Posts Tagged ‘direct mail’

Is Social Media The Answer For The Offline Business?

There are many tools available for an offline business to use to become more visible.  When offline advertising staples, such as newspaper advertising and direct mail, are not giving the best bang for the buck,  consultants are often called upon.  They are required to help transition the client onto the Internet for increased exposure.  Usually the first and most effective methods are the inclusion of the local business details in regional and metropolitan web portals that specialize in businesses on the local or regional level.

Another popular way that business can become more visible to its public is by trying to use the potential of Social Media.  There are a large number of ways that these tools can be used, but a careful evaluation of the needs and directive of the business must be undertaken.  Besides the huge potential for profit, there is just as large a possibility that it could become a disastrous situation.

The Social Media has been designed to promote networking and the formation of “cliques” and groups.  Here like minded people get to explore their common interests.  More and more, opinions are being driven through the various sites that become powerful forces in product selection. Consumers are finding the opinions of peers in their network just as powerful, if not more important than the information provided by the companies that physically manufacture and distribute the products they are interested in purchasing.

The strength of peer pressure and opinion offers a huge opportunity for the consultant to bring a client’s offline business into the spotlight.  The glare of public scrutiny can also cause serious problems if the approach is not upright and ethical.  For instance, some businesses have sent a “ringer” to join a number of groups to see what the members are thinking about various products.  If they are there to promote and push their make or brand, it will probably be identified.  The negative resentment of being made to be stooges by big business (no matter how big in actuality) can cause a drop in sales as people simply boycott out of principle.  The danger here is that sometimes a boycott can spread faster virally and cause serious damage to a bottom line.

If a business is going to join in the discussion, it should do so honestly and above board.  When a corporate representative is available to identify trends and help solve problems, there is a lot of good will generated. Word of mouth is strongly generated from such corporate involvement is usually quite positive.  There are even large multi-national companies monitoring the Social Sites on a continuous basis.

By listening and participating in  the discussions, they are in a much better position to understand  the trends and concerns of the consumer in a wide variety of areas.  The size of the company is not relevant.  The small offline company can join in the discussion and promote their products or services easily, but as mentioned, do it honestly and upfront, otherwise the chances of being burned are rather strong.

Some Social Structures like Twitter can be used to offer press releases, 140 characters at a time.  Depending on how the structure is set up, a Twitter account can be interactive with the consumers, or it can be strictly used as a one-way blast to all the followers with no responses offered.  Although this is a cheap way to offer product announcements, this works best when there is a real person also online. They must be identified with vested interests, often through the actual user name,  Their purpose is to identify trends and problems as they are voiced.

Some larger  corporations, with the resources to do it, will even approach a disgruntled consumer after they have been identified.  They take the time and effort to help move them to a corporate Customer Service platform where their issue can be properly handled and solved.  This in turn often results in happy testimonials about the way a company has gone out of its way to provide satisfaction being voiced back to the original group.

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• This Weeks #Social Media Topic: Managing the Marketing Mix: Which Channel is More Effective? (directmarketingobservations.com)
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Start Your Own Local Small Business Interest Group

If you feel like it’s not going to be feasible for you to break into some of the existing networking groups available in your area enough to make an impact, you should consider starting your own group. We’re not talking about trying to compete with the Chamber of Commerce or BNI®. This is more about starting a “special interest” group where you can educate small business owners who will ultimately be your clients.

Be creative. If it is impossible to gather many assorted business owners together in face to face meetings, take advantage of the online tools that are available.  It is very simple to offer virtual seminars or “webinars”.

By using direct mail in combination with some efficient phone strategies, you can assure yourself that you’ll have attendees interested in what you have to say and offer. Always provide high value free content and/or education in these webinars or seminars.  Attendees will perceive you and your business from the proper perspective; one which sees you as being able to help them maximize their internet exposure and profits.

When offering face to face meetings, look for free or low cost meeting spaces. Many of these are offered by local libraries and even banks.  Another popular location to source a low-cost meeting room is a local community center or even a YMCA or YWCA.

Many hotels have meeting spaces for small to medium groups. An advantage of using hotels is that you can get basic catering, often at very affordable rates. In many areas a room with coffee and donuts for up to 30 people is well under $100.

Check Craigslist ( http://craigslist.org ) and/or Kijiji ( http://kijiji.com ) and use them yourself to reach out to your local community. There are appropriate areas on both of these websites for you to offer your services and do some prospecting for free.

Use these ideas or a combination of them to find something that works for you. Don’t stop until you discover just which combination of educating and prospecting will keep your sales funnel and your pipeline full.