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!
