Understanding the difference between Relationship based marketing and direct marketing is a topic that I think is incredibly important to understand because there is a lot of conflicting information available about what the best marketing tactics are.

When you look at the current style of marketing you often see tactics designed to trick people into doing something or tactics designed to convince people to make a decision before they are actually ready to make a decision.

This is the reason marketing and sales sometimes get a bad rap, because to the consumer all these tactics are the same and the marketing and sales people in their minds are only there to take their money.

While this is true for many people who are simply devoted to making the next quick buck. There should be a clear delineation between those are do care and those who are only there to take advantage of you.

I call this difference relationship based marketing vs. direct marketing and put simply its chess vs. checkers.

When you’re trying to build the relationship with the consumer you are 100% concerned with their experience and what they are thinking at every stage of their journey. From consuming your content all the way to a loyal customer or follower. You are constantly looking for ways to make the experience better and ways to offer more to the consumer to showcase the value and further build the relationship.

In a direct marketing world your only concern is tricking people into clicking on your links or purchasing your products before they are ready and without thinking what the customer might be experiencing through the journey, because in a direct marketers world the only important thing is the initial sale and then it’s on to the next customer.

You will more often than not see direct marketers use power words to entice people to click or cryptic information in a Facebook post to get people to click on the link. Something like: You’ll never believe what number 2 is! Or power copy like: Are you READY to EXPERIENCE the MOST incredible TRANSFORMATION you could EVER imagine? Click here to CHANGE your LIFE!

I really don’t like this way of thinking, because I am wired to constantly be thinking about what people are experiencing and how they like what I have to offer and what I’m putting out.

Complaints literally KILL me and I will think about them from 100 different ways for 3 weeks straight before I decide on how best to improve upon what someone complained about. I think this is rooted in building the culture of caring I often talk about and I practice what I preach.

Now when you work to build the relationship with people they will click on your articles, watch your videos and purchase your products simply because they trust you and you make them feel special and part of something. You don’t need heavily enticing copy, power words, or gimmicks. Yes, it might take longer to build the relationship this way, but the people who do come in this way will stick with you and your products forever.

Start playing chess and stop playing checkers.

Now what do you think? Let me know your thoughts on the difference in the comments!