SalesCloud
The first thing you need to understand is that we are not in the midst of a profound change in the way we do business, but rather we are at the start of a communications revolution.
The fundamentals of business are still the same - price, quality, customer service - but consumers are researching, chatting, booking, sharing, blogging, Facebooking, tweeting every aspect of their lives and buying experience with their friends online, on mobile devices and across multiple Social networks.
And that has changed everything. It means that it is no longer sufficient for your business to broadcast to your customers and prospects using traditional marketing channels, such as print advertising, mass media or cold calling because, quite frankly, people just don't care anymore.
They are sick and tired of being bombarded with spam email and sponsored stories. They are skipping TV commercials, dumping direct mail and ignoring all of those unsolicited interruption style advertisements.
Instead buyers today are far more proactive. They are taking the lead and researching the products and brands that interest them through online channels.
The fundamentals of business are still the same - price, quality, customer service - but consumers are researching, chatting, booking, sharing, blogging, Facebooking, tweeting every aspect of their lives and buying experience with their friends online, on mobile devices and across multiple Social networks.
And that has changed everything. It means that it is no longer sufficient for your business to broadcast to your customers and prospects using traditional marketing channels, such as print advertising, mass media or cold calling because, quite frankly, people just don't care anymore.
They are sick and tired of being bombarded with spam email and sponsored stories. They are skipping TV commercials, dumping direct mail and ignoring all of those unsolicited interruption style advertisements.
Instead buyers today are far more proactive. They are taking the lead and researching the products and brands that interest them through online channels.
Customers are turning to social media channels for customer service, regardless of whether a particular brand is actually equipped to handle customer service over social media. Today's customers choose when and where they voice their questions, issues and complaints. They don't care if a company is set up to answer customer questions on Facebook, or if it has an actual Twitter handle for customer service. The implications are enormous for brands that are not implementing effective social care.
- Gadi BenMark Senior VP, NM Incite Advisory Division |
So by the time you have found a warm buyer for your product or service, that buyer has probably already Googled you, viewed your website (and that of your competitors) and sought an opinion about you from a friend, colleague or trusted peer on one of the social networks. That potential buyer already has an opinion of your product, service or brand - often before you have even spoken to them!
In short, consumers today are informed. They know what they want, they know the price they can buy it at and they know what companies they want to deal with. And if they know this before you have spoken with them, how can you influence their perception of your business? |
