There is a saying in the strategic communication and marketing profession: meet people where they live . The essence is you communicate to target audiences where and when they are predisposed to receive your message, not how and where YOU want to send it.
What does that mean for sales professionals and business owners? You get more mileage from every marketing dollar when you use the same communication channels as your customers. You may not believe Twitter or TikTok have a place in business, but if your audience is teens and 20-somethings, you’re likely giving up market share.
That doesn’t mean you should chase every new fad, or that Twitter is right for a B2C business serving a specific geographic area. It does mean that making it easier for people to contact you the way THEY want to reach out equals more inbound leads.
Here are a few options to consider, that are more important now than ever:
Website chat — Ideally manned by a live CSR during office hours, but automated chatbots are helpful, too.
SMS messaging — Letting leads and customers contact you via text is easier than ever, and doesn’t have to mean giving out personal cell numbers.
Message integration — There are several apps that coordinate incoming messages and CSR replies into one platform, so you don’t have to separately monitor online chat, SMS, Facebook messages, Twitter direct messages, website forms and more.
If you’re not sure where your customers are, the first step is simple: Ask them. Call the 10 most recent customers and ask, “How could we have made communication better?” Would they have preferred texting? How about web chat? For real insight, call 10 recent leads that got away and ask the same question.
The answers will help you become even stronger.
