Social media ... interactive conversations and relationship building

Many businesses jump into Social Media and immediately concentrate on the "what" rather than the "why".  They focus on number of "likes" and "followers" versus the more important metrics of how many people are active on their pages in the on-line discussions and how many new faces take action.

A good social media program must focus on building interaction with visitors and keeping the discussions going with only an occasional mention about new services or products. The goals should be to have more "authentic" interactions with visitors and improved relationships with their customers. Success here comes from well written content that can spark interaction and interactive conversations that engage prospects and build deeper customer relationships.

People who are actively participating in a company's "digital" conversations are more emotionally and intellectually invested so they will naturally spread the positive word through their own personal and business networks. 

Have a great day....e

e-Nuggets

• "A man should never be ashamed to own that he is wrong, which is but saying in other words that he is wiser today than he was yesterday." Alexander Pope
• "Refuse to criticize, condemn, or complain. Instead, think and talk only about the things you really want." Brian Tracy
• "Success is living up to your potential. That's all. Wake up with a smile and go after life… Live it, enjoy it, taste it, smell it, feel it." Joe Kapp
• "We have not wings we cannot soar; but, we have feet to scale and climb, by slow degrees, by more and more, the cloudy summits of our time." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

What does your customer think of you?

Many companies can ask this question internally and get replies that vary from; I do not know to they like us to they love us. These vague answers unfortunately are just not enough though to help companies take corrective actions that would lead to better business decisions.

Leading companies make sure that they not only know what their customers think of them but can point to specific metrics to prove their case. If you are not there yet a good start would be to formally meet with your top customers and conduct a  business review / interview asking detailed questions that allow you to better understand their use case for buying your product.
Document answers to questions like:

1. What problem(s) were they trying to solve?
2. What were the company’s business drivers?
3. Was there a driving event that catapulted the initiative?
4. What type of decision time frame were they working with?
5. What was the customer using before your solution?
6. Where their other solutions being considered?
7. Were there specific reasons why they selected our solution
8. Did they roll out all at once or was it phased?
9. Is there a secondary use case for the product?
10. Was there a consultant or consulting group involved in the selection process? Who?
11. How has business improved since implementing our product(s)?
12. Can I use a quote or testimonial or write a case study? 

This "Voice of the Customer" activity will enable you get a more thorough understanding of what "value" you delivered to the customer and how you did it. Armed with this information, you can update your existing marketing strategy and then modify the messaging in all your marketing assets as needed to have more impact.

Make it a great day
e