Traditional marketing techniques do a good job of sharing information about products or services with potential customers. But new techniques are always coming into being and getting added to the playbook. Social selling is the latest technique on the rise, and it has proven results. This technique is something that’s going to stay around for the foreseeable future simply because it works. In fact, a business that doesn’t use social selling can have lower profitability than one that does. However, you may be wondering “what is social selling and why should I use it?”
Understanding Social Selling
Social selling is the art of marketing products or services on social media without making the promotions feel like a harsh attack on a potential customer’s sensibilities. Instead of an ad that autoplays a video that gets turned off instantly by a viewer, social selling is the art of developing a relationship with customers before the customers are aware that the relationship is being built.
This point may sound a little odd, but it’s the result of salespeople learning about customers, then using the information to approach and engage with the customers. The traditional niceties are observed, but much of the “getting to know you” is eliminated when salespeople demonstrate they can address the problem with the least amount of words spoken.
How to Use Social Selling
If you’re using a sales force to find customers, chances are good that your sales team members have done everything they can to generate leads, including cold calling. Cold calling, one of the oldest forms of marketing, doesn’t work as well as once thought. People are bombarded with advertising left and right, and they have become more resistant to efforts from salespeople they don’t recognize. Social selling gets around these issues because salespeople can generate lead information from the potential customers themselves.
Every day, people share personal information on social media for others to read. In turn, salespeople can collect data points from these posts and use them to identify people who are most likely to turn into customers. People like when someone has insight into their needs and can address them while offering a little compassion for their plight. This strategy converts more people into customers than other selling techniques.
How Social Selling Can Improve Profitability
Customers can get the feeling that a company has an interest in their lives by making their lives better through a product or service. When offering special offers for a product or service, people are more likely to buy. Not only are they more likely to buy, but they’re also more likely to become repeat customers. Your business benefits with an increase in profits along with steady returns in the future.
You’ll find much to like about social selling. It takes less effort than other forms of marketing, doesn’t cost as much, and creates better customer engagement. In return, customers show their appreciation by buying more products. They are more likely to be loyal to your company, tell their friends, and help you increase your customer base.
