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Secrets to Success
Deborah Cole Micek
and John-Paul Micek
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New-media customers can fight back
ESTABLISHING relationships with your ideal audience has taken on a new spin. New-media tools have made it faster and easier than ever, which is great news for people who want to save time.
What used to take months now takes minutes.
Getting people to open the door and invite you in may seem intimidating to most. But, if you know how to influence, persuade, and establish a strong foundation of trust right from the beginning, this will be easier than ever.
It's important to realize that new-media consumers are savvier than they were 10 years ago. And they're more connected -- instantly! They expect more and they know when they're being played. Now, with the convenience of instant access to their network, your clients can either make or break you. So watch out!
WHEN you build relationships with your target audience and customers, it leads to trust. When you have trust combined with personal loyalty that encourages them to talk about, share, and spread the word about you and your product, then you've got yourself a raving fan. The personal connection makes it so much easier to turn an ordinary customer into a lifelong, customer evangelist.
But if today's new-media consumers don't get their needs met, they will also share their disappointment with all their friends and family.
If they feel they have a relationship with you, it's very likely you'll hear it from them first. But, you must give them an avenue to communicate with you.
If they don't feel like they have a relationship with you, or if they feel that you're just some slick marketer trying to pull the wool over their eyes -- watch out. Get ready for them to share their disappointment in multimedia format, leveraging the very same new-media tools to hurt you instead of help you.
AS we were writing this, a friend of ours IM'd us (instant messaged us) about how frustrated she was with a large department store. She was stuck on the phone for 45 minutes going back and forth from one department to another, having to punch in her 16-digit credit-card number each time in order to talk to someone LIVE.
The store's online shopping didn't mesh with its offline store, and they just couldn't figure out a way to solve her problem. They forgot there was a human being on the other end.
The result: The company not only lost a sale, they lost all the repeat business she would have brought them in the decades to come. They also lost the business of her 10 closest friends. How? My friend shared her experience with her friends on her blog while she was waiting on hold -- being ignored.
John-Paul Micek is the lead business coach at RPM Success Group Inc. Reach him at
JPM@RPMsuccess.com or toll-free at (888) 334-8151.
Deborah Cole Micek, chief executive officer of RPM Success Group, is a business success coach and life strategist. Reach her at
DCM@RPMsuccess.com or toll-free at (888) 334-8151.