking and expanding the circle of people that you know is important, but not as important as nurturing people who know you. People really know you when you are memorable for what you bring to the table both personally and professionally. Be known for your professional expertise as well as your trustworthiness, dependability and reputation to deliver as promised and on time.
As Promised … The Book and the Benefits
John Hall, Co-founder and CEO of Influence & Co., has written a business book on the topic and appropriately entitled, “Top of Mind”. In writing his book, Hall reports that he “realized how often people bring up the term “top of mind” in everyday conversation and how much weight that term carries.” He makes the point that, “moving yourself from someone’s short-term to long-term memory are the first steps in becoming top of mind.”
What follows are excerpts from his simplified guide to creating and maintaining top of mind awareness.
How to Stay Top of Mind and Achieve Success in B2B Marketing and Sales
- Branding and Thought Leadership
When I earned places on lists for marketing influencers or marketing speakers, it was a catalyst to creating natural opportunities for myself and my company. Suddenly, invites to speak at or attend events we used to pay to attend started coming our way and more people began following our content.Placement was earned and those opportunities were nurtured by creating and distributing content and building a platform for ourselves online. I can promise you this: If you invest in your own brand, you can knock down barriers and stay top of mind more easily. - Authenticity
In “Top of Mind,” I use Jeff Jones and his article “The Truth Hurts” on LinkedIn’s influencer program as a perfect example of authenticity. In his article, he was very transparent with the challenges facing Target, and I remember thinking that it was so refreshing to hear a major CMO get real about his challenges.When a company or a leader isn’t authentic, it can cost trust, and that’s hard to earn back. Don’t risk it.
- Education
I’m reminded of the adage “knowledge is power.” Education is one of the most important, impactful ways to build trust because it empowers your audience.When you create content that’s rooted in education, you’re empowering your audience members and giving them the tools they need to make change happen. You aren’t asking anything from them. You’re being a resource, and the resources that empower us stay top of mind a lot longer than those that shove their own sales pitches in your face.
- Helpfulness
The best way to help yourself is to help others. Now, I’m not saying you should only help others because you’ll end up helping yourself. That’s manipulative. When you help others, you pave the way for opportunity in the future. Always asking how you can help others and, when you can, connecting them to the right resources demonstrates that you’re someone they can trust to pull through. Plus, it’s just generally the right thing to do.
- Likability
Have you ever trusted someone you didn’t like? Probably not. That’s why being likable is so important for building trust with your audience and staying top of mind. Being likable doesn’t mean sacrificing your personality to make everyone like you; there’s a middle ground between being intensely yourself and being accessible to your audience that you should strive to achieve.
Use this trust to move from short-term to long-term memory.
The Book and the Benefits
Your objective is to be highly visible and positively perceived by your top of mind awareness audiences – customers, referral partners and prime prospects. When your products/services are needed, you’re not likely to be included in the bidding unless your name is immediately first, or at least, second in the mind of the buyer.
Your best customer is your competitors’ best prospect. Do you have a better handle on how to stay top of mind than your business rivals? Make it part of your daily planning to do so.
Top of Mind Communications
Top of Mind Communication