Customers Trying to Reach out Using Social Media

One thing that I have noticed a lot about customers is that they are trying to reach out to businesses, and that they love to leave reviews over the internet.  Many small businesses that are not using sites like Facebook or Foursquare can still find feedback on sites like the Yellow Pages and Yelp.  This feedback is very important, and can help a business owner to change something that isn't working right, or to expand upon something that is working.  Before Social Media, business owners had to rely on word of mouth or customer comment cards to see how they are doing, but now it is all at a click of the mouse.  Even more important to remember is that anybody can see the comments left, and they better do everything they can to make sure the comments are positive.

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How Social Media Helps Small Businesses

Many small businesses do not have either the time or the knowledge to fully engage in social media, and those businesses are missing out on a lot of potential customers, and profits.  Social media is an interactive way to reach out to your target market, and to show them what you have to offer.  If you can offer your market something that they can find useful, or something fun that they will seek out you are gaining exposure from them and many of their friends.  The best part of social media is that it is like word of mouth times a thousand.  If somebody "Likes" you on Facebook or comments on a post, picture, or video all of their friends can see on their wall and in their news feeds that they are a fan of yours.

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There are a few ways that Dade Sales and Marketing Consultation can help your small business:

Sales Program at Plymouth State University

Plymouth State University has one of two sales programs in New England, the other one being at the University of Connecticut.  The fact that there are only two sales programs in this region is shocking, especially when you thiink of how many sales jobs there are out there.  Most schools have a Marketing program but no Sales program, even though sales jobs outnumber marketing jobs by a long shot and a good sales professional can easily make over $100K after five years in the industry.

Location Based Social Media

Location Based Social Media is one of the newest types of social media, and it is made to attract customers to your store or restaurant.  Using smartphones, users have a Gowalla or Foursquare app that lets them search for businesses near where they are based on their location at the time, and they can "check in".  Businesses can create promotions to make coming to their place more attractive, and the more creative the promotion the better.  A restaraunt owner could have a promotion like "If 5 Foursquare users are checked in at the same time, drinks are half off" or "Free appetizers on every fifth check in".

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Follow These Steps to Make a Sale

As a salesperson, you should be able to control a conversation.  This does not mean that you should dominate the conversation, but you should be able to steer the direction in a way that will give you a better chance of making the sale.  Many salespeople think that they need to just spit out a bunch of features and the customer will see how great their product is and buy it, these people are peddlers.  A true sales professional takes as much time listening to their customer as they do talking, and there are certain steps you should take to present yourself and your product in a way that will make your customer want to buy.

Social Media Marketing for Your Business

One of the main things my business does is help other small business with their social media marketing. It has come as a surprise that many small business owners have not taken advantage of the full potential of social media marketing. I always tell people that using social media as advertising is no longer a thing of the future, and that today is the day to act. Here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to social media:

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