Perspectives & Strategy

The question “How can customers assist is in growing our business?” is a important one with respect to leveraging social media channels as a communications medium. We all know that one of the best ways to build our business is through a word of mouth recommendation. For hundreds of years that has been how business has been able to achieve its most sustainable growth. Having a customer tell a prospect what a good product or service we provide certainly smooths the path to winning new business. This is one of the basic fundamentals of business.

Despite the change to the mega corporation this rule is still an important aspect of marketing. It is perhaps even more important today than at any time in the past because it impacts products that we cannot yet purchase and can impact a prospects future buying behaviour. In the social media world this rule also applies. When the iPhone 4 was released it was only available within the USA, yet people in Canada, UK, France, and in other places wanted the product before it was available on the shelves in their local phone provider. This demand was fueled by Social Media and people’s ability to tell their friend’s around the world about this product through Facebook, Twitter etc.

Saying that in the social media world this rule still applies, it is crucial to understand there is one crucial advantage that can be leveraged, the ability to monitor what is said and reward people if appropriate. People trust their friends (whether off-line or on-line) the most; they even have a tendency to trust the word of a stranger on-line, when that voice seems both genuine and authoritative. What is said can impact future marketing plans for any product.

Most products do not achieve a viral global demand, yet social media is one of many methods by which we can get your message spread out to a wider audience than ever before. As a general rule when someone says something good about your brand then it is appropriate to thank them for their kind words. On some occasions a valuable reward may be appropriate; e.g. a discount airline ticket for a future flight. Generally though the simple thank you carries a lot of mileage; especially from a well respected, global, brand.

It is not just customers we need to thank. The online world is full of contributors and the independent review can become a superb sales asset provided it is timely and focused. The word of a well respected industry expert can be a powerful ally.

Finding these articles is a part of building a social media intelligence capability. With blogs of course the pertinent information can be hidden behind the headline. Most major corporations employ people to analyse press coverage, a natural extension to that role is to peek behind the covers of blog articles.

So far this article has looked at the positive aspects, yet in the real world we also know that people say bad things about us, or even worse take action with their feet. It is the corporation’s response to criticism and bad things that are said on-line that is perhaps more crucial. This is where a slick marketing response is probably the worst approach; it is better to have one of the product designers offer to help the customer. A simple apology often goes a long way, but frequently it is necessary to contact the customer outside of the social media channel in order to turn the situation around. This has the advantage of turning a potential critic into a loyal customer, because some mega-corporation took the time to resolve his specific issue. Remember we live in an increasingly cynical world.

Analysing social media activity about our brand or product should become part of our business intelligence capability. Yet analysing social media has a more personal side. If someone is talking about your product you should be prepared to open a dialogue with that person. They may assist indirectly in your on-line marketing efforts. Flattery will often get you everywhere with people, have the head of production talk to them rather than a marketing person. It is a case of appropriateness. Essentially it is important to create an ongoing relationship.