“I don’t like marketing” is an absolutely fine statement
There are a lot more people in the world who don’t like marketing, don’t like sales and don’t like promotion than there are those who like them
If you went around a room of 50 business owners and asked who likes marketing the vast majority would keep their hands down
But it’s only a fine statement if you’ve got someone in your business who does your marketing or you outsource your marketing
If you’re the only one in your business and you say “I don’t like marketing and I won’t do anything about it” then you have a problem
No Marketing = No Customers = No Business
Social Media is often the 1st impression customers have of your business
Take this phrase
“My Social Media is poor, I know it is & I won’t do anything about it”
Replace the words “social media” with
– Customer Service
– Product Offering
– Shop Window
Would you still do nothing?
You probably have memories of businesses who really stand out as having poor Customer Service, Product Offering and Show Window
Equally you have memories of businesses who stand out as having amazing Customer Service, Product Offering and Shop Windows
Here’s a look at the former
CUSTOMER SERVICE – WH SMITH
In my home town everyone has memories from the 80’s and 90’s of one specific retail assistant in my local WH Smiths
The customer service was terrible
It was almost like it was an inconvenience you actually wanted to buy something and give them money
As a teenager it was comically so bad it was almost bordering on Fawlty Towers good
But on a serious note we’ve all got at least one story where the customer service is so bad in a business that you’d ever go there ever again
Years later in the Social Media age of course WH Smith has a parody Twitter account called @whs_carpet which shares hilarious fails
WH Smith now survives on the Train Station and Airport Outlets where it has a captive audience rather than because of great high street customer service
PRODUCT OFFERING – RACKHAMS
Our local Rackhams store is closing down next month
Once upon a time it was the jewel in the House Of Fraser Chain and a Kendals / Harrods for a small town like Altrincham
In recent years it’s been limping along to a slow painful death after an attempted rescue by Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley
The problem with Rackhams for many years is it’s stopped offering the product ranges people want
It’s no longer become a store you shop in or even browse on the off chance you might find something
Rackhams is an example, that despite a strong history and nostalgic reputation, your product offering has to be strong or you will fail
SHOP WINDOW – THE OLD BIKE SHOP OPPOSITE THE STATION
I can’t quite remember when it closed down
But just as you come out of Altrincham Interchange there used to be an old Bike shop
It looked like it had been popular in the 1960’s and been left to rot
You always felt sorry for the pub to the left and the hairdressers to the right of it as it impacted the whole street
In the last few months it’s been tarted up and hopefully will come back into use again
But isn’t it true that we make split second decisions on a business after looking at the shop windowy
It’s like a book – we often wisely or unwisely judge it by a cover
SOCIAL MEDIA – IS THIS YOUR FAILING?
You’ve just read about examples of Poor Customer Service, Poor Product Offering and Poor Window Displays
It goes without saying that with each of those you acknowledge there were problems and you do something about problems or risk your business
Social Media is as pivotal as all of those
It’s your 24/7 customer service, product offering and shop window rolled into one
What makes Social Media harder is it isn’t just one channel. You have Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogging which all might be successful routes to market depending on your business type
It’s never been OK to say “My Social Media is poor, I know it is & I won’t do anything about it”
Over to you
NEED HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA?
Chat to us about Social Media Marketing for YOUR organisation , so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your organisation
We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting with you
Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services
We offer Social Media Training on
* Twitter
* Facebook
* LinkedIn
* Instagram
* Blogging
We can do this
* 121
* Corporate Workshops
* Group Workshops
* Face to Face or Via Zoom / Skype
Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
