Give to Get in marketing

Posted by Jerry Smith · May 14, 2009 · Print This Article

Giving value before attempting to get rewarded is a key mindset attribute for successful marketing. Of course, in any relationship there has to be give and take so there should always be some anticipation of a benefit for you, but the key point is not to expect it.

I came across a great example just yesterday. I am a big fan of EzineArticles.com where you can become an expert author on topic(s) of your choosing. However you cannot simply submit articles and have them published without editorial overview – there are rules and guidelines! Foremost among these is the requirement of each article to be informative and give value to the reader and NOT simply a sales letter.

The approach sums up a great marketing philosphy. Give enough value and people will WANT to find out about you and check out your website or similar resource – you don’t have to hard sell them. Indeed, selling is more likely to put people off than attract them

Ezine Articles is generous too! Yesterday I received, quite unexpectedly, a really nice coffee cup and ground coffee package in the mail with a thank you for submitting articles and becoming an expert author. Now it happens that I love to drink tea and coffee and I have several cups (when my wife doesn’t “borrow” them that is!) and a cup in itself isn’t earth shattering, but:

It’s an unexpected gift – it’s useful and practical. Because I had no idea it was coming it makes me feel good and well disposed towards a company I already really liked and promoted
It has “I Love (I can’t figure out how to type a heart icon) Ezinearticles” on it. Because I am so pleased with the service they provide I will tell everyone who asks what I particularly about Ezinearticles
Targeted follow up like this is probably part of the company procedures but it FEELS personal and that is a nice thing to get
I was sufficiently impressed to put out a tweet about it on twitter which was picked up and answered in under 5 minutes by the head of ezinearticles, Chris Knight (@chrisknight on twitter) thanking me for working with them. How great an example of giving to your customers is that?

So, thinking about giving is important in the early stages of the marketing flow of your business. However it doesn’t stop there. EzineArticles.com is a great example of continuing to give even when they have you fully engaged as a client/customer.

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