Getting to Know You
23 Jan 2014How do you get to know your customers? Two hundred years ago, if you were a shop owner, you’d just have a quick chat down at your local pub or marketplace (or other community centre). Advertisers and marketers have always looked to large scale purchasing trends, but on-the-ground sales people have always needed a relationship with their customers. As time has gone on, it has become more and more difficult to find out information about individual customers.
That is, until the rise of social media.
Social media has now moved away from being an unknown entity to being (debately) one of the most dominant arenas where we conduct our public lives. We used to share information about how things were going in our lives in the market place and pub, i.e. the community centres. Now, we share it on sites like Facebook and Twitter.
And just like the shop owners two hundred years ago, getting to know your customers is best done in the centre of the community.
We’ve added a new feature to OpenCRM (available from Version 3.5 onwards) that allows you to easily link a lead, contact, or company’s social media profile(s)1 to their record in your OpenCRM system. When you click on the username, it takes you straight to their profile.
Instead of just dropping an email to a contact or lead, with no idea of their likes/dislikes, their availability, or their areas of interest, you can now have a quick peek at their Twitter feed or Facebook page. As a quick example, let’s say you’re about to call one of your leads regarding a product or service they asked about yesterday, but before you do, you have a quick peek at the company’s Facebook page. It looks like getting ready to launch a new product, their latest post: “Keep your eyes peeled next week, we’ll be announcing the newest thing in…”
Thanks to social media, you now know that the office you’re about to call might be a bit hectic. It might also give you an insight into why they’re interested in your product or service. It all goes back to that old adage that knowledge is power. You don’t have to watch your customers and prospects like Big Brother, but having an insight into their lives can help you tailor your approach (and even product/service) to their needs and wants.
If you’re interested in enabling this feature, have a read through this FAQ to see just how easy it is.
1. Includes Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube.
Although I originally hail from northern California, as soon as I arrived in Yorkshire I knew it was the place for me! At OpenCRM, I started out in the Business Development team, and then moved into compliance and Q&A because I love telling people what to do…ok, that’s not the real reason, but it makes for a good bio one-liner. When I’m not in the office, you can usually find me tramping through the dales, crafting, gardening, or with my nose in a book.