Social media - supporting your retention strategy

In so many situations, the soft option is to win loyalty by discounting.

Of course, we all know that retailers have trained Australians to look always for discounts and now they have to live with that. But for the rest of us, social media is here to stay and waiting for us to sweep up the opportunity.

But it’s certainly not a soft option. It’s not straightforward for most of us.

Probably no one knows where social media will play out, but the important thing right now is to get into the space. You’ll be a long way behind if you wait for a full answer to every question before you make your grand entrance into this all-embracing channel.

Relevance is the factor that drives customer loyalty today, and provides differentiation in a crowded market.

Many (maybe ‘most’) businesses are still struggling with how to engage customers in a social media-driven world. One viable solution is to use social media to change the marketing thought process. It can help you to think like a customer. For example, the growth of the internet has created a 'right now' society, so brands must recognise and respond to this change, both quickly and appropriately.

Customers demand easy access to information, whether you are Telstra or AXA or a boutique beer. When something is advertised, it's not acceptable to run out of stock or to have call centre representatives who don’t know about it. The correct, updated information has to be instantly available through any channel that the prospect chooses to use.

This process is all about convenience and adapting to customer desires to enhance their experience. Brands that are able to successfully answer questions and target the consumer in their time of need will be best positioned for growth and will be the most likely to maintain a loyal following.

Social media offers brands an excellent opportunity to connect with customers directly to handle complaints, as customers are actually much more likely to express their dissatisfaction online than in a store.

When problems arise, why not Tweet your way back into the hearts of customers? Although brands strive for positive feedback and customer recommendations, they must also be equipped to handle the bad exposure.

Participating in an online discussion to show customers that the brand is accessible and listens to what they are saying can reap tremendous benefits. A simple validation that customer suggestions are appreciated and acknowledged will earn their respect — and often their future business.

Adopting such tactics will also help to confirm that the brand really does aim to enhance the customer's experience.