People today may see an ad, or one of their friends may talk about a product or service that they have used.

Or most often, they google to find an answer to their problem, or something to make their life easier, or to get ideas.

Or they may have read something about it and stored it in the back of their minds. Then when the time comes that they need such a product or service, they may ask friends or remember something they have read or seen.

What they saw about a brand may have resonated at the time, but because they didn’t need it, they didn’t buy it or do anything about it. Now they can’t remember what the brand was called. So that business loses a sale.

If they were still seeing that brand pop up, then it would be one of the brands they would consider.

Or if there had been something in the ad or content compelling them to join a page or follow a brand online or give them your email, then they would have had a few months or years of seeing that brand, familiarising themselves with it, trusting it and have a much higher chance of going on to buy it.

Or if they had read an article in a digital or printed publication that they follow, then they could search back through the issues for it.

The next scenario of someone needing a product or service. What do most of us do when we don’t know who to purchase from?

We ‘google’.

Unless we have an online presence, with content describing what you do, what the benefits of your product is and answering your potential customers’ questions, then it doesn’t matter how brilliant your product or service is, they will never see it.

Now, imagine, they do remember your brand. What tends to be the next step? What do most of us do before we buy a product now?

We search for reviews. Or for online presence in trusted sources. This is called social proof. To give us peace of mind that it isn’t just the business telling us how brilliant their product is, but people who have used it, telling you how they benefitted or not. Or if the company features in publications that you trust. Or belong to groups or federations that you trust.

So, if we imagine that we tick all the boxes of having a consistent presence on all channels – social media, content, ads, publications, reviews…we are happy that we are there at any point in their journey.

So we should get the sale, right?

Not necessarily, because you are probably not the only one doing all this. So, what will increase the chances of them buying from you over someone else, when you have similar products, offering the same benefits, similar price and similar reviews?

It will probably be your ‘personality’. How well they think they know you. It takes