Attraction Marketing – What Can You Give of Value?
by: Richard Goutal
Sometimes attraction marketing is referred to as “new school marketing” – the latest way to promote your home business product or opportunity.
Really? The irony is that attraction/magnetic marketing, by whatever name it be called, has been around since Jesus healed the sick. The Gospel records describe a man who attracted people by giving value (healing! — among other things) as well as by focusing on the interests of others (listening and supporting the disenfranchised — among other things). So attraction marketing is not new and clearly not limited to the online environment. A key element of attraction marketing includes providing something of value — a gift.
Here are some other ways to communicate the idea of giving value:
- Be a solutions-provider
- Be hungry to serve others’ needs
- Be a good listener — find out what is needed
Of course, not everyone values the same thing. And some people don’t want to be given anything, but in general, people are drawn to the person who helps them. Several things determine the attractive power of the gift.
- The attitude of the giver. The more genuine the offer to help, the more powerfully people are drawn to the giver.
- The relevance of the gift. The more relevant to the receiver’s needs, the more powerfully people are drawn to the giver.
- The place and timing of the gift-giving. The gift given at the right time and place will seem natural and confirm the receiver’s perception of the giver as positively attractive. An inappropriate time or place can seem manipulative or pushy and interfere with the perception of “a genuine offer to help.”
A product sample might be a gift. On the one hand, a neighbor offers me a skin cream sample when I complain of severe itching. This will likely generate an attraction — provided that it is not accompanied with a sales pitch. By contrast, a natural food catalog and sample energy tablet that is left hanging on my front door knob in a plastic bag will be less powerful as a gift. Both gifts have value but one is more powerfully attractive because it seems personal and genuine.
A referral can be a gift of value. If a sales representative believes that the need of his prospect is best satisfied with a product he does not carry, and refers the prospect to a distributor for another company, that will likely be perceived as a genuine offer to help by both the prospect and the competitor. Indeed, such a situation is described in the classic little book The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann.
Online attraction marketing gurus emphasize the value of information as a gift. Providing information (educational marketing) positions one as a leader because it suggests the expertise of the marketer. There are many other things that people value, online and offline. The following is a list of things marketers are known to give, organized into loosely six categories.
Keep in mind the word “giving” — by definition, it is understood that everything on the list is either free or obviously discounted:
- e-information/tips/suggestions: e-book, webinar, e-course, e-zine (e-newsletter), podcast, video, articles, blog posts
- other information/tips/suggestions: conference ticket, brochure, live seminar
- product savings: samples, trial offers, service, repair, extended warranty
- prospects/customers/work: leads, referrals, introductions, job opportunity, business opportunity
- business help: consultation, coaching, training, feedback, mentoring, live demonstration, advertising space, software, web site
- personal support: listening ear, encouragement, inspiration, sports or concert ticket, babysitting, ride/transport, lunch, refreshments, upgrade
That ancient Coach described a way of life: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” A modern day coach, Brian Tracy, puts it this way: “Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, ‘What’s in it for me?’ ” Apply what these coaches teach, and you will become an attraction marketer.
About the Author:
Richard Goutal, co-owner, RG Consulting Partners. http://www.rgconsultingpartners.com. Richard is a business consultant specializing in human performance improvement in the workplace and in home business. Richard believes this is an excellent time to establish a home business, but it is also a time filled with risk. Get his free eBook – Sort Through the Home Business Marketing Options, Without Getting Lost by subscribing to his newsletter here: http://www.rgconsultingpartners.com/signup.htm.
