The widespread influence of online social networking behaviours is revealing that traditional search is being increasingly discarded. Consumers themselves, become the viral agents of online marketing and are taking control of the fate of countless business brands.
You might argue that there's nothing new in businesses being dependent on building good reputation, which leads by word of mouth to referrals and unforeseen opportunities via diverse people connections.
However, until social media opened up the internet, creating instant diverse 'talking' channels to enable every user to join the big 'conversation', the marketing strategies of SEO and PPC were the traditional method of 'pushing' out your company message.
Consumers no longer respond to this approach! Trust and engagement is now the more important ingredient that will 'pull' customers into an involvement with business brand identity and their particular style of service / product offering to capture audience participation.
In other words, moving towards website applications which engage visitors rather than just selling at them is taking precedence. We live in a world where listening, reacting and providing great service are essential if you really care about your customers, past present and future.
We all know that if you give website visitors enough free content that they will become interested, softly opening the way to try and convert to fulfill the object of your website. Engaged customers will repeat visit and 'pass the message on', so keeping them happy is key. Seek their feedback, listen to their suggestions and make them feel involved in the online process.
Here are a few tried and trusted tips to help keep your customer traffic flowing daily your way:
User-specific offers. Know what your individual customers are interested in and want to know more about. Remember to keep it personal and relevant. Target individuals, not segments.
Group buying / Offers. Encourage group buying among friends (group discounts, etc). Creates a buzz amongst the group as they retweet your messages.
Free upgrades/ Exclusives. Invest more on making existing customers happy! Make available to them product upgrades and free services , either at the point of purchase, or by Tweet, text or newsletter.
Mentions. Perfect for website news or blogs. Mentioning a customer gives recognition and can make people feel special.
Better products, services, content. Be prepared to listen and learn from what your customers will tell you about what they love, hate, want and need. Tell customers that changes are based on their feedback and they'll respond to you that little bit more.
Preferential terms. For your long-term customers or more feasibly, B2B companies.
Add ons. Free insurance, or an extended warranty at no extra charge.
Vouchers and coupons. Again, this amounts to a discount, but there are some creative ways of using coupons. These can be posted or printed, or if you're riding the wave, delivered via mobile (surely a massive consumer trend in waiting). They should be personalised as much as possible.
Follow them. Tune into the most influential of your regular audience via Twitter etc.
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