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Customer Acquisition and Social Media Not Mutually Exclusive

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Social Sales Strategies - Influence Marketing

In a social world that considers relationship-building or the acquisition of followers, fans, and “Likes” the holy grail of measurement and ROI, the word “sell” has become a four-letter profanity.  Whatever your social media strategy and tactical plans are, never attempt to sell your products or services, or so the social media strategists tell us.

Yet, as marketing practitioners there’s only so far we go with that measurement. Eventually, as written about previously, marketers’ budgets and success are based on answering the inevitable C-Suite question: “How much money was made from that campaign?” or “What was the ROI of that program?”

While I truly believe in the value of branding, as well as in community- and relationship-building through social channels, for sales and marketing departments results are only truly measurable when those efforts are connected to a sales acquisition or customer development strategy. Yet, with so many case studies and social media strategists claiming the superiority of building relationships vs. selling in social media, how can a business reconcile the two?

Building awareness and nurturing relationships are part of the sales cycle and often done exceptionally well and cost effectively through social channels. But without asking for the sale or “the close,” C-Suite executives, boards of directors, and shareholders see little value in this social activity. And it’s their opinion that will ultimately decide the fate of marketing budgets and careers.

If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them

So what’s the answer? The marketing community has been working overtime to educate those senior stakeholders on the value of social media and social community, which continues to be an uphill struggle.

My take: If you can’t beat them, join them. Technology has progressed to a point where a brand’s social media engagement with its customers – and that which occurs among its customers – can be tracked, analyzed, and utilized to connect conversations to lead generation, lead conversion, and ultimately, customer life time value measurement.

Social Sales Strategies - Influence Marketing

On December 4th, 2014 I will be presenting a business plan for social media customer acquisition and ROI measurement, using modern influence marketing strategies, to a group of executives at the Redmond, Washington offices of Mantis Technology Group, a data analytics solution provider.

During this presentation, I’ll be describing how businesses can use available social media monitoring and data analytic software to identify how customers make purchase decisions, who sways those purchase decisions, and the situational factors that affect them. Combined, the methodology and technology will deliver a blueprint for B2B, B2C, and non-profit businesses seeking to capitalize on their online communities and social engagements.

If you’re in the area, please join us! The event is free thanks to sponsors TicTalking and Mantis Technology Group but space is limited.  Reserve your spot today!

 


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