Marketing basics: Stop selling, start giving

This is a new basics of marketing series aimed for small businesses and self employed individuals. Please comment below, share this and tell your businessy friends to join in as well!

It's a commonly known fact that (most) people don't like being targets of marketing. Especially they (we) hate advertising and selling part of it. Of course as a business owner you'll need sales. It would be ridiculous to think otherwise.

As long as your customers are aware of the fact that they are being "victims" of marketing, they will fight against it. In order to make them stop fighting, you'll need to stop selling so hard.

Selling needs to come naturally, in the way the customer feels they asked for it. Sneaky. Social media services and platforms make this easy and considerably affordable.

So what to do? Use your (company) blog, Twitter account, Facebook page and what ever not just for promoting and selling your products and services, but also to give the readers other valuable information.

Give free tips and resources. Share links and promote other people, businesses and products. Be generous. In order to sell you'll need to be ready to give.

You can't make your customers to buy. But you can nudge them to the direction of buying. (Tweet this quote)

Photo by JD Hancock under Creative Commons license.