Some companies sell the same stuff as you do, at a better or at a higher price. They can be more visible than you are. Or maybe not, it’s hard for you to tell. Companies (and consumers) have access to information more than ever. And what do organizations do to differentiate themselves from others? Not much, according to Mitch Joel. Apparently, the more we know, the more we try to blend in. Don’t we hate that?
One of the key messages I took away from the Art of Marketing Conference held in Montreal on September 30th, is that we should stop pretending that we are secluded on our own island (with WIFI access, of course). Our customers are somewhere out there and our mission is to:
1) Find them
2) Listen to them
3) Talk to them (and don’t talk unless you’ve listened first).
Or better yet, “rethink how we connect with them” - Seth Godin.
Mitch Joel made a great point about User Experience. Let’s assume you are out there, doing the best you can with these social media platforms like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. After all this hard work, your ideal customer finally lands on your website with high expectations and BAM, you disappoint them. ReadWriteWeb reported that there are more grandparents than high school students on Facebook, and half of the YouTube audience is over 34, according to MarketingVox. So yes, your target audience spends time on Facebook, they “google” everyday, and they have money to spend. Your role is to make them comfortable enough to make them want to spend it with you.
So you may not be Amazon, or Zappos, but think about all these little things you can do to connect with your audience:
Twitter – push your deals, featured products, new arrivals to your followers (but do not shout at them too many times a day, it dilutes the message and bores your audience).
Reviews – I love it when hotel management responds to reviews on TripAdvisor, good or bad. Not only do reviewers know that they are heard, it also helps the anonymous reader trust the hotel chain a little more. So how about copying that model and adding expert reviews, or staff answers to the ones praising or complaining about you? I’ve seen a friend complain at every brand or retailer that let her down, via Twitter. It earned her a 10% off coupon from her favorite clothing brand. She’s upset, but she’s not going anywhere and has probably used that coupon right away.
Products – The Levi’s Friends Store tells you what your Facebook peers liked and bought, directly on their site. If 1903 strangers liked that low skinny pair of jeans, combined with an average rating of 4.4 stars out of 5, it must be a great product and I have to say, even though I don’t wear skinny jeans, the product detail page and its great zoom almost had me click on that “add to bag” button.
Content – Think about what your audience should take away from your site (other than a purchase). Give them the content they are looking for. If your site has a blog that takes up to 50% of your content but generates a very small percentage of your overall traffic, you should put your content management efforts into another part of your site.
If you shift your focus from “How Many” to “Who”, you will find your “Tribe” (Seth Godin) and engage with them. Lady Gaga doesn’t care that a lot of people don’t like her. With 6.6 million followers on Twitter, she surpassed American President Obama and found her “Tribe”. So go ahead, listen and trust your best customers to inspire you and tell you how far you can go to maintain your relationship with your tribe and increase ROI with your social media strategy.
So while it may be overwhelming to consider all of the social media channels and tools available, it’s more important than ever to know your audience, and to create a relevant user experience for your ‘tribe’. It’s time to get innovative, folks.