Think about your favorite restaurant. What’s special about it? The ambiance, service, menu, value, location – a combination of these attributes? Whatever it is that has you hooked, you are, indeed hooked. You wouldn’t hesitate to rattle off a list of reasons why you recommend this place to your friends, family and pretty much anyone who possesses a tongue populated by taste buds. If we were to estimate your value to that restaurant…you’d probably be somewhere in the gold to platinum range.
When you think about your business’ most important assets, what comes to mind? Proximity to customers/clients, availability of products, expertise in your field, vendor relationships, large inventory? You work hard to maintain these assets to ensure your company’s success. However, if your business’ asset list omits top clients, you are overlooking a HUGE opportunity. Not because your best clients patronize your business, but because they consistently market your business for you!
This is one of the reasons why social media marketing is growing so rapidly. Your best customers have always served as your top marketers and social media networks provide more opportunities to empower these “uber patrons.” See for yourself. Take a look at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens Facebook Page. You’ll see that not only do they utilize Facebook to inform about upcoming events; they also empower their audience to share experiences. In doing so, they give a platform and amplification to their brand ambassadors, who willingly market “the Morikami” to friends, family members and the local community.
You may say to yourself, well, my business is B to B − there are no lovely rock gardens, romantic bridges or flowering plants. Our best clients are business people, isn’t that a horse of a different color? Yes…and no. The type of engagement may be different, but the dynamics are the same. Business to business clients refer preferred business partners all the time. We refer local PR agencies and PR agencies are among our top sources for new business leads. Social media networks provide us with opportunities to publicly thank and promote business partners (B to B clients), establishing mutual ambassadorship, enthusiastically promoting each other’s business. We feature each other’s Facebook Pages, promote each other on Twitter and within LinkedIn profile updates.
Interested in maximizing customer, client or business partner relationships for your company? Let’s talk.
