Many years ago, Faberge Organic shampoos launched a commercial with
the tagline “I told my friends and they told two friends, and so on and
so on…” The idea being the product was so fantastic that it was being
sold by word of mouth.
Today, many people may not remember Faberge but they do remember the
tagline. If you are still wondering how important social networking is
to your business, you need only to understand that the Internet is how
friends tell friends about the things that excite them. And those
messages get passed along over and over and over and over again.
Social networking brings in the fifth "P" of marketing. You already
know product, price, placement and promotion, but none of that matters
without people. Many businesses continue to operate under the
assumption that a simple Website, a basic product offering and great
fliers can bring profits and revenue to their bank accounts.
Unfortunately this is not so. Even an amazing promotion of “free
products” cannot drive customers to you in today’s market if you do not
have the right blend of offerings for people.
Consider adding these people-friendly applications to your business:
- A company blog. Blogs allow you to communicate in an informal
environment. It also allows you to set your company as the expert in
your field.
- YouTube videos. Everyone wants to put a face with the product or
services. YouTube gives you an inexpensive outlet to share your
humorous or serious side. An easy link from your site to the video will
drive additional people-friendly interactions.
- A Facebook fan page: More than 200 million users are on Facebook.
Your customers are already there and many users want to share what
businesses they are fans of and include their comments and pictures.
Worried about what your customers may post? You are in complete control
and can delete information as easily as it is added. Although if you
had negative postings it is time for you to take a look at why.
Nothing will ever replace the old fashioned hand shake, a lunch or
even that phone call to just check in. Keeping your customers – the
people – in the front of your business strategy planning will always
return high profits and revenue than a strategy built around products
customers don’t want.
Kathleen Martin is the special projects coordinator for Channel Insider.
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