Marketing: Connect with customers

Q. Where is time best spent on social media? 

A. Social media created the opportunity for virtual relationships and increased touch points directly with a potential customer base. The customer and how they're serviced is leading that digital revolution. Consider that with every dollar invested into customer service, on average, it pays a three-fold return.

Create Brand Loyalty

More than half of consumers state that they're more brand loyal to companies that “get them” and this starts with something as simple as how we communicate with them. Everyone has felt the awkward reaction when you call someone inadvertently by the wrong name. Consider this feeling when addressing your followers on social media. Often in the HME space, the names “patient,” “client” and “customer” are used interchangeably when they truly are different. Patients refers to individuals receiving medical care, clients are those receiving expertise or services and customers are purchasing something from you. While it seems small, the words we use shape our reality.

Be Solutions Oriented

Engaging comments and messages should be solutions oriented. Consider questions as opportunities to educate and conflicts as opportunities to shine. Each comment you respond with pushes your content back into news feeds and more importantly, it's human nature to want a response. Have you ever commented or asked a question on a post, only for your post or comment to be left unanswered? It's frustrating to be misunderstood, or worse, ignored.

Serve the Consumer

A common misconception about social media is that no one reads so just post a picture and a few words and move on. Social media is also about storytelling and connection, therefore “long”-format posts often get good engagement because you're connecting more with your following. Remember that when someone follows you, they invite you into their news feed to serve them, not you. Does this mean don't post about your company, product or mission - absolutely not! Just remember that your customers are the backbone of your business, so content has to be relatable, valuable, and intentional.