There is a franchise nearby which sells ready made cheesecakes. It’s a nice clean shop with the
cheesecakes beautifully laid out in brightly lit display cabinets. You carefully peruse the selection, make your choice, then they take it out the
back behind closed doors. Moments later they return with the boxed cheesecake, lifting the lid to show you. I want to know what did out there! Why won’t they let me see out the back? Is it really the cheesecake I chose?
Today we all like to look behind the scenes; Chefs work in
open kitchens, people work in open plan office spaces, I also hear Reality TV is very
popular. So what is it that we love
about “looking out back”, perhaps we are just plain nosy? I think the answer lays in people,
we all want to know who we are dealing with.
If we are comfortable with the people we meet, we are more likely to do business.
So here goes, it is time to lower that corporate front and avoid only talking about your qualifications, product or service. Let people get to know you and
your team a little more personally.
When I broach clients on this subject, some immediately jump to the
traditional thoughts on Social Media “I’m not going to post pictures of my lunch,
no-one wants to see that!”. My response,
well actually they do, as long as its only occasionally and its a mighty attractive
looking meal! It is simply a matter of giving
them little snippets of the real you, so that they feel more comfortable and want to
deal with you.
So how can you do that without intruding on your personal
life? Here’s a few that I like to use:
Selfies!
Putting images of yourself on your website, marketing
material, business card or Social Media business profile is no longer considered pretentious. With so much business now done online and over the phone, it helps people to know
who they are dealing with.
Food and Drinks
Everyone needs to eat and most of us love food so it’s
something we can all relate to. I'm not talking about a continuous flow everything you are eating. Just little things
like a photo of a special staff morning tea, business lunch or a coffee meeting. It's not only on Social Media that people love to talk food. I have a simple addition to my email signature
which says “Latte please”, you would be surprised how many people comment on it. These are the kind of small touches which can open up conversations.
Stuff ups
Okay so I’m not talking serious mistakes here, just the
occasional Doh! moments. It
really doesn't hurt to show that you are human, most of us have been there and can identify with the situation, so we may as well all have a bit of a laugh about it.
Preparation
Perhaps you are getting ready for a trade show, you have a new
shipment arrive, are opening a box of new equipment or have a new staff uniform? Anything that shows a little behind the scene
snapshot of your business creates interest and encourages engagement.
Celebrations
Now we don’t really want to see those Office Party photos, but we all love to celebrate birthdays, babies, new staff, awards,
business milestones etc. So remember to
take a quick photo while you are enjoying yourselves, then later share your happy news with others.
Go on, don’t be scared….
Someone’s knocking at the door, somebodies ringing the bell, do me a favour, open the door and let ‘em in.
A little musical interlude for you.
A little musical interlude for you.
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