social media

Social Media is not Linear

July 29, 2009 by Kathy Hendershot-Hurd

The straightest path between two points is a line – but when it comes to connecting with your customers – the path is anything but linear.

Ever since I can remember, business people have always wanted a “soda machine” relationship with their marketing and advertising. Slide a dollar or two into your “marketing machine” – and out pops a sale.

It’s no surprise that those same people desperately want social media marketing to work in a similar “sales funnel soda machine” fashion.

The sales funnel is a myth either created by or created to satisfy the bean counters who wanted to see a direct link between marketing expenditures and sales figures. In the attempt to “prove” that when a dollar is fed into the marketing soda machine that a soda can customer does indeed “pop” out the other end, the Rube Goldberg type of sales funnel was created. This was the myth used to explain the complex process customers go through between the time they “consume” marketing dollars and the point in time when they show up in the sales figures.

Like all myths, it had a purpose. In this case, it was created to provide “hard evidence” that there is a cause and effect between marketing and sales.

Unfortunately, for the sales funnel myth, in the real world, people are rarely willing to be lined up and marched in orderly fashion to make their company coerced acquisition on schedule. Consumers don’t consider themselves to be “consuming” marketing dollars when they watch a television show. They feel no moral obligation to purchase from their favorite television show’s commercial sponsor.

SURPRISE!!! Customers make acquisitions to satisfy their own GDP – Goals, Desires and Problems.

Ah -there’s the rub. Those pesky customers have their own agenda. Those pesky customers expect to be treated like real live PEOPLE – people who are usually pretty smart and who make decisions as to what is in their best interest. Those pesky customers who want more from their relatioship with your business than to be treated like a credit card wielding ATM whose goal in life is to keep your payroll and profit margins fat.

Social media is about connecting with people. It’s about pulling back the veil between companies and consumers and allowing companies to put a FACE on those customers who, until recently- were just numbers on a spreadsheet. It’s about having the means and opportunity to watch as consumers discuss your product online – as they Tweet their recommendations – as they blog about their disappointments.

In Social Media’s Warning Label – I highlighted the story of a business that didn’t recognize or appreciate the marketing intelligence provided by a disgruntled customer.

With that said, the social media warning label can only help the business owner who understands that the very nature of social media is to remove the veil which separates customers from the proprietors of the business in question.

Again – IMHO the sales process has NEVER been linear. Success has always been found in focusing on the customer’s goals, desires and problems. Francois Gossieaux over at emergence marketing writes in his post “Where are my leads?”

A new study published in McKinsey Quarterly reports that 2/3rd of touch points in a buyer’s active evaluations process are now consumer-driven marketing touch points: user generated reviews, word of mouth, and in store interactions. Only 1/3rd of the touch points are still company-driven. DID YOU HEAR THAT? You still control 1/3rd of the touch points!

I’ve linked to Jason’s post before about why your blog needs to focus on creating cheerleaders and not leads but I’m doing it again because it’s a message that needs to be spread. In a world where 2/3’s of the sales process is out of your hands – it’s best to marshall your marketing forces to try to SHAPE those interactions… or if nothing else – load your customer’s lips.

Your blog – your Facebook account – your Twitter account were not created to function as “sales funnel soda machines”. They are communication tools to connect you with other PEOPLE!

Your customers are people too. Their first concern is NOT your bottom line -it’s their GDP (Goals, Desires, Problems). Creating a business which counts on customers caring about your bottom line is the quickest path to destruction – or if you’re an auto maker – government ownership.

Connecting with people CAN result in more sales for your company, but not because your blog is a sales lead collector. Social media can literally pull back the veil and literally provide insight into how your company is perceived by your customers – without the whitewashing of a carefully constructed “customer survey” or “focus group” – if you have the courage to listen.

Customer Service in the Age of Social Media

July 23, 2009 by Kathy Hendershot-Hurd

Social media all about is providing advanced communication tools which allow information to travel faster than a speeding bullet. When a celebrity dies – the news travels fast. However, it’s important for business owners to recognize that the same communication tool that allows the world to be notified in minutes to the King of Pop’s passing can also be used against your business. Disappoint a customer these days and they might believe it’s their moral imperative to start a social media shit storm with your business as the target.

Now more than ever, customer service has GOT to be a top priority for ANY business either online or offline.

Thirty years ago, if you were a business owner and your staff offended a customer, you only had to worry about the 16 people that offended customer would tell about the bad customer service experience.

However, you could count on the fact that at some point in time – the offended customer’s passion would wane, he or she would stop spreading the word about the mistreatment he or she suffered at your place of business.

That was then – this is now.

More an more people are “connected” online now. Social media tools have made communication easy for all. It’s no longer just geeks and freaks online. The Pew Internet & American Life Generations online in 2009 report (PDF opens in new window – click save as if your browser can’t open a PDF), shows that that anyone who thinks that only the younger generation is online is sadly underestimating the impact of the internet. As a matter of fact, the biggest jump in online use is in the age group of those 70 – 75!!!

Unless you’re a bingo parlor – catering to am exclusively octogenarian crowd – you’d better be concerned about your “online image”.

A few months ago, I wrote about a particularly horrific customer service experience I was having with my pest control company. It’s interesting to watch the comment thread of that post. Truly Nolen’s director of marketing Barry Murray was the 2nd comment on the post. I give him credit – he was there to “defend” Truly Nolen’s online reputation within hours of the post being published. In addition to responding online, Barry handled my problem offline as well. He did so promptly and professionally.

However, the match had been lit – the fire had begun. Over the course of the next few days – the comments kept coming in. The thing is – that blog post is going to be there for as long as I keep the site up. Unlike a complaint to a neighbor over a backyard fence – this customer complaint is now a part of the company’s online DNA.

When Cath Lawson had problems with Sky TV, she wrote about it on her blog. When Betsy Wuebker’s friend had horrible customer service at the hands of a moron employee of Wells Fargo, Betsy took up the cause and wrote about it on her blog. Those customer complaints arem’t locked away in a file cabinet – they’re out in the open – on the internet – availabel for everyone to see.

On the other side of the coin, when a business goes above and beyond – social media users will sing their praises as well. That’s what Betsy did in her post Considering a Staycation with Hotel Minneapolis and Resaturant Max.

Ah, the power of the new web, where communication is becoming easier – more people are connected and word travels FAST!

Ever since the dawn of time, people have wanted to share their experiences. What was once etched on cave walls is now posted on blogs. Unlike the cave walls though, the blog posts and other social media communications are being indexed by the search engines and archived in the Web Archives.

Which is why it amazes me to watch as some in the corporate world are viewing blog as a source of lead generation and nothing more. “How many new sales can this thing generate?” seems to be the question of the hour. Your company blog is more – much, much more than just another form of direct marketing.

Social media is bigger than just the potential to generate leads. As Jason Cohen brilliantly points out, your corporate blog is a way to recruit more corporate cheerleaders for the company brand . The fact that it can also gather leads should be viewed as a bonus – not it’s primary function.

Of course – cheerleaders come at a price. The price you pay for cheerleaders for your business is exceptional customer service. Hotel Minneapolis would be well served with a corporate blog right about now. Betsy could have linked to it in her rave recommendation just as she did when she raved about Linmar Gardens.

Companies need to recognize that the social media connections built today can possibly last – well, a lifetime.

Social Media: It’s a Moral Imperative

July 16, 2009 by Kathy Hendershot-Hurd

For more than a millennium, the underlying relationship between consumers and business has overwhelmingly been defined by the term caveat emptor (buyer beware). However, over the past few years the easy to use mass communication tools we’ve dubbed “social media” has been subtly shifting the balance of power in the relationship between buyers and sellers.

Social Media is shifting the balance of power in the relationship between consumers and the businesses that serve them from caveat emptor (buyer beware) to caveat venditor (seller beware) and the easy to use mass communication tool known as social media is the sole reason for this shift.

The Power of Social Media Connection

The real driving force which is powering the social media explosion are the gossamer threads of human connection. The unseen, unmeasured force which seems to drive us to connect with other human beings.

This was illustrated clearly a few nights ago when my family watched an absolutely HORRID movie at home. It was one of cases where the movie’s marketing had caught our attention, but we never found the time to see it in theaters. I popped a bag of popcorn and we settled in to watch a movie which had been heavily marketed as a “comedy”.

We suffered through almost 2 hours of graphic sexual content and intense violence (such as gun shots to the head and a death by ax bludgeoning) delivered by a cast of recognizable actors playing one dimensional characters under the guise of “comedy” .

When the final credits rolled – my oldest son jumped up and ran to his computer.

“What are you doing?” I asked. After all, it was shortly after midnight and I was heading upstairs to bed.

“I’m a member on IMDB. This is what we IMDB members DO!”

Ah, the gossamer threads of social media literally pulled him to his computer to share his experience.

This is what social media looks like from ground zero.

Seth Godin refers to this kind of behavior as “tribal” and I think it’s a good description. My son actually felt a MORAL OBLIGATION to spare others in his “tribe” the “agony” of watching this painfully un-funny comedic romp through hell.

It’s important to note that part of our extreme disappointment with this movie was the fact that the marketing for this movie had painted it to be a “comedy”. I personally don’t find death by ax bludgeoning or gunshot wounds to the head to be even mildly amusing. Obviously from someone’s marketing perspective – these gruesome scenes are real side splitters.

The expectations set by the marketing played a huge role in my disappointment with the flick. We had all been duped. Had my son not jumped from his seat as if he were called to a 3 alarm fire – this blog post would have been all about how important it is to create realistic expectations in your marketing messages.

However, my son’s actions illuminated a deeper truth to social media.

People are smart. They’re smart enough to realize when they’ve been promised something that wasn’t delivered. When that happens, they get angry. They want to TAKE ACTION!!! That combination of emotion and easy access to mass communication tools is like spraying a gasoline mist into a cylinder.

The resulting social media explosion can be positive – or negative.

When it’s positive – it’s called viral marketing.

When it’s negative – well, it can cause a social media shit storm.

Social media makes communication easy, fun but most importantly PERMANENT!

There was a time – when your advertising and other marketing messages didn’t live forever, easily accessed by the search engines.

That was then – this is now.

Disappoint customers today and they’ll take to the tools of social media to share their experience with others. Those disparaging remarks will live on – and if you’re not on top of your online reputation’s SERPS – those customer complaints may end up being featured front and center.

The consequences of disappointing your customers can be more severe than just a negative rating on a single website. Disappointed customers who feel strongly can now easily, post a Tweet, create a video – create a Facebook Fan Pages – or worse yet – blog about your current customer service.

It’s becoming obvious that this type of sharing is one of the moral obligations of social media. Caveat venditor!!!

Trust: Essential Element in Word Of Mouth Marketing

June 12, 2009 by Kathy Hendershot-Hurd

From the “have a heart attack and die from NOT surprise” files… marketing charts reports that according to new research from Mintel – real-life referrals are more influential to consumers than those received online.

In essence, the report reveals that our buying decisions are influenced more by people we know and trust than by strangers we encounter randomly online.

Stop the presses!!! (Talk about an antiquated term…)

We need a research study to tell us that a referral made by someone we know and trust is more “influential” that the recommendation of an unseen, unknown and untrusted STRANGER?

Such is the state of existence for the corporate marketing drone . Fortunately when such information is gathered, it is shared via the internet.

Again – this should be a “have a heart attack and die from NOT surprise” type of revelation. But then again, I guess this might come as a surprise to those who believe that social media marketing is supposed to be magic.

The “magic” inherent in social media marketing is provided by YOU!

Social media marketing is a powerful marketing tool – but just as Superman’s amazing powers were the result of our yellow sun – the power inherent in social media as a marketing tool lies in the ability to make a connection with people – a.k.a. prospective customers.

If you want to discover social media marketing Kryptonite – treat social media marketing like a sales call instead of a cocktail party!

Social media is great a building a connections with people.

Trust is an essential element in the successful word of mouth marketing campaign. People aren’t going to refer other customers to you if they don’t trust to you. Word of mouth marketing does not happen without a strong foundation of trust.

Building connections is an ESSENTIAL part of developing trust.

In 1997, Maxine Clark founded Build-A-Bear Workshop, a teddy-bear themed retail-entertainment experience. In the link to this MSNBC interview with Maxine – she talks about passion – she talks about first impressions – she talks about dreaming big and possibilities – and then she finishes by talking about making CONNECTIONS.

Social media can be a POWERFUL marketing tool – when you use it to MAKE CONNECTIONS.

Making connections is the first step in developing trust – the kind of trust needed to launch a successful word of mouth marketing campaign.

Word of mouth marketing is simply when people tell their friends, family and neighbors about your product or service for you.

The stated goal of every Build-A-Bear Workshop location is to make a CONNECTION with their customers. That desire to build a connection with customers colors everything they do.

The result of that connection is an impressive word of mouth marketing campaign. If you’re the mother of a girl under the age of 12 – if you haven’t heard about your local Build-A-Bear Workshop – it’s only because there’s not one within driving distance – YET!

Build-A-Bear has one of the most powerful word of mouth marketing I’ve ever encountered. If you’re looking to build a similar word of mouth marketing campaign – you should know that these types of campaigns have their roots in the connections that have been made with customers!

Build-A-Bear doesn’t rely on recommendations in impersonal online forums- it relies on real people to carry their marketing message to neighbors – to family and to friends.

If you need email scams to sell your product or service – then social media marketing is going to be your worst nightmare.

If, however, you’re the kind who likes to make real connections with real people- then welcome to social media marketing. It will never take the place of “real world” connections – but it can create new virtual connections which quite honestly, can be just as powerful when fully developed!

Effective Selling Using Social Media

April 13, 2009 by Kathy Hendershot-Hurd

Let’s face facts- the reason many business owners are interested in social media marketing and are Twitterpated by Twitter is not that they’re anxious to make a “connection” with potential customers but rather that they’re anxious to close sales.

For example, most business owners who are “hot” to learn more about Twitter, have heard the tales of how Dell uses Twitter to close millions of dollars in sales. As a result, most businesses are interested in using Twitter to boost their bottom line in a similar fashion.

The problem is, many businesses are so focused on making a sale today that they fail to recognize that closing sales in the new millennium requires establishing a significant amount of TRUST!!

Trust isn’t earned in a single “transaction”.

Social media is a GREAT tool to build trust – but in order to do so, you must first be trustworthy!!! In my post The REAL reasons why you should be using “social media” I state that:

The REAL reason you need to be using [insert social media application of choice] is to establish TRUST with other human beings.

Trust – trust is the foundation of making sales in the new millennium.

Social media is as viral as it is transparent. Just try being less than “authentic” in the realm of social media and you’ll quickly discover how brutal the new social media based web can be.

My favorite illustrations of this principle are still Cash4Gold Social Media Meltdown and the Belkin Social Media Payola Scandal which both CLEARLY illustrate that when it comes to Social Media Marketing – authenticity is essential because transparency is not optional.

However, when you’re authentic – when you’re really serious about providing a product or service that addresses a customer’s GDP (Goals, Desires and Problems – you’re either trying to help them Achieve a Goal, Satisfy a Desire or Solve a Problem – learn more in my book Beyond the Niche: Essential Tools You Need to Create Marketing Messages that Deliver Results) then the new web – the social media web – can truly be the best thing since sliced bread for your business.

See, if your business model is based on “people are idiots – and easily parted with their hard earned cash” then you’re going to HATE the new web. You’re going to HATE how people can share their experiences with your company. You’re going to HATE how transparent and viral the new web is.

However, if your business model is based on truly meeting the needs of your customers or clients – well, then be prepared to work a little harder up front in building trust – because there are a lot of “slimy SOB’s” (that’s straight out of an email from a new client this morning) out there claiming to do what you say you do. However, you can also be prepared to start getting new business falling into your lap thanks to the new web.

In her post “Selling isn’t Selling Anymore” Betsy Wuebker writes:

The masters of sales psychology […] have routinely stressed building rapport, listening skills, problem-solving, and other relationship-builders are a better path . The funny thing is, when you employ relationship-builders they – wait for this – build relationships. You become a colleague by virtue of the relationship you’ve cultivated. You don’t need to consciously ABC because you’re trusted. Trust will close the sale for you every time.

That’s part of the “magic” of social media. Social media tools such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook are great ways to build trust with potential customers or clients. Trust is the big kahuna – the big wave – the success maker.

Thanks to social media, I find I don’t spend very much time at all in “closing” new clients on my services. They’re “pre-closed” thanks to my social media presence. It’s a beautiful thing – but it didn’t happen by writing 2 or 3 blog posts and then sitting back and waiting for my email to fill with client requests!!!

If you read the last line and thought “Doh!” then please, feel free to contact me about working together. See, the 7th layer of hell in my business are the clients who expect to write two or three blog posts and then magically find those precious blog posts gaining top 10 SERPS on highly competitive keywords.

Social media doesn’t work like that. Building trust doesn’t work like that. If you can’t summon more than 2 or 3 blog posts on the topic which you claim “expert” status – perhaps you don’t deserve the “trust” of potential clients.

In the blog post Gain Readers by Selling Yourself, Barbara Swafford tells the tale of the days when she was employed to reach out and connect with customers – a.k.a. telemarketing. She ends the post with a poignant admonition:

Today’s Lesson

For our blog to succeed, we must sell it. And, in selling our blog, we are also selling ourselves.

Yes indeedy doody. Social media is ALL about selling ourselves. You might think you work with “corporations” but trust me, you don’t. You are an individual who works with other individuals employed by corporations. Jason Cohen writes about this subject in his post “How to get customers to love you even when you screw up” and he writes:

If you pretend to be something you’re not, they’ll see right through it. Then what have you done? You’ve lied to those who would have loved you for who you are; that’s not how you build a relationship.

Relationships and trust are the KEY elements in social media marketing.

If there is any “magic” in social media it is brought to the table – BY YOU!

Social Media Marketing can’t be “pre-packaged” and “canned”. That’s not how social media works.

Years ago, when businesses started pre-packaging and mass delivering canned email marketing messages without any attempt to engage the end user or build trust – well, it quickly got dubbed as “spam”.

There are tons of tools being promoted to help you pre-package your social media messages. Trust me, none of them will work nearly as well as sharing your true and authentic self. That’s how you build relationships and trust that are essential to creating an effective sales tool.