Human Relationship Marketing Principles

This week I’m sharing the bare bones foundation of how to build a business marketing plan that works not just now, but for years into the future.

It’s something I’ve been implementing since the 1980’s, when I first made the move to the advertising side of media.

Human Relationship Marketing is the term I either created or developed when I was learning the radio ad business at WMUZ in Detroit where I worked starting in 1986 at the ripe old age of 26.  Ideas came from a number of sources including the weekly sales bullet newsletter from  company president Don Crawford.  This was an internal memo that those of us in the advertising side of the company were given.

I also bought and read a number of books by authors Jack Trout and Al Ries who wrote the classic: Positioning, The battle for your mind and other follow up books.  Harvey Mackay, author of Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and several additional titles were instrumental in my early sales and ad career education.  Then about 20 years ago Roy H Williams came into my life with a series of books that I also recommend along with Roy’s weekly free email, Monday Morning Memo.

So here’s the quick version of what Human Relationship Marketing Principles are:

• The closer we get to communicating in our advertising and marketing to traditional Human Relationships, the stronger the campaign and the bond.
• You have to be genuine, honest and have integrity in your business and in your advertising.
• The same things we want as human beings from other humans are the same things we want from the people we spend our money with.
• The more you can mimic these human relationship principles in your marketing, the better your results.

And here’s a few practical was to make this happen:

• Avoid “ad-speak” and clichés in your  marketing messaging.  Instead talk the way you would to a friend.
• Build relationships with your current and future customers by being consistent with your ads.  (More on this in the future)

And remember this:

Despite all the advances in technology, it’s still people who are deciding to buy from you or someone else, and those people will make purchases based on their feelings and back it up with data.

More in the weeks ahead.