Relationship marketing is good business, but don't take it personally

Don’t Take Relationship Marketing Too Far

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Relationship marketing works, but don’t fall into the trap of taking those relationships to a personal place. Yes, connect with your customers and prospects in a meaningful way to build a healthy business relationship. No, don’t confuse that with personal relationships.

There is such thing as oversharing and TMI. Here are two examples of relationship marketing gone bad.

YouTuber Uses Platform as Confessional

I follow a smart YouTube marketer to learn best practices and proven techniques. Her early episodes have taught me to do things that I have used. Her authentic person-to-person approach kept me coming back. All good.

Until recently.

Apparently her success has led her to decide that she needs to be even more authentic on YouTube. Her latest videos talk about her issues growing up, her entire dating life, her relationship with her family, and more. Too much more.

What her most recent videos lack is anything related to marketing on YouTube, the topic of her channel.

I like her, but as a YouTube expert. I do not want to be her BFF.

Restaurant Owner Overshares

I love to shop local and found a restaurant run by a local couple. Win! I follow them on Facebook to get the specials.

Well, I got much more recently. Apparently both the restaurant and their relationship fell apart. One spouse shared about the other’s apparent issues with alcohol and allegations of cheating. I know that they have lost their life savings and more.

This is very sad, but isn’t something that patrons should know. I want a good meal, not to take sides in the relationship.

Relationship Marketing with Boundaries

In both of these examples, the oversharing on social media has led to increases in online followers. I argue that’s not necessarily a good thing. People following for voyeurism doesn’t help achieve your business goals.

As you leverage social media to build a community for your brand, never lose focus on the purpose of that community. Relationship marketing should be about helping people to know your products and services. You want them to understand the value you bring.

Your marketing goal should not be to build the largest community or to get the most views. Relationship marketing is about connecting with the right people who will act by doing business with you.