Do people like you?  It matters a lot.

• Mon, May 28 2012
• Filed under: Marketing essentials

I’m not talking about “like” as in Facebook “like.”

I mean likeability.

According to Rohit Bhargava, (who has a new book out called Likeonomics: The unexpected truth behind earning trust, influencing behavior and inspiring action), people decide which organizations to trust, what advice to follow, and who should be a partner based on likeability.  We even elect presidents based on that criteria.

Likeability is not being nice - although that never hurt.  As Bhargava notes, it is about:

Truth: having integrity
Relevance: listening first, then sharing what matters to others
Unselfishness: offering something of value without expected payback
Simplicity: reducing your message to its essence rather than going on and on
Timing: relating what you say and do to the world around you

Why does this matter right now?  Because we’re in the midst of a believability crisis, he says.  As I noted in my last post, trust in marketing is at a low, and people crave something to believe in.

That’s excellent news for you. You have a good heart and a great cause.  If you advance it with integrity and reach out to your audience with the right messages at the right time, you will be liked.  And that’s the start of a beautiful relationship - with donors, volunteers and beneficiaries.  If anyone is going to master likeonomics, it’s you.