If you do any form of social media marketing (and I sincerely hope you do), you will more than likely come across suitable groups and/or pages that allow you to promote your business or special offers.
The sad thing is that all too often I see people wasting a valuable opportunity here by not making it easy enough for interested prospects to find out more about them.
There are some great posts out there that are really engaging but when I go to find out more information or how to book/get in contact, it is so difficult to find where I need to go that I give up.
Please, if you ever post out your offerings on social media, grab a coffee and watch this short (7-minute video) that will hopefully help you to make the path far easier for those valuable prospects to find you.
Do you rely heavily on Facebook for your marketing? If so ….
Are you aware of the perils of using Facebook?
On Monday the Facebook page for the world’s largest social media magazine, Social Media Examiner, disappeared. Yep! Gone completely without warning! This page had over 380,000 followers and is an excellent source of information but for some unknown reason it went!
The owner, Michael Steizner, posted this message on his own Facebook page.
And this message appeared on their Google+ page.
What transpired from messages posted in response was this has happened to numerous followers ranging from pages with fans of just a few hundred to one with over 3 million followers!!!
This proves that can happen to anyone at any level. I personally know of a lady who sold handbags through her Facebook page and had just over 4000 followers. Overnight her page disappeared and she lost contact with all these prospective customers. She had to start from scratch again and in the meantime her business basically stopped.
So please don’t sit back and think it will never happen to you. Hopefully, it won’t but any business should put plans in place to protect themselves should it happen to you.
Remember, something like this can happen to anyone and any business and once your page is gone, it’s gone!! You are unlikely to ever get it back.
As a business, you don’t own your fans or your page so if your page goes you lose contact with these people.
What can cause my Facebook page to disappear
There are a number of reasons why a Facebook page can disappear such as:
An administrator deleting or un-publishing the page. Make sure you know who has access to make changes to your page and remove anyone who should not have permission anymore.
A breach of Facebook guidelines. So many Facebook users are totally unaware of the guidelines. One of the most common breaches I see are pages running competitions and asking for likes and shares in order to enter which is a direct breach. If this gets spotted and reported you are in serious danger of your page being removed.
Using your personal profile as a business page. Again, this is a breach of Facebook guidelines. If you haven’t already read it, have a read of the article Facebook Business Page vs Personal Page
Technical issues. It appears this may be the case with Social Media Examiner and their page has now been restored. However, there is no guarantee that once your page has gone that it can be recovered.
The key lesson here is DO NOT put all your eggs in one basket. Do not purely rely on one social media platform for all your marketing. Always make sure you list build so that whatever happens outside of your control, you have a database of email addresses that allows you to retain contact with your prospects and fans.
What can I do to get my Facebook fans onto my mailing list?
Here are a few tips to help you get your Facebook fans onto your mailing list:
Have an opt-in form
Put an opt-in form on your website so that when you post your blog on your Facebook page and readers get taken to your site, they have the option to sign up. Put one in the sidebar and at the top or bottom of your blog posts so that people can easily subscribe to get future news and information delivered directly to their inbox.
Offer an incentive
In order to make it more attractive for people to sign up, offer them a freebie to download when they sign up. If you are in the holiday home industry this could be something such as ‘Top 10 things to look for when booking a holiday’ or ‘A guide to choosing a colour for your home’ if you are an interior designer.
Post links to your opt-in form
Make sure you have a link to your opt-in form everywhere you can. Use Facebook apps to add one to your business page and include the link at the bottom of your Facebook posts.
Ask for email addresses in groups
If you are in a group on Facebook and someone asks a question which you take the time to answer, ask them for their email address to send some further information. Send them a little extra info and let them know you will add them to your mailing list (with the option to unsubscribe) for any future news.
Ask interactive fans for their email address
When a person comments on one of your posts you now have the option to send them a message (see pic below). Use this to thank them for their comment and to invite them to join your mailing list (remember to send them the link).
So now you know the perils of using Facebook and to how to protect yourself.
I hope you have found this article useful and please share the love and pass it on to anyone else you know who has a Facebook business page.
How do you respond when someone makes a request that is not normally something that you do? Do you instantly say no, not possible? Or do you take a moment to consider whether it is something that you would consider helping them with?
Rather than just saying no, consider saying that you will look into it for them and get back with a response at a later time. This has two benefits.
The first is that you show them respect for their request by not dismissing them instantly. This can have a far better lasting impression than a straight out no that leaves them unsure of where to go or what to do next.
Too many businesses refuse to stray from the straight and narrow and therefore miss opportunities that are lying right under their noses. They are too quick to say no, we don’t do that and leave the enquirer feeling dismissed with care and consideration.
[Tweet “Too many businesses refuse to stray from the straight & narrow & therefore miss opportunities that are lying right under their noses”]
Even if you decide that the request is not something that you can deal with, you can go back and let the person know that you have taken the time to consider it, but it is not something that you can personally help with.
It may, however, be the case that you can refer them on to someone else who can help. This provides value to the person and also to any businesses that receive a referral, all of whom may remember you for your help in the future and feel the need to repay the compliment. There may even be an opportunity for starting up collaborative working with another business that will pay future dividends to you both.
[Tweet “Look for opportunities to work collaboratively with other businesses that will pay dividends for both of you”]
The second benefit is that by considering requests that are outside of your normal remit gives you an opportunity to consider whether it is something that you could actually incorporate as a product or service into your business. This could become another revenue stream that you had not previously thought of.
We get all too caught up with our day to day running of our businesses and can sometimes not see the wood for the trees. By listening to requests, and dealing with them in the appropriate manner, we can find opportunities that may have otherwise passed us by.
Next time you get a request for something that you don’t currently offer, rather than instantly decline a customer, stop and think for a moment as to how you can turn it into a future opportunity for your business whilst providing great customer service at the same time.
Quite often when I am using social media, whether on my own personal pages or in a group, I see people asking for recommendations. This could be someone asking for a personal trainer, a graphic designer, a virtual assistant or something else to help them personally or in their business.
If I know of someone and have used them myself, or have heard good things about them, I am all too happy to recommend them and tag them in a post. What is then lovely is when the person I recommend puts a quick thank you for the mention in a subsequent post or private message to me.
This takes them seconds to do but lets me know that they value my support.
But what about those who fail to use basic manners in thanking someone for their help? I have recommended a particular business on a few occasions recently and tagged them. They have then seen this tag, and subsequently joined in the conversation to take advantage of the mention and to try gain business for themselves. But no thank you or acknowledgement of my support was forthcoming.
Now call me picky, but I personally take this as blatant bad manners. If I was at a dinner party and I introduced someone to another person who I thought would be a good contact for them and they totally ignored me, I would feel rather insulted. And the same goes for social media. Don’t forget the social part of social media.
What actually flabbergasted me this week was a small business whose posts I have been sharing and I have recommended to a few people, actually took the time to private message, not to thank me for my support but to tell me (not ask) to share and promote a new range of products they now have. No thank you. Just a demand for more support.
Do you think I am going to help them? No, I am not. I simply take it as incredibly bad manners.
So remember that social media is about building relationships. Nurture those people who are effectively doing free marketing for you by sharing your content and tagging you in posts. A few seconds to say a simple thank you can go a long way. By having good manners you can gain yourself more future free marketing from your supporters who are likely to continue sharing your business with others.
[Tweet “Using good manners in social media can gain you free marketing”]
Just don’t miss the key tactic of good manners when your content is shared in social media
I believe I have found a way for you to beat your competitors in a guaranteed way. This is just by delivering what you promise to do. Simples!!
I never cease to be amazed by the appalling service that so many companies still think is acceptable.
Just this past week I have encountered the following:
Laura Ashley promising delivery within 3 working days and yet 10 days later still no order received. Their customer service is non-existent with emails being ignored and a wholly incompetent customer service representative on the other end of the phone when I eventually got through.
I have booked flights with British Airways and encountered numerous problems on their site when trying to enter Advanced Passenger Information and reserve seats. Again, emails ignored until I took to social media. I then get an email telling me to follow the links on the website. But they don’t work! This was followed by no less than 8 failed attempts to speak to them by phone as after following the automated service it either went to a constantly engaged tone or cut off altogether.
I went to enquire about a new car from Nissan only for the salesperson to say he would email what they had and the prices. Why? I was there in the showroom potentially ready to buy. Was it because I was a lone woman and he didn’t believe I was serious without a man by my side? I emailed Nissan to complain about his attitude, got an automated response saying someone would be in touch within 48 hours and never heard from them again. Appalling!
Finally, a dodgy estate agent who is lazy beyond belief waits until the last minute to negotiate with the vendor on items he promised to do on day one. He then uses the cop out line that the vendors have changed their mind. I have reason to believe he lied through his teeth to get the sale and was just too incompetent to do his job properly. Suffice to say, when I come to sell in the future, this agent will be last on my list.
All of these instances I wish I could say were rare but are unfortunately all too common. Tradesmen who don’t return calls, or who come and give an estimate never to be seen again. If they don’t want the work, just say so. Cleaners who come to the office full of promises of how good they are only to leave a half done job that has to be redone. Financial advisors who promise information to be sent only for them to have to be chased continuously.
So if you want to beat your competitors hands down, try focusing on customer service. At the very least do what you say you will. And if you can go the extra mile, I bet those customers will be so impressed they will come back to you time and time again.
I am now going to start noting good and bad customer service and writing about examples of these. If you have any of your own that you would like to share, please pop over and add them on the Facebook page.
We all spend so much time on our marketing and doing our utmost to gain new enquiries and turn these to clients. But how much time do you spend on past enquiries? Do you have any process in place for going back to those who haven’t yet bought from you and asking if they are still interested? Far too many small business owners don’t and it is one of the most effective ways of getting more customers.
These are warm leads that are right under your nose and could bring some much-needed income into your business.
[Tweet “Follow up past enquiries. These are warm leads right under your nose and could bring some much-needed income into your business”]
Just this week I met with a client in the wedding industry whose sales were a little slow. They were working every waking hour trying to drum up more business and came to me for marketing advice. I asked them how many enquiries they had had over the last six months and how many times they had contacted those that had not yet booked with them. They told me they didn’t have the time to do this and that they felt it was pointless as if these people were interested, they would have been in contact already.
Personally, I feel this is a very short sighted way of looking at things. Particularly in the wedding industry, and in many others, people will make enquiries to a number of suppliers before making a decision, and that decision can take a long time. It is the suppliers who keep in contact and make that extra bit of effort to make the potential client feel that they are valued that are likely to get the sale.
I managed to convince my client to humour me and take just a couple of hours the next day to call all past enquiries to ask if they had made a decision yet, and if not, did they have any questions or queries they would like to discuss.
I had a call to say that from just the first six past prospects called, 2 had booked my client for their wedding needs. Being a high ticket supplier, this has made a big difference to their bottom line.
So if you are serious about getting more customers, go back and look at your past enquiries. Try giving them a call to see if they are still interested in your product or service. Even if they have bought elsewhere, you can use the opportunity to ask what prompted their decision to go with an alternative source and if they are happy with their purchase. This will provide you with both valuable market research and it may just be that they are not happy and wish to switch to buy from you in the future.
You can also do this with past customers. Make sure you make the time to keep in contact with them and see if they wish to make an additional purchase. Please do not make the mistake that happened to me just this morning.
I phoned a health practitioner as I had not been for a while. I am a private patient so this is not a cheap service and I have spent a lot in the past. But when I phoned I was told that as they had not heard from me for a while they had deleted me from their system!!! What!!!
I was stunned. Customer service at its worst. Why on earth if they had not heard from me did they not send me a reminder via email? Or at least inform me that I would be deleted if I did not get in contact within a certain time. The result was that I hung up and booked myself in privately at another practice.
Continued customer contact is such a simple thing to do but so often overlooked. Set yourself up a simple system to act as a reminder to make future contact with everyone who either makes an enquiry or buys from you. You can get a free online CRM system which is easy to set up and can do this for you.
You never know how much potential income is just sat there waiting for the taking and how easy this method is for getting more customers.
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