Connecting,with,Customers,usin DIY Connecting with Customers using Direct-Contact, Social Busin
When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in
WhileFacebook, Twitter and the pervasive blog continue to be included infar too many CRM discussions, the fact remains these channels relymore on push messaging than the infinitely more valuablepractice of collaborative engagement. Further, Facebook and Twitterare typically presented as business-centric venues that diminish theproactive involvement of customers looking to advance their ownagendas.CollaborativeEngagementWhiletraditional social media channels have their uses, the mostproductive interaction with your customers requires an environmentwhere customers have freedom to dictate the terms of engagement.Customers are generally willing to comment, often voluminously, ontheir experiences as consumers but they must be allowed to do so ontheir terms, with their own voice. Enterthe social business network.According to Forrester Research, the Enterprise Social Softwaremarket is expected to grow 860% over the next 4 years. Why? Becausecollaborative social-business forums have proven to foster win-winengagement where all participants can be rewarded for theirparticipation. Forcustomers, social business forums can become a trusted source ofproduct recommendations, unvarnished product reviews, helpful productinsights, solutions to problems, etc. Social business forums alsooffer customers a tremendous opportunity to collectively leveragerequests for product or policy changes. Moreover, supportcommunities, the fastest growing segment of all online socialplatforms, often provide information that's otherwise difficult tofind or too new to be properly documented by vendors.LeverageYour CustomersBysoliciting your most engaged customers for their input, opinion, andyes, even their criticisms, stakeholders can access priceless,real-time business intelligence that might be too difficult or costlyto obtain by other means. Such forthright and unencumberedcommunication can often produce valuable revenue generatingopportunities and/or cost savings solutions. Further,by opening direct, informal lines of communication with your mostvalued customers, you give them a venue to freely express themselvesand increase their value to you as a customer. Socialbusiness forums are also an excellent place for customersto seek and offer solutions to each others problems which can resultin higher customer support satisfaction and lowered operationalcosts. Forbusiness managers, collaborative social environments have proven togenerate sales, deepen customer loyalty, provide invaluable customerinsights, increase employee autonomy, improve internal companycommunications, and much more. LeverageYour EmployeesRegardlessof economic conditions, most employers work continuously to reduceoperational costs and increase employee efficacy. Ironically, thesesame employees are often overlooked as primary sources of innovationand improvement. The truth is, employees typically have much greaterknowledge and insight than employers utilize. Smart employers willwork to make that wealth of information readily available. Bytapping into, centralizing and publishing the collective body ofknowledge possessed by a company's workforce, myriad improvementsbecome more achievable; qualityand efficiencydecreasein overall costsdecisionsupportcustomerfocusincreasedprofitabilityimprovedplanningimprovedproduct developmentTheProBoards SolutionWhetheryou're considering social business forums to cultivate customerengagement or to enhance employee collaboration, ProBoards' unlimitedscalability, award winning feature set and proven reliabilityprovides the secure environment necessary to support your enterprisenetworking effort.
Connecting,with,Customers,usin