The New Relationship Marketing: How to Build a Large, Loyal, Profitable Network Using the Social Web

The businesses that are getting ahead are the ones that connect with their customers and make the world a better place. Companies like Virgin America, Zappos, Starbucks, and Comcast are leading by example and showing what it means to care about their customers and the entire marketplace. This is true relationship marketing: Where the focus is on people helping people, adding value for intrinsic reasons, and providing stellar customer service—commerce naturally occurs as a result. I’m sure you’re familiar with the saying, ‘‘People do business with people they know, like, and trust’’—in other words, with people who are enchanting. This has not changed. What has changed, though, is the medium; everybody now has a voice and, as I like to say, the nobodies are the new somebodies. When you are enchanting, you’ll stand head and shoulders above the competition. But it does take time to nurture real relationships through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, e-mails, webinars, and social functions. Many business owners find that this takes up a lot of time to learn these new social technologies and to nurture all their connections online and offline. Fortunately, mastering the art of relationship marketing does not have to be a new, all-consuming, full-time job. In The New Relationship Marketing, master enchanter Mari Smith walks you through all the nuances of blending high-tech with high-touch in a simple, easy-to-understand format that will yield measurable results for your business. With the myriad ways through which you can connect with prospects, customers, vendors, media contacts, politicians, and more, it’s vital that you understand both the technical aspects of how to use these new social technologies and the new soft skills needed to excel at relationship marketing. One false move and you could lose your job, your reputation, or both. It can be very daunting for many people. Concerns around protecting privacy, avoiding plagiarism, and having to publicly handle customer complaints can stop businesses in their tracks from making progress with social media marketing. But, at the end of the day, it’s all people connecting with people, regardless of how small or how large your business is. Everyone—from solopreneurs to household brands—are now being compelled to conduct themselves with higher levels of truth, integrity, and authenticity. With the transparency of online social networking sites, there is nowhere to hide. This is a good trend. You can achieve likeability and trustworthiness by showing up regularly, helping as many people as possible without having a hidden agenda, and wholeheartedly engaging with your networks. Mari Smith is someone I have enjoyed building a solid relationship with over the past several years. I use her photo in my Enchantment speech to illustrate what a world-class smile looks like. I’m sure you’ll thoroughly enjoy reading Mari’s book and discovering all her magical and savvy teachings on how to grow a large and loyal network. You’ll find that your personal and professional relationships flourish as a result.