4 Reasons Your Customers Are Better Marketers Than You Are?

Let’s face it fellow small business owners: the amount of information available to your customers today has deemed your traditional marketing efforts completely ineffective. When customers want to buy something they are more likely to talk to their peers or ask opinions on social media before they come to you. With this information shift, we as business owners need to take advantage of the power of the consumer. In today’s world, the consumer can be a better marketer that the marketing staff that you employ 9-5.

Here are 5 things that your customers can do for you that your marketing department can’t.

       

1. Fully Understand Your Buyers Needs

Nobody understands the wants and needs of your customers, like your customers. This may seem obvious, but most business owners today forget to ask for the opinion of their loyal customers. Encouraging customers to give their opinions on your products and service not only provides valuable insight as to what you are doing right, what you are doing wrong, and what they want to see next. Encouraging customers will also help them to understand, just how important their opinions are to the success of your business.

2. Truly Connect With Your Potential Customers

      

       90% Of Customers say buying decisions are influenced by online reviews. This statistic is proof that there is no more important source that the voice of the consumers peers!  Before stepping foot into your business, customers trust their peers to give them a full and unbiased opinion of your products or services.  As much as you try and delight your customers, your marketing and sales department can never connect with them on the same level their peers can.

3. Exponentially Boost Your Social Reputation

When you look at the current state of your businesses’ social media accounts, it is likely that you feel your current efforts are not enough. There is nothing you can do to change your social reputation faster that your customers can. Have your heard of the term trending? Well topics don’t trend because

a business posted a tweet. Topics Trend because of the massive amount of consumer interaction that the CONSUMER generates about the topic. Don’t be shy in encouraging your customers to comment and promote your brand on social media.

4. Help To Penetrate New Markets

Are most of your customers from a certain geographic area, or a certain demographic? If you answered yes and still don’t feel your marketing tactics are working,then it is likely that you are not utilizing the reach of your customers on social media. Your customers and thousands of friends and followers that could potentially be getting your message, most of which are of the same demographic. The best way to get your customers reaching out to their friends and followers, is to create great content. Generate great content that your customers can’t help but share with the world!

Thanks For Reading!

Randy Delling

Social Stride

Checkout Our New Website www.socialstride.org

Follow Us On Twitter! https://twitter.com/StrideSocial

Three Tips To Inspire your Millennial Workers

As a millennial myself, it’s hard to write an article telling baby boomers how we need to be treated. I mean, why take me serious? Aren’t I just asking you to cater to us so we don’t need to work and grow?

No.

The thing is, baby boomers tend to think young workers aren’t inspired. I can’t tell you enough how much we KNOW you think technology made our lives way easier and we probably wouldn’t have been able to get where we are if we had it the way the boomers did.

They also didn’t have to have over a 3.5 GPA to get anywhere in life. That is the minimal requirement for anything.

Back to my original topic, your millennial workers do want challenge. They are very creative, because creativity is highlighted everywhere they go (thanks to that crazy technology stuff), and they want to be the best.

www.Millennial2020.com

If your business isn’t changing to work with both generations, your millennial will become robots to whatever you tell them to do and your business will start to decline. As hard as it may be to accept, a millennial will NEVER think like a baby boomer. Stop trying to change and mold.

As you cater to their creativity, you still hold reign. All you need to do inspire.

Give Feedback Regularly

Honestly, so many young people have it in their heads that their boss will never see them as an equal in the company to a baby boomer. Most people who’ve been with a company over 10 years get feedback, try it for a day, shake their head and go back to thinking they know how to run the office. A millennial, when given feedback, WILL change. A simple “thank you” does the job most of the time, and your youngsters can handle constructive criticism better than anyone. Let them know you reward hard work and they will want nothing more.

Share Ideas with Them and Give them Opportunities for Idea-Implementing 

Invite the youngsters to more meetings. They probably want to sit in on the big-wigs talk, and they want to feel important. On your end, they will be most active when implementing new ideas, not to mention have ideas of their own. Ask regularly what ideas they have, and if they have a good one, allow them to work on it. Google is a great example: they allow team members to work on whatever they want on a regular basis. It allows them to feel in control while boosting innovation.

Complete win-win.

Allow work-life balance and flexibility

Some of the greatest companies of our time allow unlimited vacation time, travel time, and the opportunity to where from anywhere. This may sound ridiculous to give them so much freedom, but provided their great performance, why not work from home if possible? You can still have constant communication, and a millennial honestly couldn’t ask for a better day than sitting in sweats and making money. Vacation time can give given without being taken (millenials are in tune with school and other debts after they get a job), but freedom is the best feeling.

A millennial who feels encouraged, inspired, and free at work=a loyal and hard worker.

How to: Easily Convert Followers Into Paying Customers

When you first started on social media, you looked to get as many followers as you could. You probably followed everyone back, reached out and engaged.
As your platform and business grows, it’s harder to sell and manage your accounts, but it’s still the simplest and most useful way to grab loyal customers.

Loyal. This is the keyword.

First, think about what makes a relationship loyal, then translate that into your accounts.

Here’s some simple tips:

1.    Communicate and take their advice

It’s great you got followers and did the work it took to get those. But, the more people=more noise. You may get a ton of complaints and suggestions, but don’t overlook them! If suggestions become redundant, fix it and LET THEM KNOW! Tell your followers you heard them and are making changes.

If you get a great idea from one person, give that person a shout out! If you become their internet friend, they will eventually become a loyal paying friend.

2.    Create exclusive deals for followers

Not only does this help track your sales coming from followers, they will feel the URGENCY to buy your product. Constant specials on social media will actually devalue your company, but when used at the correct time for the right length of time, it will create desire.

How?

1. Coupons and promotions with specific codes
2. Referral program offers for 
1. Shares
2. Likes
3. New Customers
3. Create a #hashtag!

3.    Share Customer Testimonials

Share, share, share! No, also PROMOTE! Nowadays, everyone looks at reviews to decide which restaurant to go to, or brand of vitamin to choose, or any other service they use. Every company should have great customer testimonials highlighted on their sites and updated often!

Another great idea is if you have a blog (if you don’t, go get one!), interview a loyal customer on their experience and your products. Any way you can put a happy face to a happy comment, you’ll generate more happy customers.

As you can see, there are simple steps to amp up your online marketing campaign. I'd love to hear how this article has helped your company! Please comment, shout out, and share :)
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Have an amazing day,

Lana Sache