Christine Till, also known as the Marketing Mentress, is a vivacious and enthusiastic entrepreneur with over 20 years of marketing experience in various industries such as hospitality, senior care, and business management. She brings a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and experience to the modern business theater
Christine is known for her expertise in relationship marketing and helping businesses build connections with people they meet online. She is passionate about online relationship building and is dedicated to assisting individuals in establishing meaningful connections in the digital world
As the Marketing Mentress, Christine offers guidance and support to businesses and professionals seeking to enhance their marketing strategies. She provides insights into relationship marketing, LinkedIn strategies, and other effective marketing techniques.
Christine’s expertise and insights have been shared through various platforms, including LinkedIn and her own website, where she offers valuable resources and advice to her audience. Her passion for helping others and her commitment to building strong relationships online have made her a respected figure in the marketing industry.
Overall, Christine Till, the Marketing Mentress, is a highly knowledgeable and experienced marketing professional who is dedicated to helping businesses and individuals succeed in their marketing efforts through relationship building and effective strategies
Lets start her interview without any further delay!
MarketingOceans: Can you tell us about your background and experience in the marketing industry?
Christine Till: I have honors in accounting and business management. I also did well with music & education. Basically, I am a teacher. These have been crucial tools to help with my career. Most of the jobs I have had, have been in sales and marketing.
When you think about it, we are all in the business of sales and marketing.
Technically, I have always been in Sales & Marketing. It is all about how you can help someone fill a need.
MarketingOceans: What inspired you to become the Marketing Mentress and focus on relationship marketing?
Christine Till: When I was first inspired to start my business, my son suggested that I should be a “Marketing Mentor.” That was too masculine for me, so we tossed around some ideas with my mentor and out popped “mentress”! It stuck! I needed to have a title that people would remember easily, and relate to for business.
MarketingOceans: How do you define relationship marketing, and why do you believe it is important in today’s digital landscape?
Christine Till: Marketing is all about relationships. If we want to make a sale, we need to be able to build the know, like and trust we need for a customer to buy from us. We need to understand who our perfect customer really is and then shape our marketing to hit them in the heart. People buy from those they know, like and trust. If we do not know exactly who our customer is, specifically, we will be unable to target their pain.
MarketingOceans: What are some common challenges that businesses face when it comes to building relationships online, and how do you help them overcome these challenges?
Christine Till: In a way, it is a numbers game. The most recent statistics I have read are that 80% of sales are made on the 23rd contact. That said, we need to dig deep to truly hit our perfect customer’s pain points. What is in it for them? What is it that they really need? How can I best help them overcome their challenges so that my product can help them?
We also need to be posting 3-5 times a day on all our social media platforms to create recognition. Always use video and great pictures that draw attention to them.
The best marketing product to use is email. I have developed my email list from the relationships I have build on LinkedIn.
Your customers want to know who you are and what’s in it for them. Be yourself and be real. They don’t want “fancy”; they want results.
MarketingOceans: How do you leverage LinkedIn as a platform for relationship building and community building?
Christine Till: You need to do the same things every day and stay with that routine:
Here are the steps:
- Invite 10 people to connect with you. When you reach your limit by clicking on the suggested profiles to connect with from LinkedIn, then use the groups. The Groups are the biggest kept secret of LinkedIn. You can direct message the members of the LinkedIn groups without being connected to them. Just send a direct message inviting them to connect with you without clicking the blue connect button. Then it looks just like a regular message to the LinkedIn search engines.
- Message new connections and thank them for connecting with you. Do not send a link at this point.
- Send congratulational messages.
- Endorse the new connections a week after you have connected with them and invite them to complete a small survey that you created, where they have to leave their name and email. They will receive a follow-up email asking them to verify their email. It’s called double-opting in, so you can add them to your official email list on a platform with an autoresponder.
- Create 3 Different posts a day with a great picture/ graphics/ or video.
- Create at least one video a day and save it to you tube.
- I create 3 different videos a day on TicTok and do one LinkedIn Live event a week which is 1 hour long. I also do one YouTube Live a week.
- Track the number of connections you get each day, note the increase from the day before; track the leads you get, not just the likes.
- Track your sales.
MarketingOceans: What are some key tips you would give to individuals or businesses looking to enhance their online presence and build meaningful connections?
Christine Till: Always be professional and avoid conversations that are political, religious or controversial. Find ways to build people up and encourage them. The more you help others, the more will come back to you.
Always deliver great value, so you stop their scrolling and entice them to stay and watch your video or read your posts. It’s all about finding their pain points and offering the solutions without being salesy.
Always relate to your perfect customer by sharing your story mixed in with how you learned to use the product to solve your own challenges.
MarketingOceans: How do you stay updated with the latest trends and changes in the marketing industry, which include terms of use updates from the platforms that I use and how do you incorporate them into your strategies?
Christine Till: I work with 2 mentors and spend about ½ hour a day reading emails and news related to my industry. I update with the newest technology, searching for ways to best help my perfect customers.
MarketingOceans: Can you share a success story of a client or business that you have worked with, where relationship marketing made a significant impact?
This is where your email list is crucial! You send an email out to your entire list every day. It is more like a newsletter that shares part of your story and what you discovered and how it helped you solve a challenge. Always have a CallToAction attached with everything you do online. “Comment “info” for the chance to check the blueprint”, for instance. Attach links to your website or video that they will best relate with.
MarketingOceans: What single advice would you like to give to startup owners?
Christine Till: Build your email list. If you don’t have a list, you do not have a business.
MarketingOceans: How do you see the role of AI in the marketing field? How should businesses cope with it?
Christine Till: AI is crucial. Learn ChatGPT. Most of the email platforms and websites being offered today have AI incorporated with them. It helps you be able to never have to listen to a “no”. It provides rejection-free marketing for you & is tireless & can stay working for you 24/7 on autopilot.
MarketingOceans: How do you spend your leisure time? How do you keep work life balance?
Christine Till: Several ways! Because I am working from home, I do not feel like I am working. I love what I do and am always thinking how I can help someone. I take my computer with me wherever I go, and can catch time to send out messages in between the fun activities. With all the automatic systems we have today, you can pre-schedule posts, emails and videos to post while you are away, when you want to take a vacation. You can always hire a VA to take up the slack while you are away as well.
I have a treadmill in my living room and am on it every day. I have a workout routine every day and I also track everything I eat to stay active and slim. I have physical, spiritual and family goals as well as business and financial goals. 