I hate to break it to you, but the days of controlling your message are dead. Conversations about your product or service are proliferating online, even if you are not listening. Social media is giving people more than a voice; it’s putting them in the driver seat.
We are now in the era where people buy from people, not organizations. Take for instance my recent headphone purchase. Being a music enthusiast, I wanted to invest in a great pair of headphones. I watched headphone commercials, clicked on online advertisements, scoured various retail websites…everything. Nevertheless, despite the array of convincing outbound marketing messages that I received, it is not what led me to my headphone purchase. Instead, I made my purchase decision after reading numerous user reviews and engaging with the brand itself online.
With the amount of noise circulating the social web, it’s crucial that businesses engage with their consumers in order to humanize their brand and break through the clutter. Engaged customers appreciate the fact that there is a “real person” behind the brand. It’s this emotional connection that consumers feel to your brand that will differentiate you in a socially connected world. Consumers are savvier than ever and businesses need to adapt to their changing habits and characteristics in order to remain competitive.
If your organization relies on old hierarchical systems, and opaque rigid processes, you are setting your own death trap. Your processes may have been effective in the past, but in order for your business to thrive in today’s digital age, you need to adapt to a more people-centric focus. This may require reinventing your business’s culture, procedures and behaviors to include more human qualities, such as being, transparent, trustworthy, empathetic and daring.
Social media is a wonderful tool that allows you to better understand your target consumer and promote strong long lasting relationships. Yes, acquiring these relationships take time, and socializing your business may not be easy at first, but the elbow grease you put into cultivating this humanistic approach will be invaluable.