Everyone is lining up to sell social media strategies, e-books, coaching and seminars to business people who haven’t figured it out yet.
Social Media is being promoted as the magical wave of the future that will make customers love everything a business does and build a “viral” business in a matter of weeks.
I’m going to propose a very difficult but much more effective way to use social media… and you don’t need to have a twitter account, a Facebook page, or a LinkedIn profile to do it.
In fact, this will make you a social media hit even if your business is completely brick and mortar.
It’s a 2-step plan.
- Offer remarkable products
- Treat Your Customers Like Gold
1. Offer Remarkable Products
If you’re selling people crap, they’re already online talking about you, and it’s not the kind of publicity you want (although it is the kind you deserve). But if like most businesses, you’re selling information, products, or services that are Okay, your social media presence is irrelevant.
No matter how much you’re out there tweeting and blogging and facebooking, you’re still selling one at a times because you’re not worth talking about.
But if your product is remarkable, in the Seth Godin “purple cow*” way, then you’re going to generate social media conversation that helps your business, whether you’re a part of it or not.
*(If someone sees a purple cow they’re going to tell someone else, thus it’s remarkable- worthy of a remark)
2. Treat Your Customers Like Gold
Bad customer service is the norm. It’s not that businesses don’t care about their customers (except for cable and phone companies), it’s just that they don’t know how to deal with problems when they arise.
But it’s not actually that difficult to serve customers well. Give them what you say you’re going to give them and deal with it quickly and politely when something goes wrong.
People have chosen your product or service. They’re probably emotionally invested in seeing it do what you promised it would do. When it doesn’t, go out of your way to make it.
If you go to great lengths to keep your customers, they become evangelists for you. They’re going to tell people how amazing you are. That will bring in a lot more business, especially if they talk about it to their 300 twitter followers and 500 facebook friends.
You should look forward to the opportunity to show your customers how much you care about them.
I’m Not Bashing Social Media Programs
There are plenty of consultants who can show you how to really harness the power of social media and add to the conversations going on. They’re worth the money… but only if you’re already working with a solid business foundation.
You can build great relationships with people on Twitter and Facebook, but if you’re just going to let them down when they become customers, you’ve created a big stinking problem for yourself.
Build a great business first, then tap into the power of social media to encourage others to spread the good news.
They’re talking about you anyway. The only way make them love you is to be worth loving.
What do you think? Good advice or wildly off base? Leave a comment below and let us know…
