If you would read it and post your thoughts and feedback by making a Comment, you would make me smile (even if your Comment is negative criticism - which I welcome if that is your genuine reaction).
If you don't have time to read it, believe me, I do understand.
Thanks for sharing 17 seconds (or longer - can you see me smiling?) of your day,
Smitty
Retro Small Business: Everything Old Is New
Is your company, and your message, authentically trustworthy? Do you genuinely care about your customers? Social media, and more importantly the public expectations that the new media fosters, has not only undermined the effectiveness of traditional broadcast media, it has fundamentally transformed successful business practices. Gone are the days when individuals willingly and attentively sit through TV ads that interrupt their viewing, or the days when effective marketing consists of bombarding individuals with ads, ads and more ads. It is crucial to understand that the shift from traditional broadcast media to flourishing social media has created a business environment of greater transparency. Individuals are demanding greater authenticity and integrity from companies, and expect to be treated with increased respect and care.
Word of Mouth
One principle has remained unchanged. Business owners still believe that the best form of advertising is Word of Mouth. These owners are correct, and what is being shared and discussed about a company in the public forum is critical to success and profitability. Creating a successful future requires a company to do everything possible to positively impact this discussion in the public forum, including the social media conversations.
In this environment, a company destined for greatness operates from a heart that is focused on giving and serving. Such a company converts a casual customer into a walking, talking “billboard” by clearly giving more than is expected, being delightfully generous with kindness, and by providing incredible follow up. The company’s ability to serve many individuals and serve them exceptionally well is the key to creating referrals through the conversation being shared in various social media platforms. The practice of controlling the company brand through traditional broadcast media has given way to an era of sharing the company reputation through walking, talking individual billboards who practice Word of Mouth via social media.
An Effective Referral System
The critical element of spreading a positive company reputation is developing a company culture built around the ultimate goal of having individuals refer those people they know and influence. An effective referral system is essential for success. Trust is the singular necessity of an effective referral system. The company reputation requires core values of being honest and having genuine integrity.
Company owners recognize the wisdom of having an effective referral system intuitively. The overwhelming majority of small business owners believe that over half their business comes from word of mouth referrals. Yet, less than a quarter of these businesses have an authentic and systematic strategy to educate customers, collect leads and convert prospects or referrals into customers. One reason for this may be the overwhelming professional life of small business owners resulting in an inability to establish an effective referral system. Another reason may be that initializing an effective referral system requires examining the entire business in a holistic manner.
A Benefit to Owners, Employees and Customers
It has been said that the owner takes care of the employees, the employees take care of the customers, and the customers take care of the owner. Pause and think this through: employees treat customers in relatively the same way that the owner treats the employees. Happy, content employees connect emotionally with customers. This requires businesses not only to hire and train the right people to create a highly successful referral culture, but to also treat their employees with genuine care.
It is vital to train all employees and new hires to a deeper level, to teach them everything possible about the company’s marketing position and strategy. Everyone in the organization must be able to recognize an ideal customer and how to best service these truly valuable individuals. Understanding the company’s marketing plan (and the primary objective of consistently creating referrals) is a necessary characteristic of employees who are genuine ambassadors of their business. The company employees are more than the direct interface with prospects and customers, they are ambassadors shepherding these most critical relationships.
The impact of social media, and the transparency and demand for authentic trust that it creates, has caused businesses large and small to become “Retro”. Once again, The Customer Is King, as it was for the small town merchant where everyone seemed to know everyone else and word of mouth determined if a business prospered or collapsed. Today the wise owner empowers the staff to delight customers by meeting the employees’ needs. Those in the public who are referred to a business are greeted and served by enthusiastic employees who are ambassadors of the business. Receiving extraordinary treatment, those experiencing the business become satisfied customers and will naturally become walking, talking billboards that will refer others.
When everyone in the organization believes in the value they provide, the entire organization seeks to make it very easy for new customers to introduce their friends to the business. By having an authentic system and culture of referral generation, with a primary goal of creating walking, talking billboards, a company is able to help and to serve a greater number of individuals. Ultimately, the use of social media behaves as word of mouth “on steroids”, virtually assuring success for the company and all involved.
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