I’ve spent most of my career in Relationship Marketing – digital, social, and CRM.
The goal of this discipline is to continue to deepen relationships with customers.
I believe there are three primary phases of the process:
Initiate, nurture, and deepen.
Relationships with brands aren’t any different than relationships with people.
First you need to meet…initiate the relationship.
Then, you need to nurture the connection, or it will just fade away.
Over time, that relationship will deepen in trust and importance in your life.
Networking Application
When reading the notes above, the process seems obvious… and easy.
In practice, this can prove to be challenging.
Some may prefer one step and neglect others.
Meeting lots of new people but never following up or really connecting.
Deeping existing relationships but avoiding activities to meet new connections.
To have a strong network, you need to be intentional about always working on all layers.
Here are some tips at each level:
Initiate: Join groups of interest, attend conferences, join webinars, and participate in networking events. Research people you would like to meet and start relationships by offering something of value. Keep your introductions succinct to highlight who you are, your expertise, and why you are reaching out. Like, comment, and share with people on LinkedIn who you would like to meet.
Nurture: Follow up with people you meet, engage with posts of new connections on LinkedIn, and send notes to stay in touch. Be supportive of their work by congratulating them on milestones and offering support when they need it. Connect on any interests you might have outside of work and be consistent with your interactions.
Deepen: Choose 5-10 contacts a month to have quality connections. This could be a phone call, a zoom meeting, or meeting live for coffee or dinner. The key is to ensure you hear each other’s voice and ideally see each other. You can collaborate on projects, be vulnerable, and be a connector of information, people and ideas.
Your Turn
Do you see how this framework can support your networking goals?
Which of the three layers is your strongest? Which is the weakest?
What are three tactics you want to implement in the week ahead?