Life is all about buying and selling.

If you take the time to read this article to its end (which we hope you do) means you are buying something from it, it could be you want to buy the idea or the explanation of the idea "Marketing Skills that keep your spouse happy", and you have to pay for this with your time.

The simple fact is; all of life's activity is characterized by buying and selling, you pay for education, you pay for movement, you pay for comfort, you pay for relationships (you have to pay for a relationship with your time, attention and money 'if you are a guy of course').

Paying for a service or product may not always be physical or monetary; it could be with your time, with your attention, with your experience, with your skills etc. In one way or the other we have to pay for everything in life. Even life has to be paid for - we have to make a conscientious effort at respiration, nourishing our human machinery, keeping healthy societal relations and living a healthy lifestyle: these are some of the prices we have to pay for a good life.

So you see, everyone is a marketer.

In one way or the other; you have sold an idea, a service, your time or attention to others. Even the suckling baby has to market itself adequately as a baby to receive all the love and attention its parents can give (babies mostly bargain with their cries, cuteness and sometimes cheerfulness).

So what does all this have to do with professional marketing, or your relationship with a spouse?

Here we go:

In order for us to enjoy a good relationship, we both have to give and take, to buy and sell, fight and settle (haggle over price). The analogies are so real, that I would recommend every couple goes for a marketing course - funny right?

To be successful in a relationship as well as marketing, you have to sell yourself in the most appropriate ways.

The thing with relationships is that prices are never stable; it is like the stock market - always fluctuating.

Initially as guys, when you go out to court (track, gist, toast, spin) a lady, the marketing skills applied are very instinctive and acute, you buy her gifts, you take her out, you show her immense care etc. For the ladies, attracting a guy usually means you have to look stunning be smart, be funny, be accommodating and in some instances look seductive. But in an actual relationship, the whole game is changed.

Keeping a relationship requires a more advanced level of marketing skill. It requires that you know what the client (your spouse) really needs as opposed to want.

Ask any professional marketer around, they would tell you that marketing is about connections. To persuade the customer and negotiate prices - requires some sort of mental empathy between the marketer and his client.

Below we have listed some basic marketing techniques anyone can apply – guaranteed to enable them sell their products and services effectively; which in turn leads to a balanced and happy relationship between Marketer and Customer.

• Profile your Customer - The marketer knows every customer or client is different and unique in their own way; each has their own peculiar personality. This is the first truth everyone should know about their spouse, those who have been privileged to go through numerous relationships will understand what differing personality really means. What works in your previous relationship may be the disaster in your current relationship. So ensure you have a detailed, descriptive and correct profiling for your customers or spouse.

• Promote what your customer wants to buy - What does your customer really need, is it the 58' inch LCD screen, or an amazing TV watching experience? What does your spouse really want, is it the big house in the suburbs or a happy home? Is it the vacation trip or a good time spent together? Ensure you as the marketer sell the right product or services.

• Create Trust - As simple as this sound, it is essentially the core of marketing. I don't even have to explain what it does in a relationship or for relationships; just let your spouse catch you cheating on Him or Her.

• Be resourceful- A lot of marketers know that their success in a marketing career is hinged on being versatile: the go-to guy for almost every need. When your customers know you can deliver for almost every conceivable need they have, they grow dependent on you. This is true and healthy for relationships; imagine a boyfriend that can't drive, or a girlfriend that can't cook! When your spouse knows they can depend on you, even in arduous situations, it fosters a closer bonding and helps build strength in your relationship.

• Close range marketing (Empathy) - People respond more to what you have to say, when they know you truly care. As a marketer, even when your customer demands, and is ready to pay for a product or service - it will do you more good to know why they truly need the product or service. Say a customer asks for you to supply him a new PC; you may decide to ask him what happened to his old PC, Did it crash? Did they lose all their files? Such deep concern will make the customer develop confidence and respect in you. In a relationship, being empathetic is so underrated. If couples would only just manage to apply a little bit of empathy, half the break-ups will be avoided.

• Scarcity marketing - This is a more tactical approach to marketing. The product or service owner creates the need for the product, but reduces the available quantity; this in turn makes the demand to increase. Nobody wants to lose out on what seems to be a good offer, so they clamor for the service, or your attention and presence and smile, and laughter, and everything that people in relationships usually seem to want.

• Call to Action- You could market something so good, but still not sell. This is because people have to be explicitly directed into the act of buying. In relationships, it is unhealthy to leave issues hanging. Whenever an issue shows up, say your spouse spends all her time on social media or playing video game, discuss the issue with them, but also come up with a tangible solution that they may be willing to adopt (Like deleting all their social accounts or smashing the gaming console - *just being sarcastic*).

• Viral Marketing - Whenever you plan something special, like a trip to Hawaii. Let your spouse know every single day about how wonderful it would be, sound it in their  ears every as much as possible without being too obtrusive, play scenes of the trip in their head, show them photographs, movies, play Hawaiian music. They will be in the mood and pack their bags ready, even days before the actual trip.

• Diversity Marketing- When you constantly use the same method to sell the same products every single time- it gets boring. In relationships, you don't use the same romantic lines or concepts over and over again. Your relationship depends on how good you can come up with something fresh. You also need to understand the different moods of your spouse and know how to approach each. Sometimes you pet, sometimes you drill, sometimes you love.

• Surprise Marketing - Everyone loves a good surprise, try surprising your customer with a Christmas package, and see if he isn't sold on all your offers the next year (as long as your offer remains good). Everyone loves surprises (ladies more than guys), come out of the blue with a present, plan a surprise birthday party for your spouse, by any means necessary just give them a good SURPRISE!

• Don't stop marketing - You lose touch with customers and clients when you stop marketing. Note that: you may still be engaged in selling, but the actual act of marketing would have dwindled out- avoid this. Keeping your relationship above the waters of break-ups requires a conscientious effort of continuous marketing. Never stop buying her gifts, never stop celebrating your anniversaries, never stop hanging out, and always be ingenious for new ways and things to spice up the relationship. In marketing as also in relationships, the moment you stop marketing, your spouse or customer will begin to look elsewhere. And know this; they are bound to find a new and more ingenious marketer. Never let your spouse find a marketer better than you.

Conclusively, I don't really know if this post was about marketing or relationships, but either way you look at it - they are both compliments of the same spectrum we call life!

Life is all about marketing. So go out there and build a profitable marketing relationship with your spouse and customer.

Hey! if you would like to know the best online marketing strategies to apply for your business, so that you can generate more leads and get more customers; then you need to Talk with us now.