Old School Marketing Trumps Twitter — It’s All About the Customer
July 24, 2009 by Mary Ellen
Everyone gathered at The Bluetop Café in the morning. Coffee flowed freely and a buzz of conversation rose and fell. When a stranger sat down, the buzz faded, and then rose again. Most travelers and those new to town wanted coffee. A few brave souls introduced themselves. The old timers sat for hours and tipped a quarter when they left.
Call it Twitter – offline Twitter, or old school. Community made it so. Icons like Bluetop Gloria from Mom and Pop businesses of the past connect us to community.
In a blog post “Nonna Rosa crushes Social Media Gurus” Lewis Green elaborated:
Nonna wouldn’t have ignored the value of social media, but she wouldn’t have depended upon it for a major piece of her revenue either. She would have seen social media much like the signs in her windows and the advertising on the back of her bench–another way to reach out to people and to grow her brand.
Nevertheless, she would have used social media well. She would understand the differences between conversation, comments, subscriptions, links, clicks and sales. She would have used that information to know her best customers from those who want to stop by and chat. She would have focused on the best customers, without ignoring the potential of the chattering class. And she would learn what both groups wanted and needed and given it to them, always with an eye to revenues and profits. For while she might not focus on revenues and instead put her best efforts in making people happy, her business required income to achieve her primary mission of creating great customer experiences.
His conclusion railed against those doing social media for its own sake:
To stay in business and bring some money home, networking, socializing and sharing need to result in sales if they are to have value for either shopkeeper or consumer. In other words, simply putting a sign in the window or launching a blog do not marketing and sales make.
A headline in yesterday’s New York Times shouted community AND waved the social media flag: “Mom and Pop operators turn to Social Media.” The featured Claire Cain Miller article emphasizes Twitter and its success for small business owners across the country.
Three people brought the article to my attention, probably because of my involvement with the Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance. (Disclosure: I currently serve as board president for the non-profit organization.)
It’s hard not to envision immediate success when you add social media. The hype surrounding Twitter, the fact that its numbers continue to double every couple of months, feeds that illusion. A small business involved in AIBA may join Twitter as a result of this and similar articles. No matter.
Old school or new…it’s all about the relationships.
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