Provide value by building know-like-trust.
“You can copy the recipe, but the sauce won’t taste the same.”
-Kim Kardashian
Kim said it best. She’s reminding us that we can share our tips and secrets and tools to help our colleagues and even – gasp! – our competitors but we all will do even the same thing differently. We all add our own flare and pizazz so don’t worry about someone stealing your secret. It will never be the same and the best thing you can do is share your tips to try and save someone the headache of figuring things out on their own.
TWO EXAMPLES
Example #1
You provide marketing services to businesses and business owners. One of the services you offer is email marketing. Even though this is a service you charge for and the exact way you do it is exclusive to your company, that doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t share tips and ideas for a business owner that wants to do it themselves. Offer ideas for content, scheduling, and online tools you might use for automation and design. Eventually that business will grow and the owner will be too busy to do it themselves and when they are ready to make the switch, guess who they will call? You! Because through this process you have helped them navigate what to do and when. They appreciate your help and they trust you to handle it properly.
Example #2
You provide an EMR solution to our industry. You likely create templates for certain codes and clinic notes to streamline the process for your customers. Share some of these templates with the entire industry. A physician that uses a competing product might find your templates useful and start following you to be sure they don’t miss any helpful tricks from your product. One day they decide they are frustrated with their current provider and – BAM – now they are your customer for life.
Sharing is caring. Start the New Year by spreading good cheer and good vibes. See you out there!
– Ann Dosen