Generating a sale is a beautiful thing, but what happens when the honeymoon period of wooing a new client is over? Earning the customer’s trust and building a strong client relationship should be an integral part of maintaining a successful business.
People’s expectations of transparency and quality are higher than ever before. Unlike the days of “Mad Men”, today’s consumers don’t trust advertising and controlled messaging. They want to know whom they are doing business with, and they want to be heard. Creating and keeping a loyal client should be like nurturing any one on one relationship. Your business has to learn to create a meaningful dialogue, listen and respond in a very timely manner.
At Barcelona Creative, we love the impact that social media tools have had on the way the world conducts business. Companies that embrace these tools are taking a pro-active approach to engaging their audience. They are reaching out, allowing consumers to comment, praise and criticize them.
But more importantly, they are willing to open their doors to their customers’ opinions.
The beautiful thing about listening to the good, bad and ugly from your customers is the ability to really understand their needs. Learning what people want from your people, product or service is invaluable, and responding to those insights can create a strong loyalty to your brand.
Sometimes gaining customer feedback can result in making positive changes to your business. When that happens, it’s important to communicate those changes with your current and potential customers to let them know you were really listening. Staying in touch through social media tools, email blasts, video commentary and even more traditional forms of media are essential to increase brand awareness and maintain customer relations.
True leaders, no matter what industry they are in, are constantly thinking of new ways to delight their customers. From employee social media training to reiterating a corporate code of ethics, great companies continue to evolve and improve, and, more importantly, they do a great job of letting their customers and colleagues know about it. These companies realize the positive impact that cultivating relationships has on bettering the customer experience.
The fact is, competition is intense in every industry and customers have way too many choices. Loyalty will be granted to the brands that consistently earn it. Ongoing communication and open dialogue can keep your company miles ahead of your competition.
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Video: An Effective Marketing Tool
There is no doubt that web video is growing in popularity with no end in sight. Recent reports show that 80% of the entire internet audience views a video every single month*. Even more impressive, YouTube, the 2nd largest search engine behind Google, states that 2 billion videos are watched everyday*.
Videos are not just being viewed while sitting in front of the television. In fact, 25% of Americans said that they watched a video on their phone in the past month. With this massive audience, strategic use of web video can be an extremely effective way to promote your brand.
Be Strategic
Although web video is popular, it still has to be eye-catching and create an impact. much like an effective blog post. It takes strategy to make a video become viral, or to instill a lasting effect on its audience. Just like any marketing tactic, if it doesn’t provide a “wow factor”, it’s more than likely going to be passed by. It takes strategy and creativity to make a video become viral and instill a lasting effect on the viewer. When creating a video, ask yourself why you’re doing it, what marketing question does it answer and how does it solve a problem for the audience. Having these answers can help create a solid foundation for your use of video and move you closer to opening a new door for promoting your brand.
Be Interesting
Even when it comes to video, content is king. Regardless of access to deep pockets or a stacked creative team, your video can incorporate meaningful content and provide your audience with solutions. There should be a reason for people to view your videos and if done properly, your video will urge viewers to check for more videos in the future. Creating compelling content will create a greater following and carry your message to a larger audience.
Be Persistent
Being persistent is a vital. To build a consistent and loyal following, your videos need to not only have strategic content, but there needs to be a consistent follow up with future videos. No matter how compelling your initial video is, people will lose interest quickly if new content is not released on a consistent basis.
While video is a much more interactive way to reach your customers, it has a lot of the same characteristics as other main stream marketing tools. Much like anything worthwhile, practice makes perfect. So be strategic, be persistent and create a compelling, purposeful message.
(*Comscore Statistic and *YouTube Fact Sheet)
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