When social selling is done well, consumers won't even realize they've been sold something. Instead, their purchase will seem to be the result of a friendly conversation. When done poorly, social selling seems pushy, aggressive, tacky and annoying. Here are three tips to keep in mind as you develop a friendly, but not insistent, social selling scenario.
Know Your Audience
E-commerce sites are in an excellent position to garner quite a bit of information about their customers and potential customers. Site metrics reveal when a visitor decided to exit the site, the items they may have abandoned in their cart, which shipping services they prefer and when they are most likely to click on an item. Brick-and-mortar businesses don't have this kind of information. So, use it to your advantage.
Understand consumer tastes at a granular level and customize follow-up emails and social media posts. For instance, an international customer might prefer courier services for their most needed items. Once you have established this pattern you can offer a one-time discounted courier service for that customer or you can choose international services that cater to a specific region. This attention to detail comes across as a convenience for the customer and not as an aggressive sales tactic.
Remain Customer-Centered
Business-to-business organizations do best with social selling strategies that remain centered on the issues that make customers' businesses thrive or dive. On social streams from LinkedIn to Instagram, prospects will engage with content that is tailored to their immediate concerns. If you are in the business of selling commercial-grade air filters, for instance, then you might consider sharing information relevant to air quality in your region or the impact of new regulations on industry standards. Center on customer concerns and not your product. This strategy helps to build your organization's online credibility. You become a source of information and not a source of shameless plugs.
Provide Value and Quality
In keeping with customer-centered strategies, providing value and quality is essential when attempting to build ongoing relationships with potential prospects. If you think of your social selling strategy as ongoing then your social presence will take on an air of confidence and reliability. Organizations that pursue a smash-and-grab approach by sharing trending hashtags and closing in on conversions run the risk of being viewed as opportunistic or desperate. Instead of grabbing every lead and pressuring for a sale, build relationships that value the long-term and share quality content. Not every site visitor will become a lead and not every site visitor is a prospect but their impression of you and your organization will matter when it comes time for a referral.
If you would like more information on how to meet your clients' customized shipping needs or personalized courier services, then please contact us.
