Don't Neglect In-store Signage to Promote Social Media

We have been fielding many important questions from our clients and workshop participants from the small local business community which lead me to reiterate; social media marketing is not a strategy, it is a tactic within the context of your marketing strategy.  The only thing new about social media is the technology.  It is the classic relationship building, targeted marketing strategy that has worked since the first merchant hung an OPEN sign in the window.

Social media enables today's merchant to inform and engage on a more directed, efficient and broader platform, but it does not mean you can get lazy with other effective marketing tactics.  I am thinking, specifically, of in-store merchandising and signage.  Imagine reading a sale ad, going to the store in question and not seeing any indication that a promotion is on, most would-have-been buyers will turnaround and walk out.  The same applies to social media promotion.  You should have signs in your establishment that announce your social media presence and why a customer should follow you.  Perhaps it's follower specials, product information or limited quantities of popular products just in, etc.

If you want people to follow you, you must give them a reason.   And if you are going to be successful, you must learn from your followers, more on that later.

MediaPost Publications Generational Mix Reveals Shopping Similarities and Differences 03/18/2010

MediaPost Publications Generational Mix Reveals Shopping Similarities and Differences 03/18/2010

It is easy to find information on marketing to generational segments. This article points out shopping similarities in generational segments. Practically, this means we should be looking at buyer characteristics other than age. Perhaps location, lifestyle, etc are more efficient targets?

Richmond competing for Google’s ultra high speed broadband : Richmond BizSense

Richmond competing for Google’s ultra high speed broadband : Richmond BizSensee

Charlottesville is in this race, as well. Cvillians, get behind your city and vote!

http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/options

Success is built on relationships

I conduct seminars throughout the year on various aspects of sales and marketing.  This year is proving to be very rewarding because many of the participants are reporting increased sales and traffic after having implemented our suggestions.  We try to make our seminars relevant to the participants  by dealing with actual situations; however, all the successes are the result of following a simple formula.  First, define your ideal customer.  Second, market and promote where they are and directly to them and third, build relationships with them.


Alan Weiss (contratianconsulting.com) gave a personal example in an email I received last week:

"Years ago, my wife and I moved to a new town with a check for $100,000 in our hands, which represented the difference between the old, smaller house we sold in high-priced New Jersey and the new, larger house we purchased in low-priced Rhode Island. We walked into four banks on Main Street (yes, it is "Main Street") and three of the four branch managers pointed to the rates for various investments, cited the bank's hours, and explained about various bank features. All three of them could have been working for the same place.


The fourth branch manager, at Fleet Bank, had the same rates, hours, and services, too, but she asked us about our objectives for moving to the area, how old our children were, what we would like to accomplish, what kind of work we did, and so on, and all over a cup of coffee. We left our check there, and over a decade later I'm a private banking client of Fleet, having made significant investments and loans with the institution."


Do not be challenged by "sales" it is simply getting to know your customer and building a business relationship.  If you do it right you will have your competition on the run.  By using direct marketing tactics your customer will come to you when he/she is ready to buy.

Secret to success: know your customer

All the advertising, marketing and sales calls in the world are worthless if in the end you have no intelligence about your buyers. In our connected world consumers make buying decisions based on their needs, not yours. They do not care a whit about your product/service unless it helps them accomplish their goals.

I grew up in a small farm-to-market community (circa 1950-1960) in which my family owned and operated a small business. We sold coal, hardware, feed, lumber and whatever else it took to support our sustainable farming community. On Sunday's, Dad would take us on a drive through the country-side and point out who lived on every farm and what their principle cash crop was (cattle, hogs, poultry, grain, etc.). When I was young, I though it was cool that my dad new so many people. When older, I realized how instrumental my dad's "customer intelligence" was in his business success.

One of the most exciting things about owning a small business, today, is the ease and reach with which we can gather insights about our buyers and communicate with them one-on-one. If you are not using your website, blog and social net to gain customer insights that encourage customers to buy from you, you are at a competitive disadvantage.