Well, why wouldn't you? Have you realized that you spend money with people you like, services you trust and businesses that simply make you just feel good. There is this pizza place in town that we go to regularly. Within five blocks of this place there are at least 10 places that sell similar items. Yet, we choose this place. True the pizza is great, the salads big and the lasagna always perfect. But the real reason we call ourselves regulars is how we feel when we go in. We feel welcomed. We are always greeted with a friendly hello.. The owners always are eager to catch up with us. "How was your trip?" "Did you like the rolls you bought last week" "How is your daughter doing?". One day the owner sat down with me and shared with me his chicken parm recipe! They are genuine about it too. And it's not just us. They talk to all of their customers. They take the time to engage.
It's seems like a given but I do believe we somehow as businesses were so concentrated on making money we forgot about what was right in front of us. Relationships. The customers who we do business with. The partners who trust us. The community we serve. Get out there and do some engaging. Talk, listen, connect. Challenge yourself to get to know people in a different way. Ask questions. Learn about what is important to them. Stop trying to “do business” and just “be” with your customers. Social Media and Email Marketing gives us tools to both talk and listen. Do both. Say thanks, be generous with your expertise and have some fun! Your customers will never forget!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The Small Business Advantage
Yep,small business has a huge advantage over larger organizations when it comes to social engagement. Truly. You can actually ENGAGE. If you attended one of my workshops you probably heard this story. It's an important one that truly illuminates my very point.
Last December 1st I looked at the calendar and realized it was the day of the first night of Hanukkah. Now as many of my Jewish friends can tell you, it was very early this year. I was not prepared, at all! I ran straight out to a very large and very well-known toy store, situated in the heart of Metro New York. A Metro with a multitude of ethnicities and religions. I digress. After filling up my shopping cart with eight lovely gifts for a very lovely child, I made my way over to the gift wrap department. I looked carefully through the Santa wrap, the Mistletoe wrap, the red and green tree wrap(you know what I'm talking about) and could not find one roll left of Hanukah wrap. I find the Manager and ask
"Where is the Hannukah wrap?"
His reply, "We don't have any."
"Excuse me, " I say "You are sold out already?"
"No, we never carried it." He shrugged his shoulders as if to say "Yeah I know that is crazy". O'k, something doesn't feel right about this.
I head home and hop on Facebook and find this particular very large toy retailer. I "Like" their page and then write "Hey "very larger toy retailer" what's up. No Hanuakah wrap in one of your stores. Just purchased eight nights worth of gifts. Hope you can help." I wait and wait. Oh, someone else comments, "yeah me too." I continue to wait. Checking in from time to time to see if I got some feedback, an email, maybe an I'm sorry, we understand. Not a thing. I go on my own Facebook account and tell my o friends what's going on. They tweeted about it, commented on aforementioned toy store's wall and still hours later absolutely nothing. At 9p that night..."Happy Hannukah from all of us at XYZ." That was it. Not a word about this oversight.
I realized something that probably happened. Their Social Media Manager had to go to the Marketing Director who directed them to the Diversity department, then to HR, then to Legal, then to PR, then back to Marketing for a final sign-off. All those folks had to get involved to make sure they defused a possible sensitive situation. You small business owner do not have to do that. You can engage situations like this right away. You are flexible. You know your own brand and how to protect it. You also know how to make your customers happy and feel satisfied they are being heard.
So what to do:
-Remember the customer is always right
-Don't defend
-You can comment online, but also take it offline, and email, a phone-call
-React as quickly as you can
-Don't be afraid to share with your other customers what happened and how it was resolved.
Bottom line, folks are going to be talking about us. More good then not so good. Just in case a situation arises that might not be so positive, don't resist. Embrace it to show your customers that you do care. Thats what matters most. Plus, their honest feedback can help your businesses and brands grow stronger by fixing things that actually may have been broken!
Last December 1st I looked at the calendar and realized it was the day of the first night of Hanukkah. Now as many of my Jewish friends can tell you, it was very early this year. I was not prepared, at all! I ran straight out to a very large and very well-known toy store, situated in the heart of Metro New York. A Metro with a multitude of ethnicities and religions. I digress. After filling up my shopping cart with eight lovely gifts for a very lovely child, I made my way over to the gift wrap department. I looked carefully through the Santa wrap, the Mistletoe wrap, the red and green tree wrap(you know what I'm talking about) and could not find one roll left of Hanukah wrap. I find the Manager and ask
"Where is the Hannukah wrap?"
His reply, "We don't have any."
"Excuse me, " I say "You are sold out already?"
"No, we never carried it." He shrugged his shoulders as if to say "Yeah I know that is crazy". O'k, something doesn't feel right about this.
I head home and hop on Facebook and find this particular very large toy retailer. I "Like" their page and then write "Hey "very larger toy retailer" what's up. No Hanuakah wrap in one of your stores. Just purchased eight nights worth of gifts. Hope you can help." I wait and wait. Oh, someone else comments, "yeah me too." I continue to wait. Checking in from time to time to see if I got some feedback, an email, maybe an I'm sorry, we understand. Not a thing. I go on my own Facebook account and tell my o friends what's going on. They tweeted about it, commented on aforementioned toy store's wall and still hours later absolutely nothing. At 9p that night..."Happy Hannukah from all of us at XYZ." That was it. Not a word about this oversight.
I realized something that probably happened. Their Social Media Manager had to go to the Marketing Director who directed them to the Diversity department, then to HR, then to Legal, then to PR, then back to Marketing for a final sign-off. All those folks had to get involved to make sure they defused a possible sensitive situation. You small business owner do not have to do that. You can engage situations like this right away. You are flexible. You know your own brand and how to protect it. You also know how to make your customers happy and feel satisfied they are being heard.
So what to do:
-Remember the customer is always right
-Don't defend
-You can comment online, but also take it offline, and email, a phone-call
-React as quickly as you can
-Don't be afraid to share with your other customers what happened and how it was resolved.
Bottom line, folks are going to be talking about us. More good then not so good. Just in case a situation arises that might not be so positive, don't resist. Embrace it to show your customers that you do care. Thats what matters most. Plus, their honest feedback can help your businesses and brands grow stronger by fixing things that actually may have been broken!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
What my father taught me about business.
When I was growing up my parents worked together in the insurance business. They were small business owners. At one point they even had a home office. My mom balanced mommy-hood well before it was in style. They were both extremely hardworking. My father handled most of the new business and client service. Mom, seemed to do all the financials and paperwork (pre-computers so all by hand).
My father in particular taught me the importance of service and relationship. I remember the phone ringing during dinner. Clients calling in with claims or with questions. My father running off to help them. He would work as if his own home flooded or car was damaged. Because of the way my father was, many of his clients stayed with him throughout his entire career. Dad is now in his early '80's. He retired just a few years ago. It is interesting to me to think about how his business would be different with all of our new technologies. Or would it really be?
Our social media and email marketing strategies are based on relationship building. Right? We meet someone now. We want to get to know them. We connect on Facebook (or perhaps we met them for the first time on Facebook); invite to network on LinkedIn and then maybe follow them on Twitter. We ask them to join our mailing list and then send them our newsletters. Now we know that if we follow these steps we will get business from them. Right? WRONG says I, the "digital marketing expert." yes, these tools are there to facilitate the building of relationship but you need to be doing what my father Aaron Caplan was doing 40 years ago.
1. He really really cared.
2. He provided exceptional service. And not just once. All the time.
3. He was honest and sincere. Trustworthy.
4. He provided genuine value.
Dad sold insurance. "Here's your policy. Here's your coverage. Here's the number to call when you have a claim. Goodbye, good luck." That would have been easy. But, no. He knew what that coverage meant to people. He knew that what his product was providing was security. A good night's sleep. A parent feeling comfortable. He focused on that. The value he was offering.
Dad is blown away by all the new technology. He recently told me that if he was in business today he would be doing monthly e-newsletters filled with resources, tips and information. He loves the idea of being able to really stay top of mind as a partner. A resource.
As social and e-marketers you need to revamp your strategy now. The first thing you need to do before you set up that newsletter or Facebook page is to ask yourself these three questions-
1. Are you providing incredible service?
2. Do you have customers today who would sing your praises.
3. Do you really care about what kind of value you are delivering?
If you can't say yes to all three of these then STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING ONLINE.
Get back to basics. Fine tune your relationships and customer service. Social media and email marketing will not work unless people really want a relationship with you. Take my father's advice (I still do once in awhile)..go above and beyond. That's the beginning of a great social media marketing strategy!
My father in particular taught me the importance of service and relationship. I remember the phone ringing during dinner. Clients calling in with claims or with questions. My father running off to help them. He would work as if his own home flooded or car was damaged. Because of the way my father was, many of his clients stayed with him throughout his entire career. Dad is now in his early '80's. He retired just a few years ago. It is interesting to me to think about how his business would be different with all of our new technologies. Or would it really be?
Our social media and email marketing strategies are based on relationship building. Right? We meet someone now. We want to get to know them. We connect on Facebook (or perhaps we met them for the first time on Facebook); invite to network on LinkedIn and then maybe follow them on Twitter. We ask them to join our mailing list and then send them our newsletters. Now we know that if we follow these steps we will get business from them. Right? WRONG says I, the "digital marketing expert." yes, these tools are there to facilitate the building of relationship but you need to be doing what my father Aaron Caplan was doing 40 years ago.
1. He really really cared.
2. He provided exceptional service. And not just once. All the time.
3. He was honest and sincere. Trustworthy.
4. He provided genuine value.
Dad sold insurance. "Here's your policy. Here's your coverage. Here's the number to call when you have a claim. Goodbye, good luck." That would have been easy. But, no. He knew what that coverage meant to people. He knew that what his product was providing was security. A good night's sleep. A parent feeling comfortable. He focused on that. The value he was offering.
Dad is blown away by all the new technology. He recently told me that if he was in business today he would be doing monthly e-newsletters filled with resources, tips and information. He loves the idea of being able to really stay top of mind as a partner. A resource.
As social and e-marketers you need to revamp your strategy now. The first thing you need to do before you set up that newsletter or Facebook page is to ask yourself these three questions-
1. Are you providing incredible service?
2. Do you have customers today who would sing your praises.
3. Do you really care about what kind of value you are delivering?
If you can't say yes to all three of these then STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING ONLINE.
Get back to basics. Fine tune your relationships and customer service. Social media and email marketing will not work unless people really want a relationship with you. Take my father's advice (I still do once in awhile)..go above and beyond. That's the beginning of a great social media marketing strategy!
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