Let’s be real: coaching and training companies don’t just offer services—they offer transformation. And to get people to buy into that promise, trust is everything.
Clients invest in you and your programs because they are confident you can help them grow. In fact, PwC’s 2024 Trust Survey shows that 46% of US consumers are more likely to buy from companies they trust, with 28% even willing to pay a premium price for it.
This is why relationship marketing is so important for coaching and training companies. It’s not just about acquiring clients, but about nurturing and sustaining long-term relationships that drive loyalty and advocacy. And podcasting is one of the best mediums to do just that.
In this article, I will cover:
- The unique challenges coaching and training companies face when marketing their services.
- What relationship marketing is and how it’s different from traditional marketing.
- Why podcasting is a great way to build and strengthen relationships.
- And seven ways you can use podcasts to connect with clients at every stage: acquisition, retention, expansion, and reactivation.
The unique marketing challenges of coaching and training companies.
When you’re selling expertise and transformations, credibility is everything—clients need to trust you right from the start. But unlike quick-fix products, coaching takes time, effort, and commitment from both sides. That’s not an easy sell.
Traditional marketing often misses the mark here. It’s hard to convey the depth of what you offer in a brief ad or social post. It’s just like college billboards—you know, the ones that feature smiling students and a catchy phrase about the future. They’re vague and inspirational. Sure, they might drive awareness, but who ever chose a college based on a billboard?
The same thing happens with coaching. Clients aren’t going to spend thousands of dollars on your services because of a Facebook ad they saw twice. They’ll choose you based on the trust you build with them over time.
So, what exactly is relationship marketing?
Relationship marketing means building and maintaining long-term relationships with clients. Instead of quick, one-time transactions, it focuses on ongoing engagement that increases customer lifetime value. But it’s not a one-way street. It also helps you deliver more value to your clients and prospects in every interaction.
While relationship marketing has many benefits, here are the top three from a business perspective:
- It increases client loyalty. When clients feel valued and understood, they’re more likely to stick around and finish your program, which leads to a higher success rate for them and for you.
- It increases customer lifetime value (CLV): Strong relationships naturally lead to more repeat business and upsell opportunities, increasing the return you get from every client you acquire.
- Better brand reputation: When companies excel at building strong client relationships, their clients become advocates, spreading the word about your business.
For example, one of the earliest shows we produced was a podcast for an e-commerce SaaS company. In this show, we interviewed many of the company’s first clients to capture some of their success stories. As a result, clients felt heard and appreciated by the brand. At the same time, we were able to use their positive stories to help our client build a reputation as an e-commerce authority. This is just one example of how podcasting can help businesses grow.
So, how do you put this into action? In short, it’s about making clients feel special and cared for. If you need some ideas, here are a few relationship marketing tactics you can try:
- Loyalty programs.
- Special promotions on important dates like birthdays and holidays.
- Access to exclusive content.
- Community-building and events.
- Personalized interactions.
Podcasting: a perfect fit for relationship marketing.
Now that you know how relationship marketing can benefit your business, let me tell you why podcasting is a perfect fit—we might be biased.😉
Podcasting offers a personal and intimate way to connect with listeners. Unlike traditional marketing channels, it allows you to speak directly to your audience—it literally puts you in their ears—creating a sense of closeness and familiarity that’s hard to achieve elsewhere.
I’ve personally built countless relationships through podcasting. One of the most memorable is a friendship that has lasted over a decade thanks to the podcast I launched back in 2012 when I ran a board game company with my wife and my cousin. One of our listeners started listening to our show during his honeymoon, and he and his wife connected deeply with what we were doing. Twelve years later, despite living on opposite sides of the world, we still keep in touch. In fact, this friend has even referred some clients for Come Alive, and it was one of the reasons I joined the EO Accelerator program which has helped me grow my business.
Beyond the personal connection, podcasting allows you to showcase your expertise, share client success stories, and provide valuable insights, positioning you as a thought leader. And here’s podcasting’s real advantage: it is still a relatively untapped medium in a world dominated by visuals, meaning they cut through the noise more effectively.
I recently had a conversation with one of our clients, Pam Kosanke from EOS® Worldwide. She hosts one of the many podcasts the company publishes, and I asked her why they decided to make podcasting part of their strategy. Her answer was, “We are a help-first company that has a lot to share and to give away. And we do that through an incredible volume of published information, but people learn in different ways. So there was an opportunity to help tell our story and share our knowledge with the world through audio and video.”
As you can see, podcasting is a great medium for companies that place relationships with their prospects and clients at the top of their priorities. But what does this look like in practice? How do you turn a podcast into a relationship-building tool?
Keep on reading, and I’ll share seven ways you can use podcasts to connect with clients at every stage of their journey with you.
How to use podcasts at each stage of the customer relationship.
The beauty of podcasting is that it is just a medium, like blog articles, or social media. This means that with some creativity, you can use it to reach almost any business goal you can imagine. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to share how a podcast supports your business at every stage of the customer relationship, from attracting new clients to keeping past ones engaged.
Podcast ideas for customer acquisition:
- Educational and value-driven content: If your business already creates a lot of educational content, you can use a podcast to offer this material to potential clients in a different format—one that is highly engaging and easy to consume. This builds trust and positions you as an authority in your field, while supporting the content you share on other platforms as part of an omnichannel marketing strategy.
- Guest appearances and partnerships: Invite well-known industry figures or potential referral partners to broaden your reach. A great example is the Coach Factory podcast, which we helped Motivations AI produce. Before launching the podcast they were a new company, without a network, in a crowded space. We spent a lot of time developing a strategy that would help them position themselves as an authority, and it was a success. Within the first few episodes, key players in the industry started reaching out because they wanted to be guests, increasing the show’s authority even more.
Podcast ideas for customer retention:
- Client success stories and testimonials: Feature client success stories and interviews with existing clients. This reinforces the value of your services and provides social proof to attract new clients. For example, when we created We Run on EOS for EOS Worldwide, our client wanted to strengthen their bonds with business owners running on EOS as well as with EOS Implementers™ that help companies run on EOS. By interviewing both, our client was able to strengthen their network while amplifying their message and creating brand awareness.
- Exclusive content for subscribers: Offering exclusive podcast content or early access to certain episodes adds an extra layer of exclusivity. This gives your customer another reason to continue working with you because they won’t want to lose access to those benefits. This is one of the tactics we used for Coach Factory, taking part of the podcast recordings and turning them into more, member exclusive content.
Podcast ideas for account expansion:
- Feature new or advanced services: Use specific episodes to highlight stories regarding new or advanced services that existing clients might benefit from. You can do this by featuring case studies and interviews with current clients, or simply by mentioning some of the services and products you offer. You can also use your show to feature upcoming speakers for an event, helping generate awareness for services your current clients might be interested in. In fact, you can also leverage dynamic ads. Instead of having other companies advertise on your podcast, you can advertise your own products and services.
- Educational series on advanced topics: Create a series focused on advanced topics or specialized services that naturally lead into a discussion about higher-tier services. It also doesn’t hurt to mention these services as soft CTAs! This is something I’ve done in the past on my own shows as well as for clients, and it works very well. For example, I created the show Podcast Bytes (now retired) as a short-form show that explained how to produce a podcast. The goal was to attract people and businesses who were looking for answers, and then create opportunities for them to see us as a solution to their problems. While attribution is difficult for these types of initiatives, it helped with top of funnel activities, nurtured prospects further down the funnel, and saved me time with commonly asked questions from existing clients.
Podcast ideas for customer reactivation:
- Targeted content for past clients: Once a client has finished an engagement with you, you can produce episodes specifically designed to re-engage them. I often use this approach with prospects and peers I’m trying to build relationships with. I will create content that is relevant to them and either invite them to be part as guests, or simply share the piece once it’s published. If you and your sales team take this approach, just make sure you share content that is actually relevant. Don’t just blast everyone in your network with the same message—it’s about quality over quantity.
Why coaching and training companies should invest in podcasting.
At the end of the day, your business thrives on relationships, and podcasting can help you nurture those connections in a way that’s personal, meaningful, and scalable. It gives you a platform to build trust, showcase expertise, and engage with prospects and clients at any stage of their journey.
If you’re looking for a way to make your relationship marketing more impactful, schedule a discovery call with our team. Let’s discuss how we can help you create a podcast that resonates with your clients and supports your business goals.
