How Microsoft Finally Connected With Their Customers

Do you remember when everybody claimed the Internet was the great equalizer? Where even a small, home-based business can appear to be equal to even the largest companies.

Well, hold on to your hats folks as I reveal the secrets of persuasion and how personal connection with your prospect will increase your sales.

Fact: Big Business got it wrong!

This truism is so important that even Bill Gates has finally figured it.

We need to remember that our customers are individual people.

In the past, you were taught that if you wanted to compete in your niche market, you had to act like a big business. We spend so much time trying to present ourselves as this big business and writing page and ad copy that is totally worthless in beneficial communication with our prospects.

Have you ever thought how your customer feels when this happens. I know I feel like just another number in some marketers scheme to get me to buy something.

What we really need to realize and quickly understand is how do we make friends.

As an action step, go to a meeting place and observe how two people become friends. Maybe it starts with a conversation about sports, or fishing, or hobbies. They finally mutally realize that they have something in common. They then begin to make a connection. Finally they take action and the friendship is established.

In our website copy, we quickly need to realize that people are individuals and they are looking for things as an individual not as a business - not as just another number.

Don't depersonalize the connection.

The Business Friendship Model

1. Attention- we need to get the attention of the other person
2. Connection - we need to establish a connection on some level. Music, family, fishing etc.
3. Commitment - We decide that we like the other person enough to make an unconscious connection. unconsciously - we make a connection on some level
4. Action - If you watch two friends establishing a connection. You talk about fishing or music, or some problem that they both share. At some point they mutually come to the realization that they have made a connection and  think hey this is my kinda person.
   
   You act on that commitment  - then dance and reciprocation follows and the friendship is established.
   
   Your customer wants this from you. They want to feel that you want to pay attention to them. That you want to connect to them. That you want to make a commitment to them.
   
   That you want to give more value to them then you expect in return.
   
   I want to give attention to you as part of your advertisement will drastically increase a response. Most importantly, be sincere.

What I Believe

I believe that an individual customer wants to communicate with an individual human not a large company.

You might want to build a site that makes you look like a big company but remember the above.

Even large companies are finally catching on.

Watch this video to see how even Bill Gates is trying to finally do this.

Buck Anderson is the President and CEO of Jive Media Group LLC. His expertise in web development and Internet Marketing began in 1997 as senior web developer for a muiti-million dollar company in Central Minnesota. He is an accomplished trainer and consultant for the popular, open source content management systems, DotNetNuke and Magento eCommerce. Buck is recognized throughout the industry as DNN Professor. He is also a respected XMod MVP accomplished in landing pages, forms and database designs.

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