photo by gillicious

Let me be the last to welcome you into the 21^st century. In this day and age, where do you think you’re customers are going first to learn about you, your business, and your product? Yep, you guessed it – the Internet.

We’re living in an era where the old school sales process is nearing extinction, and your customers are becoming smarter than ever. They’re Googling, chatting with their friend on Twitter, and reading Yelp reviews before they even CONSIDER giving you any business.

This means that you have an obligation to build a positive reputation on the web. Doing so is easier than you think…Just be you. Being yourself, being genuine, and being “present” on the web can go a long, long way. You don’t have to sit on Twitter all day, I’m not asking you to write 50 blog posts each week – but, if you haven’t already, it’s time to start establishing your online footprint – and if you’re already there, there’s probably room for improvement.

So, you’ve got a good reputation – that’s step one (and by the way, that process never ends, maintaining a solid reputation both on – and off – line is critical to the success of any business, but you already knew that). The next step, (and where it all really begins), is in establishing a Social Media strategy and setting goals.

If there’s one takeaway here – it’s that you MUST have a strategy and set goals (and adapt those goals as time goes on). Without a strategy, without measurable goals – you’ll quickly find yourself floating in Social Media deep space without a clue where to go or what to do.

Keep this in mind: It takes very very little to have a huge impact on an individual. One simple personal email, one DM on Twitter, can speak volumes. The goal in this day and age isn’t to sell to your customers, but to build relationships, create strong bonds, and have those bonds develop into a word that’s thrown around a lot these days, “brand evangelists”.

Brand evangelists are the essence of your customer service strategy. Long gone are the days of mass-spreading your message to everyone. It’s time to pinpoint who the community influencers are, establish a working rapport with them, and have them go and sing your praises for you. We’re much more apt to listen to and believe our friends than we are a company or brand.

The online world is making this easier than ever. Social Media is designed with the success of small businesses in mind – YOU and your business has the opportunity to do something that the big-wigs aren’t: Make a REAL connection with your consumers.

Are you tapped in? Are you taking the time to build relationships with your consumers? It’s time to stop selling, stop pushing your pitch, and start being a human being. It goes a long, long way.

Matt Cheuvront is the mastermind behind Life Without Pants. Take the next step by saying hello on Twitter and subscribing to his blog today!

Tags: Marketing, Matt Cheuvront, Social Media, Strategy