With all of the technology available to your customers, putting an ad in the phone book and following up with them once a year is no longer enough to guarantee repeat business. You need to use technology to connect with customers and encourage interaction. Twitter is one of the best tools for encouraging this type of connection. It also costs very little, making it an effective communication strategy for your business.
Business Updates
Let your customers know about new products and services, staff changes and other important business news via the Twitter interface. Make short announcements that get the message across without exceeding the 140-character limit. Include links to longer announcements on your blog or company website.
Ask for Input
When developing new products or deciding which services to offer, you need to consider the customer first. Your marketing team members may have great ideas, but they might not be exactly what your customers need. Use Twitter to take surveys or solicit feedback from those who follow your tweets. You will gather valuable information you can use to improve your business.
Customer Service
In the past, unhappy customers would call you and make a complaint. Today, many people skip this step entirely and post about their problems with your company on Facebook and Twitter. Since this type of publicity can harm your business, it is important that you handle any complaints properly. Set up custom searches to search for tweets with your company name or product name in them. If you come across a complaint, respond professionally. Offer to assist the customer and resolve any outstanding issues. If other Twitter users see you responding quickly, they may be willing to try your products or services.
Respond to Tweets
The whole idea behind using Twitter for business is getting customers engaged with your brand. If someone asks a question about your business, respond as soon as possible. Not only will you be providing good customer service, you’ll also be posting helpful information that can help turn other Twitter users into customers.
Follow and Promote Others
You don’t necessarily want to promote your competitors when using Twitter, but you should find other companies to follow and talk about. Try to find companies with products and services related to your niche. If you run a sporting goods store, you might want to follow companies that produce hunting gear, fishing poles and camping equipment. You can promote their products and suggest that your followers visit your store to buy them.
Get Staff Members Involved
One of the many problems with using automated menus for customer service is that customers start to think you don’t care about their concerns. Letting people see that you have great staff members that want to provide good customer service is an excellent way to connect with customers. Allow your staff members to send out tweets or make regular updates to your blog. You might even consider creating a schedule so that every staff member gets to make at least one or two tweets per week. This will help your customers get to know your staff members so they feel comfortable contacting you with questions and concerns.
Brand Yourself
When you spend valuable time and money creating a brand for yourself, you should be sharing it with customers so they always have your company in their minds. Customize your Twitter account with a background made from your logo or company color scheme. Make sure you use a Twitter account name that is your real business name. You want to come across as authentic, so avoid using a fake account name.
Post a Company Bio
Unfortunately, many businesses do not take the time to educate people about their products and services. Creating a complete Twitter profile is one of the best ways to broadcast information to a broad audience. Create a compelling biography that tells the story of your company and lets people know about the products or services you offer. Talk about the company’s managers and staff members so customers feel like there are real people listening to their concerns. If you have photos from your company picnic or latest staff retreat, post them to your account so your followers can see them.
