You’ll learn a lot about your
customers through social media
Undoubtedly, you’ve already been
advised (on multiple occasions) that
it’s time to start marketing your
business through social media. Businesses of all sizes across all
industries are using tools like Facebook and Twitter to successfully
strengthen their marketing strategies, and the last thing you want is
to be is left behind in this social media gold rush.
The experts will tell you it’s time to build your social media
strategy. Map out your key messages and adapt them to how they
will appear on your corporate blog, Facebook fan page, Twitter
stream and YouTube channel. Be ready to engage your audience in
conversation, and provide regular, updated content to keep your
new social media friends engaged and interested. For those doing
it right, social media is a smart and cost-effective way to reach a
brand new audience of potential customers and business partners.
However, we all know that most VARs are first and foremost
technologists and business owners. While marketing is an area
in which VARs acknowledge they need assistance (Learn how
TDAgency can help on page 26.), it is generally not atop your
daily priority list as you focus on closing sales, supervising staff,
supporting client needs, managing operations and learning about
the latest technologies. Marketing is one of those things many
VARs do not have time or resources to do on their own.
If that’s the reason you’re not engaged in social media, then it’s
time to re-evaluate your position and look at these tools from
a fresh perspective. Chances are very good that your customers
are promoting themselves on Twitter and Facebook. They are talking about company news, marketing
promotions, plans, issues important to
them and challenges they face. All of
that is invaluable information for a VAR
who solves business challenges with
technology. If you’re not on Twitter and
Facebook, you’re missing out on a valuable
opportunity to hear what’s important to
your customers.
Lead Generator
You have regular meetings with your
customers to discuss their technology needs
and uncover new sales opportunities, but
are you getting the entire picture? Maybe
you’re only dealing with an IT department
that’s not aware of what every part of
their business is doing. How many times
during these meetings have you said to a
client, “I wish you told me you were doing
that,” knowing you could have provided
value? Instead of waiting for customers to
approach you, what if you could reach out
to support their needs in near real time?
For example:
- A long-time client tweets that a new
employee will be starting soon. Before
they have a chance to call and ask
about a new computer, software and a
new e-mail account for this individual,
you can already be on the phone calling
them to propose a solution.
- Your client announces via Facebook
that it is sponsoring a festival or
sporting event and will be showcasing
their business. That could be an
opportunity to suggest how solutions
like digital signage can help them
make a big impression by standing out
among the crowd of tents and printed
banners.
- Your customer tweets that it is
supporting a local charity it views as
important. That creates an opportunity
for you to contribute to the same cause
in partnership with your customer,
further strengthening your relationship.
- Your client announces on its
Facebook fan page it has landed a
big new account. Knowing their IT
infrastructure as well as you do, you
can anticipate challenges they may face
due to increased workloads.
- A client tweets about expanding into
an adjoining office. Will their wireless
network provide adequate coverage in
the new space? It will if you address it
before it becomes an issue.
These are just a few examples of how you
can use the information you glean from your
customers’ social media conversations to add
even more value to the services you provide.
You’ll prove to them that you’re always
looking out for their interests and willing to
go the extra mile to meet their needs.
You also can take it a step further and
start following accounts you want to add
to your customer base, providing valuable
information you can use the next time
you call on them to pitch your services
and solutions. They’ll be impressed you’re
listening and following their business so
closely.
Channel Chatter
In addition to your customers, you’ll find
that vendor partners, distributors and your
competition are using social media. While
you’re monitoring what your customers
have to say, you can easily use the same
tools to keep an eye open for any program
developments, marketing promotions,
company news and competitive intelligence
that interests you.
Tech Data has several Twitter streams
and Facebook fan pages. You can find the
links at techdata.com/social. Tech Dataregularly posts company press releases, links
to relevant articles, details on upcoming
events, industry research, information on
new tools and services, enhancements to
techdata.com and more.
You’ll find vendors are very active as well,
posting channel program updates, links to
free white papers, registration information for
webinars, product information, event recaps,
thoughts and news from vendor channel
chiefs, and channel marketing promotions.
Keep tabs on your competition by regularly
checking their social media channels. You
may not want to become an official fan or
follower, but it’s definitely worth noting
what they’re up to. What are they talking
about, and are they having success reaching
your mutual target audience?
Getting Started
Even if you’re not quite ready to actively
promote your business through social
media, clearly these tools still provide
benefit to VARs. Your customers and
business partners are sharing important
information you can use to strengthen and
grow your business.
Here’s how you can get started:
Sign up for Twitter and Facebook – It’s free.
It’s easy. It’s quick. You might even have fun.
Best of all, you can sign up for mobile alerts
on your smartphone so you can act on any
useful information instantly by calling your
customers or sending a note to an appropriate
sales representative on your team.
Quick Tip: Don’t want to mix business
with your personal Facebook account?
Keep it professional by establishing a
second profile just to connect with your
customers and partners.
Connect with customers and vendor
partners – The first place you should look
to start connecting with people via social
media is their website. Look for the familiar
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn
icons to link directly to your customers’
and partners’ social media sites. Each
service also provides its own search features
so you can find people and businesses.
Quick Tip: Check out who your customers
and partners are following, as well as who’s
connected to them. It’s a great way to find
other people and organizations you should
be listening to.
Connect with your market – Stay
attuned to market conditions and news
by following local papers and broadcast
outlets, chambers of commerce and
relevant professional organizations in the
cities where you do business.
Quick Tip: Have you built a niche in
a particular vertical like healthcare,
insurance or finance? See if any
professional organizations have a local
chapter in the markets you serve. If they’re
active in social media, pay attention to
what they’re talking about. Maybe there’s
an opportunity for you to engage and even
provide a technology perspective at an
upcoming event.
Stake your claim – It’s important to register
for tools like Twitter and Facebook with your
company name before others do, even if you
don’t intend to use them. Fraud and identity
theft remain a threat to VARs. (See related
article on facing page.) Do what you can
to protect your reputation and intellectual
property by registering for social media tools
with all common variations of your company
name.
Quick Tip: Monitor social media for
references to your company. Comments
from disgruntled employees and former
clients can be harmful to your reputation,
but you’ll never know about them unless
you’re actively looking for posts with
your company name. Visit sites like
addictomatic.com and hootsuite.com for
powerful social media search engines.
Join The Conversation
There’s a tremendous amount of
information you can learn just by listening
to what others are saying, but the true
value of social media comes when you start
engaging in the conversation. Once you’re
comfortable using social media tools like
Twitter and Facebook, it won’t be long
before you’re ready to implement your own
social media marketing strategy.