A simple first step into the world of Social Media is its ability to provide an open channel for customer service and care.
Xero do this exceptionally well, using the main @xero account they share updates as well as an open forum for customer issues.
A couple of key points to remember:
- Be active when using as a care channel
- Be quick to respond
- Be as helpful as possible
- If it gets too intense then take it offline. Remember if you’d yell it on a street then you can say it on Social Media.
- Always promote the end solution
For a Start-up it is always important to get the first client. But the key is to turn them in to mad fan that loves you and your product/service.
Here are some key tips on how:
- Have a good product
- Engage with them
- Share the love, i.e. promote them and reward them
- Respond to their needs
How? Its not easy but here are a couple of tips to get you started.
Establish a loyal group of users by conducting a closed Beta program. For this to work the product has to be very near completion, user focused and as bug free as possible. Also it is fundamental that your company has the capacity to provide exceptional customer support and regular contact with all those involved. The aim is to develop a strong and loyal following of initial users as they will become the future sales force for the product (building a community).
Design and implement a referral scheme that rewards users for referring the product to others. Implementing a referral scheme early on is important, as it will help develop the future sales force of the product. Having one in place early on is also easier as everyone is on the same footing.
Note for this to work effectively the product has to be operating at a high standard prior to launch. Backed by committed and excellent customer support and service. It is also important that this is not functional until the product goes live.
Remember excellent products, a defined market and exceptional services is a great way to start.
Feel free to call on 0800 797 797 to discuss in more detail.
For the Catalys90 team innovation is all about taking action. We love being in the ideas business, but we’ve also learnt the hard way that there is no easy way to launch a new business or a new idea and that planning is fundamental to success. But without action there will be no innovation: it’s in the doing.
A common question I get asked is how Twitter fits into business, so I got the crayons out and drew the below.
In short Twitter fits into the above and many more points of contact within an organisation, the real question is how best to engage with it. Most companies struggle with this, as it is a move from traditional controlled communications to open interacting conversations that go beyond the brand message.
So plan and offer guidelines but be weary of build policy to control Twitter and other Social Media channels, as you will start to impede on the freedom of speech with in a company and detract from the personal engagement Social Media channels such as Twitter can offer.
Businesses are using social media like Facebook, LinkedIn and blogging tools to form new and lucrative connections with customers. But there are pitfalls when they get it wrong. Nick Churchouse reports.
I thought I’d share a little knowledge gained from a few years of playing in the email marketing game…
So in general email marketing can be broken into 3 main types of campaigns:
• Invitation – event requests
• Promotion – Focused on selling or promoting
• Information – traditional email newsletter
The structure of each should always follow the same basic principle, which is:
Get the customer on to your website.
An email regardless of the format should always be treated like the front page of a magazine. In traditional press the front cover is always selling the content, don’t fall in to the trap of putting it all in the email.
Customers don’t buy from an email, they buy from your website. Where you can collect their money, handle the order and up-sell them. You can’t do this in an email.
In summary the habits of the majority are that emails are for short sharp communications. Websites are for more in-depth browsing, blogs are for the history of a company and twitter is the conversation point with a company. SO don’t get carried away with those newsletters, keep them short and to the point and keep your audience.
Over the years it has become more and more obvious to me that the best sales tool is your customer service.
Each and every one of my previous employers and now clients always ask what’s the best thing we can do to increase sales, and of course spending as little money as possible.
In simple there is no silver bullet for this, however you can use what you have got to better effect. Customer service is as close as you’ll get to a silver bullet for the best sales technique at the lowest cost.
Educate all your staff on the importance of customer service, after all that’s why they have a job, no customer no money, no money no job, I’m sure they’ll get that.
How… If a customer has an issue you respond, get an email back to them with a simple “we got it and we’re onto it” then a follow up with in 12-24 hours (refer quick to respond is quick to win).
Do what you say, if you tell a customer that you will do something for them then DO IT, ideally faster that what you said, under promise and over deliver (its an oldie but a goodie).
Go the extra distance, remember that your customers issue is the most likely to be one of the most important thing to them at that very moment so go the extra distance and help them out. Better still give them a call back in a couple of days to see how its all going.
Simple things like this help to make a client know your there for them. If you can create superior customer service and support this will spin out into more sales for your organisation as clients will start to refer and endorse your business both online though social media and offline though conversation.
So online or offline its all about customer service – get it right and you’ll win!
Here are a couple of my favorite companies that do it well.
The best way to win is to be responsive. Responding to clients in an acceptable and timely fashion will help to bring more business in. You will never succeed if you take days or weeks to respond.
From experience, when engaging in the sales process the time frames that you respond to potential clients (such as providing information or sending through quotes) provides insight to how the company you are representing will respond to their needs once the business is won.
Providing a quick response will also ensure you’re in ahead of your competition, keeping you at the front of the client’s mind and providing you with more opportunity to contact them on the information. The more opportunity to talk – the better the relationship becomes between you and your potential client.
Know it - Knowing your stuff is an important part of the sales process; you have to be confident in what you are saying and how your product or service can solve the client’s needs.
This will also provide you with the ability of seeing opportunity of how your offering can be adapted and when it is not suitable.
However in saying that it is good to know what you are selling, you don’t have to know everything. As in this is the ability to bring in an expert, especially if it is on a technical sale.
Bringing in the expert will help to reassure your client that you’re not just the slick sales guy saying yes to everything.
So knowing it is really in two parts knowing your product but also knowing when its time to bring in the expert.
Posted by catalystque 
