My first job was working as a waitress in a little cafe. I was only 13 years old.

I’ll be honest. I wasn’t the best waitress.

I dropped things. Forgot things. Got orders mixed up.

But man did I clean up on tips!

Most shifts I’d triple or even quadruple my earnings, topping up my £2.25ph wage to £20 or £30.

You see, I’d figured out something that many businesses don’t truly understand.

I’d smile when they came in.

I’d learn their names, ask after their family and engage in some genuine conversations.

It wasn’t fake and I wasn’t manipulating them. I genuinely wanted to get to know them and I found they wanted to get to know me too.

The better I knew them, the more my tip jar would grow.

You see, what little 13 year old me had accidentally stumbled into was a key business lesson.

I’d learnt that if I built a good relationship with my customers, if I put the time in to get to know them, understand them and have real conversations with them then they’d be much more willing to hand over their cash – or forgive the odd spill!

That’s what content marketing is really all about. Building that genuine relationship with your customers so that when the time comes and you ask for that sale, they already know, like and trust you.

Are you getting to know your customers well enough?