Why do some people succeed in persuading and influencing others while others fail? This is a question for which there is no single answer. However, there is one great rule of thumb you should always keep in mind and carry with you when selling: Knowledge, likability, and trustworthiness are the essential principles for success.
People want to buy from you because they trust you, like you, and know you. This may sound like an exaggeration, but it becomes much easier to do business with someone when you begin to trust, like, and know someone.
It’s simple: If a customer does not like or trust you, they will not do business with you no matter how great your product is.
To learn more about the importance of the “Know, Like and Trust,” or the KLT principle for your business, keep reading!
Know
If your audience is knowledgeable about your company that means they have learned your brand messaging and content, and they are familiar with your product or service. But at this stage, they are not ready to convert into customers. The audience needs more information about your product before making a buying decision.
At this stage, you should focus on raising customer awareness by providing informational materials that educate the target audience about their problem and show them how your product or service can solve it.
For example, if you create blog posts like this on your website, customers are already interested in your product and can find you online. This is important if they are new to your brand—they can see that you offer helpful advice on topics they are interested in and they’ll trust you as a source of information. You can also use social media tools like Twitter chats and Facebook Live to provide leads with information relevant to their business.
Like
Your goal at this stage is to have customers and prospects engage with you. You can do this by creating exciting and engaging content that they will want to consume. You can also create events that they wish to attend and talk about.
To attract new followers, you need to provide value to your audience. There are five types of content that your audience wants to see: videos, social media posts, news articles, research content, and online classes or educational games.
If you do not have the time to create your content, you can draw on what’s already available online. You can “curate” content by posting or linking to content from others valuable to your target audience. This can include articles, videos, infographics, and much more. Or you can also outsource content to help you.
However, remember that each social network attracts a different group of users with different interests. Facebook, for example, has the most users of any social network, but LinkedIn attracts more young professionals than any other platform. This means that you should take different approaches on different platforms depending on who your target audience is. If you are trying to target professionals, you should focus more on LinkedIn than Facebook. However, if you are trying to reach students or young adults, you should focus more on Facebook and Instagram than on Twitter or Pinterest.
Trust
In the trust stage, people are ready to do business with you. This does not necessarily mean a sale, but it could mean they come back to your website, sign up for your list, or make a purchase.
This is the phase where you need to have a solid call to action.
The best way to get a solid call to action is to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask them if you can help them with a specific task. If they have come to your site because they are looking for a particular product, you need to lead them to that product. If they are looking for information, point them in the right direction. The best way to maintain that trust is to continually deliver quality content that your audience will find helpful.
Summary
The concept is simple. If you are helpful and solve a customer’s problem, they will trust you more and be more inclined to buy from you again and possibly recommend you to others. Regardless of your industry, referrals are a company’s best friend. A good business strives to keep its customers happy to tell their friends and family about their positive customer experience. This can lead to several benefits, such as new sales or brand loyalty.
Every business owner should focus on customer retention rather than constantly looking for new customers. The key is to continuously show genuine care, interest, and pride in your products or services to create enthusiastic fans who will come back and whose friends will want them too!
You want to apply the KLT Principle to your business? We are here to help you!
