Why personal attention always works (and not just on Valentine's Day!)

Valentine's Day, a day filled with love and affection and surprises, reminds us that genuine connections and sincere attention are invaluable. And guess what? This is true not only in the world of romance, but also in business acquisition. As we are inundated by a flood of generic emails and messages seeking to convince us of a company's fantastic solutions, the question lingers: how many times have we opened these messages and seriously considered taking up the offer? Usually they end up directly in the spam folder or are deleted without hesitation. And why? Because they don't match our needs at the time.

Why generic acquisition fails

The traditional approach to acquisition often falls short for several reasons. Instead of a personal greeting, emails often begin with an impersonal "Hi {first name}," followed by a pitch that seems more focused on promoting the company than on understanding the recipient's needs. The message almost always misses what the offer means to the recipient and thus does not resonate. This type of acquisition does not work because it does not touch the reader, not on an emotional level and certainly not on a level that fits their current challenges or needs.

Shooting with hail: Constant mush of irritation

The problem with mass acquisition is that you shoot with hail, which never results in high conversion rates. The fact is that it actually results in high levels of irritation among potential customers. You haphazardly shoot arrows hoping to hit something or someone. But instead of achieving the desired results, you waste time, effort and resources on a strategy that doesn't work. Instead, it's much more effective to be targeted, delve into the needs and challenges of your target audience and then offer genuine personal attention. Never to sell something in the first message, but rather to build a relationship.

Negative brand association: Get rid of intrusiveness

Impersonal approaches and mass acquisition can create negative associations with your brand. The recipient will perceive the constant stream of generic messages as intrusive and irritating, which can lead to a decrease in brand value in the eyes of potential customers. If, as a company, you don't even bother to make a real connection with your target audience and instead take a "shoot with hail" approach, this can lead to a loss of credibility and respect.

The power of sincere personal attention: Just like with valentines

Instead of shooting hail, it is essential to take the time to immerse yourself in your potential customers, the need at their business, understand their issues and really connect with them. This does not mean that you should never sell at the initial contact stage, but rather that you should shift your focus from selling to building relationships. By showing genuine interest and being open to the conversation with your target audience, you build valuable relationships that ultimately lead to long-term partnerships and customer loyalty, and thus successful acquisition.

Whereas previously the telephone was used to haphazardly call someone, abusive e-mail marketing and social media invites have made it very easy to reach many people in a short period of time. The actual impact of these activities is still very low, if not 0.

Valentine's Day reminds us that genuine attention and connection are invaluable, not only in love, but also in business. For now, stop with the "quick fix" and "shoot with hail" approach and instead consider how you yourself prefer to be approached. Work on a good story, select your target group carefully and start from your own strengths and pay sincere personal attention to another person. It takes more time and effort, the long-term result is priceless.