When you sell your product, how engaged is your client? If, "consumers consume," how do you get them to buy from you, and become a repeat customer?
The million dollar question that salespeople want answered goes to the heart of earning the business from satisfied consumers who not only buy your service, but use it, come back again for more, and tell their friends about you and what you sell. What a dream client!
When times are good, sales can be easy—especially if you are good at your craft. When times are tough—like now—you must be better than your competition. Frankly, unless what you sell is one of a kind (not just a different version of someone else's widget), you're not the Lone Ranger. Although Tonto was the trusted sidekick, he had relatives pushing a similar product at a cheaper price.
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So, how do you compete? Yes, product can make a difference. But unless you have a talking dog to sell for you, then you must find ways to present what you offer that vastly improves the buying process. And remember, people don't like to be sold. They would rather buy, and purchase it from someone they like and trust.
It also helps if your product is better. Price may be a factor, but your customer service better blow them away if you want to get repeat business.
According to HCPro, an effective consumer engagement plan binds you with your consumers, and provides a framework of support for them to learn, act, change, and improve. Think of it like a hug: reach out to them, grasp them, don't let them go, and provide for them a level of support that will always be there.
Create the bond between the consumer and the employer/provider by educating and engaging the individual—convince him or her to enroll—through methods such as: targeted messaging, an effective open enrollment campaign, concrete savings demonstrations, one-on-one communication, and use of technology such as Webcasts and interactive kiosks.
Social networking is huge now with the advent of LinkedIn, FaceBook, and other sites. According to Riverside Marketing Strategies, here are five ways to incorporate social marketing into your selling mix:
- Create message boards, forums, and wikis to reach out to customers. Based on your marketing goals, implementation may vary. Your site should offer a mixture of advice, blogs, forums, and other resources for its small business customers. You can actively solicit customer input regarding fixes to your product as well as to its marketing.
- Develop a corporate blog, and post on relevant third-party blogs. To have a real effect, these blogs should engage readers in a frank dialogue about important aspects of your product line and its use. It must be genuine, not rehashed company-monitored PR-speak.
- Solicit consumer input on your site to track and engage in a one-on-one conversation. To stay relevant and show you're behind this effort, a knowledgeable staffer must promptly respond to inquiries. Don't use an auto-responder that sends a thank-you email. Get back with the customer using a personal message or a phone call.
- Engage in public forums relevant to your brand. Like other types of social marketing and blogging, you must be transparent and relevant.
- Advertise on relevant forums to get users to engage with you. Sponsoring carefully targeted content on third-party sites may work better than straight ads. Relevance to the consumer's needs at the time of action is critical, as users are there to interact with each other.
Your customer will remember you if you are professional, personable, knowledgeable, and ethical. But they will love you if you service them well. Take action when your customer needs help; return his messages or calls; stay in front of him as a gentle reminder of how much you care about him. Your customer is your bank. Great customer service—engaging the client—are like deposits in your account.
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