Have you ever wondered what customers are saying about your business? Most owners think they know, but I promise you, most have no idea. Why? That is because they don’t look or listen. Most owners I’ve met are truly afraid of social media, but it’s more a fear of the unknown, which is a completely normal reaction. So, I wanted to put a challenge out to everyone on this no matter what your business is, and I’d like you to share your results with me. By doing this experiment, I’m hoping that you’ll see what is happening outside your doors without having to start a Facebook Fan Page, Twitter account or join Foursquare.
This is an exercise that any business can do and it won’t take you long at all. I also promise you that the results you’ll see will give you pause and will force you to think about your business. When you Google your businesses name, how deep into the search do you go? Are you just making sure your business name is listed at the top? Go deeper into Google and find out where your business name or product name(s) are popping up. Try the same with your own name. More importantly, what is being said about your business on Yelp? or Foursquare? or Facebook? How about the many other popular sites? Or sites you had no idea existed? What are they saying? If you found some conversations or comments that’s great, because if there’s nothing that means that no one is talking about you which is worse! That’s part one of the challenge.
For the second part of the challenge I want you to try and participate in the conversations. Is there a negative review or comment? Try answering that person directly through e-mail (don’t do it publically). If you resolved their complaint will they change their opinion? Are people asking questions about your business? Try answering them and helping them out. Are there any conversations going on around a topic or issue your business is trying to solve? Try participating in that conversation.
The point of this exercise is to show you that even if you aren’t part of the social media shift that is taking place, other people are and you don’t want to run the risk of alienating those customers or potential new ones. Join the conversation that you may not even know is happening. And if you can’t find it, ask yourself why and if there is anything you can do to start one!
Over the next couple of months, try devoting one hour per week to this exercise and see what the results are. Also, I’d love to hear your opinion on this and if you do try it, what your results were!
Try Starting With These:
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