Social Media as Market Research
Hopefully, by now you are at least thinking about your Social Persona, and beginning to test the waters. This blog post is going to show you one way to begin getting real value from your SM efforts.
One of the most powerful uses of social media (and one that seems to get little attention from ‘experts’ and the press) is as a real-time market research tool. There are both active and passive ways you can use all the chatter out there to find out about your customer’s needs and wants, what they are talking about, and what they tell each other about your business.
Passive listening is akin to old westerns where the cavalry scout puts his ear to the ground and tells the captain how many horses are approaching and how far away they are. You can pretty easily “read” the social media sites to get feedback on what is being said.
Most social media sites have search features that you can use to see what is being said. Twitter for example has two: Trending Topics are displayed on the right hand side of the Twitter home page. These are the most used terms over the entire twitter network. They are not likely to be of direct use, but can give you a feel for the current “mood”. Twitter also offers direct search capabilities. You can easily search for keywords and see what tweets recently contained those words. With many Twitter clients (programs such as TweetDeck or Tweetie that add functionality to Twitter) you can see recent tweets locally, within a range up to 100 miles from your location. Certainly if you are a cabinet shop, this is a big feature. You can literally see what is being said about cabinets or remodeling in your own neighborhood.
Facebook is a bit different. You can certainly search, but the results will be pages from people or businesses, not keyword searches within the conversation. This is useful to find connections and build your network. And as your network grows, you can easily see what people in your network are talking about.
For those of you who do more B2B marketing, Linkedin has some powerful “listening” tools. There are numerous groups you can join (or even start your own) and receive regular updates on topics of conversation among the group members. There is a Question and Answer section where users post questions and other users provide answers. Keeping track of the questions being asked, and reading responses to questions in areas of interest, is a way to see current thinking and meet new contacts.
In the next post, I will discuss more active methods of gathering market information through Social Media. I encourage you to comment of this post as well as suggest ideas you have used!
I can be found on Twitter, (@Consultingwood) on Linkedin, (http://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphbagnall) or via email at: rbagnall@consultingwoodworker.com
Conversing with Customers
Two Way Converations
I was on the phone last week with a potential customer, and we were discussing the useful aspects of social media. I was explaining the great customer feedback one of my clients had gotten through Twitter (see “A Social Persona in Action”) and while he was suitably impressed with the idea of the good feedback available from social media, he also expressed concerns about possible negative chatter on the social sites. And it is a legitimate concern.
There certainly will be times when unhappy customers will be on the social media sites talking about your company or your products. You can’t help it, but you shouldn’t ignore it either. As I explained to him, they are out there whether you are or not. Better by far to be proactive and responsive to their complaints.
Put yourself in your customer’s place for a moment; imagine that you had a problem or issue. You mention it on Twitter to one of your followers, and soon afterward, you find yourself conversing with a representative of that company, who is honestly engaging you and trying to help solve your issue! I hope that would impress you, it should! But remember too, that the entire incident is public. Many people will see a company engaging and trying to work with their customer to solve a problem.
My customer then asked, “What if someone is just out to trash your name and nothing you can do will appease them?” My answer was much the same. That person will STILL be out there trashing you. But by responding calmly and obviously trying to help, you come off looking good and reasonable and the antagonist looks foolish and petty. I have also seen cases where satisfied customers will post their positive experiences in defense of a company or product they use.
This is not a contest, and I certainly do not advocate fighting in the public view. What I do advocate is presenting a public face that wants to help the customer solve their issue. That can never hurt your image.
So, as you are deciding on whether or not to try working with social media as a marketing tool, please bear in mind that the social media space is very likely already at work without you, giving people you have never met an impression about your company. Be proactive, and help shape the impression your way.
Next post, learn how to use social media as a real-time survey tool without spending the big dollars for a research team.
Please feel free to comment here, or contact me via Twitter (@consultingwood) on Linkedin (http://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphbagnall) or by email (rbagnall@consultingwoodworker.com)
