It’s hard to believe that little over a decade ago, social media was still something of a mystery to most people. When Facebook was created in 2004 it was seen by many as just another passing fad, and its predecessors Six Degrees and Myspace were reserved mainly for the cool kids and techies. Since then, the cynics and naysayers have all been proved wrong- there are now over 2 billion active social media accounts across the globe and the benefits of being connected online aren’t just about making friends. Social media platforms now offer huge opportunities for businesses to market themselves and they’ve become a must-have for companies who want to maintain good relationships with customers.
If you’re not already marketing your business via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn et al, you should be. And if you’re still not convinced, here are the top three reasons they’re so great for customer service:
- You’ll learn more about who your customers really are and what they want
All social media platforms generate massive amounts of data every second. With every retweet, like and comment you’ll learn more about the people who use your business than you ever could with a simple sales transaction or even a customer survey. By keeping a close eye on the activity on your social media accounts and really paying attention to comments-both good and bad- you’ll gain a real understanding of how they feel about your company and be able to respond quickly to any problems.
- You’ll be able to build lasting relationships and increase brand awareness
Companies with a strong online presence are able to reveal personalities, humor and all those other important things that make us human. And since people still like to buy from people, not computers, if you can get this right you’re really onto a winner. Connecting with customers on social media gives you a much stronger chance of retaining them and developing long lasting, mutually beneficial relationships through targeted campaigns and highly shareable content.
- You’ll have happier customers and more sales
With the vast majority of consumers now having at least one social media account, they’ll expect to be able to find (and communicate with) you online. But just making the odd post on Twitter or Facebook isn’t enough. Numerous studies, including this one from the Aberdeen group, have shown that companies who really engage (ask questions, respond to complaints and share the kind of content that they know their customers like) reap bigger financial gains than those who don’t.
The bottom line is that without customers you have no business so nurturing those who do come your way should be a primary objective. Social media has proven time and time again to be one of the very best ways to get to the bottom of what really makes your customers tick, and in turn, help boosts your profits.
If you’d like to find out more about how social media can help your business nurture customers, contact Ethos today.
