Developing Online Relationships for Profit

Developing online relationships may be one of the most important parts of the fishing tackle retailer in this digital age. I am not suggesting you develop romantic relationships, but rather develop digital friendships or online conversations with your clients, or future clientele. With the advent of Twitter and Facebook, the ability to communicate with the public has never been easier or more needed.

More anglers are online now than any other time in history, whether they are setting up their fantasy fishing squad, scouting for new fishing spots via the Internet or just researching their next purchase. The anglers who are researching their next purchase are the ones that you need to get in touch with – they are the ones who will soon be spending money on products that you have in your store. But will they buy from you?

Customers, whether they are the public buying from a retailer, or a retailer buying from a wholesaler, prefer to buy from someone they know and trust. If they do not know or trust the seller, they are less likely to buy everything they need from that person. With the advent of this digital age, you interact facelessly with your customers or future clientele, no matter if they are local or not. You can do this from the comfort of your office, your shop or your recliner. The goal is to let them know how vast your knowledge is on fishing in general, local fishing specifically, and most important let them get to know who you are.

The key to developing these online relationships is honesty, integrity, openness and most of all, consistency. Unlike visiting you in your store and seeing you face to face, these people on the other end won’t get a chance to view your facial expressions. Watch out for jokes that may not come across online the same way as it might in person. Remember also that this persona you are sharing with the public should not allow your personal life to cross over into it. Never allow personal photos of your weekend with the boys, or you when you were younger and less wise to show up on your public profile. If you are fishing in your spare time and want to share a photo showcasing your prowess, then by all means share that. Just make sure these photos are cleaned up and void of alcohol or tobacco products. Remember your objective is to put your best foot forward.

Your honesty, integrity and openness are traits that will come out through your interactions, and unlike knowledge, they cannot be faked. People will quickly see if you are worthy of interaction or not, and will respond accordingly. When asked, share your personal experiences of using a certain piece of gear; let them know the good the bad and the ugly of a product. No product is perfect – tell them the truth and you will see your honesty pay off. On the same note, if you do not have experience with a new product let them know that as well. You work too, you may not have time to fish with every new piece of gear, or carry it.

This is where you can fall back on your own social media network, what are the pros saying about a new lure, or the best way to fish it. When you share the information you garnered from the pros be sure to note the source. This will not only further legitimize your answers, but if the answer turns out to not work for you clients it takes the ownness off of you.

You need to keep a consistent presence online as well; it helps your newfound friends realize that you are reliable. You have a personal life as well, and people will realize this fact. If you will be away for a while let them know ahead of time, or have someone you trust take over your postings. The key is to be real and available when you are needed.

In the end you will find that converting your online connections to in-person customers is much easier than finding completely new customers. You should notice that the more you interact socially, the more followers you will accumulate. You should also offer these friends an incentive to come into your shop in person. Also find a badging system or a way to thank them for their interaction. Their questions and input are growing your business – remember that and reward them for it. If you have more ideas on how to grow your business through online relationships, share them with us on our Facebook page.