Attracting new customers through online marketplaces involves more than a witty pick-up line (Baby, you can give me a call-to-action anytime) and offering up your goods.

…you know what we mean.

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, think about what you find attractive. Is it confidence? Self-awareness? Strong communication? A good heart?

Eden’s marketing matchmakers believe these four qualities are what attracts emotional shoppers looking for some company in their life, fostering a healthy, business-customer relationship.

Friends with benefits.

Don’t let the title misguide you – Eden is against infidelity. What we mean is simply using your online consumers’ word to leverage your own company’s pleasures!

Okay, that sounds terrible, but hear us out.

Encouraging real, positive reviews for your business through website testimonials, along with Google+, Facebook, and Yelp, will have new, curious online customers looking at you the way Trudeau looks at Obama:

Skeptical online shoppers may be guarded against anything a company has to say, but will likely relate to consumers similar to themselves. Online reviews foster trust and credibility with new customers, increasing the likelihood they’ll get in bed with your business.

Friend-with-benefits isn’t limited to your customers either – having a couple of respected side businesses associated with your brand helps your customers feel comfortable, too. It’ll take time, but this can be done through a combination of exposure marketing tactics: link building, public relations, news wires, blogging, sharing content, and anything else that may be valued by customers.

Confidence and credibility extends to Google, too. You’ll certainly want a friend-with-benefits arrangement with Google’s algorithms to complement your marketing methods; once Google loves you, you’ll rise on search rankings, making your online presence into a bona-fide click-magnet.

Don’t focus on ‘getting to third base’.

Lusting over ‘getting to third base’ doesn’t account for the journey getting there, or the potential customers along the way.

To appeal to the masses, you have to be in front of the masses. So, instead of transfixing on third base, cover all your bases with a multi-channel, marketing strategy.

Today’s digital marketing methods allow you to be virtually everywhere your customers are (not to be confused with stalking, that’s illegal). For example, your target customers are all over social media for hours every day. Having a social media plan won’t necessarily get you to third base, but offers TLC towards brand awareness and customer engagement. Or utilizing display advertising will keep your business’ goods in front of customers’ eyes when they’re visiting other sites on the Web.

Remember: you can’t hit a home run without touching all the bases first!

It’s not you, it’s me.

Sometimes (okay, often), you just can’t fault your customers for falling in love at first sight. Sometimes, you need to be self-aware and work on yourself first.

The best way to learn what’s working and what’s not for your online appeal is relying on data, and taking an analytical approach in optimizing website user experience and marketing strategies.

Digital marketing methods can be tracked and analyzed better than any other advertising medium, so use it to your advantage. Web analytic tools, like Google Analytics or Search Console (Google Webmaster Tools), provide priceless insights into the performance of your website and online marketing initiatives. Front-end experience can be analyzed by heat map tools such as CrazyEgg and Hot Jar.

You can use Analytics and these tools to find out where your leads come from and what they do once they land on your site, allowing you to adjust your marketing dollar allotment for maximum ROI. More importantly, you’ll discover what’s not working and make adjustments to your site or your campaign that will make your business more attractive, the next time around.

Basically, you learn exactly what turns your customers on, and what buttons to push to get a number, or even a date (or you know, a sale).

Communication is the foundation of any relationship.

Poor communication can break even the strongest of bonds, and that applies to online, business-consumer relationships, too.

If your business’s solutions don’t align with your target market’s problems or ‘pain points’, your marketing dollars are essentially talking to the hand. Your advances will be brushed off like they were in high school, as you haven’t related to your customer’s needs.

Consistent communication and listening to your audience – through constructive feedback, engaging them on social channels, or strong customer service – will help you discover exactly what your customers need in a relationship with your business.

Timely customer service seems to get lost with today’s instant, online experiences, but is still vital to a healthy business-consumer relationship. Customers looking for more information should be gotten back to promptly, while the lead is still hot – depending on your business, you should respond the same day, or 24 hours latest. Taking too long to respond, or mishandling the calls when you do, can be the final straw in a shaky relationship.

But if your business improves itself through customer criticism, and being that ear online consumers can always rely on, you’ll be seen as a suitable partner, with new customers lining up to court your business!

While some principles of love apply to attracting new customers online, many don’t.

Love is patient? Not when there’s 100 other bachelor websites waiting for customers to bounce off yours.

Love is blind? Nope – even the biggest of hearts can’t look past that 90s-circa web design.

If your online advertising is in a slump, Eden’s marketing matchmakers can help you become an internet Casanova. Through our results-driven, analytical advertising approach, we’ll give your online presence the right appeal, that says the right thing, to the right audience.

Contact us today to learn more! Happy Valentine’s Day!