Know, Like and Trust Are Just the Beginning

Know, Like, Trust gets thrown around quite a bit in any conversation even faintly related to marketing. While Know, Like, Trust are important to creating an excellent customer experience, they are not the only steps needed to build a complete relationship. If you focus solely on these three steps, you are missing the opportunity to build an authentic relationship with your prospects and clients that will last.

Know, Like, Trust Need Try, Buy, Repeat, Refer

Know, Like and Trust need the supporting steps of Try, Buy, Repeat and Refer in order to build a full and complete experience. These are the steps described in the Duct Tape Marketing Hourglass, but each one describes a touch point for your prospects and clients. At each step, the person is deciding whether or not to continue the relationship and purchase or not. If a business skips steps in anticipation of a Buy, the experience will become broken and the client will feel as if they are being rushed into a decision.
Getting through Know, Like and Trust is also not the Indy 500. It can take a combination of different tactics at each stage to fully complete each step. For example, Know is just a matter of visibility. It isn't just one print ad or brochure. Getting through Know may take that plus a direct mail piece or a company mention at a local networking meeting.