Jola Partners rarely spend money on traditional marketing, prefering to communicate with customers and prospects directly online. We have identified three of their best habits used to win with customers online - both prospective and existing.
1. The truth will out
You have to be honest about what you are doing. If you are selling don't pretend you are having a conversation, as people will always smell a rat. Great marketing is built on truth and the truth will always out. Customers will make up their own minds. You have to listen to the online conversation and often endure it. It is nice when customers give you a glowing reference but sometimes you need to see and hear the negative and address it.
These conversations have always gone on but now customers have more opportunities to voice them and recommendations by others are as important now as they have always been. Good marketers address negative comments publicly and are very honest in their approach. They will address concerns of their customers and potential customers influenced by the original comment. I have read great responses from coffee shops that have gone viral addressing the cost of their herbal teas as well as from well-known family theme parks about the number of wasps on-site. It is as important to match the tone of the customer's initial comment as it would be to empathise and address concerns in person.
2. Measure Effectiveness
Some say that we are at the stage of Gartner's hype cycle where some aspects of social media are over-hyped. We all face the challenge of measuring the impact of our social media as part of our digital marketing strategies. Social media is used in different ways under the broad headings of marketing comms, customer insights, customer experience and relationship management. Improvement comes from trial and error and if you are not measuring the effectiveness, how can you know what needs to be improved?
3. Respond in real-time
The customer engagement journey has changed. It's not just the funnel you have to worry about today. Customers come across you and how you engage with them is a much more personal experience. You need to understand their requirements and respond intelligently in real-time. If a prospect is reading your blog out of interest, don't then try to sell in your latest special offer. Ask questions and respond to his requirements in real-time. Conversations, like sales leads, don't always end up in sales but handled correctly you can manage your brand and customer experience, which may lead to future recommendations and sales. Responding quickly to the actual requirement and not the requirement you hoped it would be is key.
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