Now’s the time to serve, not sell.

As I write this blog post, some of us are still coming to terms with how upside down our world has become. But, day by day, we’re starting to get a grip on our new normal. 

You may have seen in my last webinar how I believe that small businesses can turn adversity into opportunity and create meaningful connections with their customers during this challenging time. I shared 10 tips for how businesses can diversify their offering, reach out and connect in more meaningful ways. 

One of the tips was to serve, not sell. And I wanted to spend some time expanding on this. 

One of the biggest opportunities I think small businesses have is to cement themselves as a valued member of the community (physical and virtual) and serve their audience in a way that’ll create a lasting affinity. 

How?

Resist the temptation to dial up your ‘sell sell sell’ message and instead, focus on ways you can add real value to your audience. What you give and invest in them now will come back in revenue and custom when we’re out the other side. Identify ways you can use your skillset, your brand offering or your team to support customers, followers and fans and get your message out there. Let’s break it down. 

Step 1

Step 1 Take a genuine look at the resources or skills you have within your midst. Make a long list of all the possibilities.

Step 2

Do some research - is there a challenge or problem you think you can help with? Note: your solutions don’t need to cost money! If there is, who has the problem? What are they in need of? Inspiration? Advice? Simple delivery mechanisms?

Step 3

Come up with a plan of action to meet that need, or at least, muck in and help the cause. 

Step 4

Raise awareness with that audience in a way that’s authentic, real and genuine. Take to social media, get involved in community groups, reach out to your database. Remember, if you’re really trying to serve, not sell, people will be super receptive and think highly of you for doing what you can. 

It really works

We’ve been working with a fantastic British brand over the last few weeks doing exactly this. We’ve taken their skillset and their brand DNA, identified a way we can genuinely help their customers, fans and a wider community that fits with their brand story, and created a social media campaign that’s reached over 30,000 people in the first 2 days with a very small budget. 

We’re seeing fantastic engagement because it’s authentic, taps into a need, and fully embraces the ‘serve, not sell’ mentality. So give it a go. 

If you’d like any support or advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’re always up for a chat (via Zoom of course).