Social Media Works If You Actually Listen To Your Customers [Video]

Social Media Works If You Actually Listen To Your Customers [Video]

Do People On Social Media Only Want Free Stuff? Is social media populated by freeloaders and poor people? Huh?

I've been working with a company that is dabbling with social media but really hasn't grasped it. They just don't get it.

They have a product that they market that has a pricepoint of $1,000.00 and an ongoing cost of about $300.00 per week. Pretty steep to say the least.

Over the last 5 months we've developed a community of engaged fans and followers who love talking about the product's topic and have enthusiastically registered for contests and information but haven't bought anything as of yet.

So with the company concerned, we set out to find out what people aren't buying. Since we have built a very engaging community, the best way to ascertain what the problem is, we simply asked them.

The fans and followers responded en masse and were very open and honest in their replies and comments.

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Some said that the price was too high. Some said that there was no guarantee associated with the purchase. Some even said they were saving money for the purchase. And we even had some ask if there was a payment plan.

Not one single person said the product sucked or that they were not interested. That's some pretty compelling data wouldn't you say. It's also some pretty actionable data one would conclude as well.

But there's one big problem. Although social media is the ultimate way to communicate with your customers and potential customers, it only works if you actually listen to them.

You see, this company instead of accepting the data as real, simply discounted what the community said and ignored them. In fact I was sent what might be the most ignorant email I have ever read in regards to how a company feels about its customers.

The email read..and I quote.. "People are claiming poverty- no surprise to me here. What this is telling me is that FB may not have the most qualified leads for our product. Seems more of a place for people to congregate and look for free things."

People buy from companies they trust. People buy from companies that deliver good and services that they want.

As the movie says, what we have here is failure to communicate..not from the consumer…they are flat out telling the company what they want.

The company just isn't listening. Before you say that social media doesn't work, be sure to really assess things and determine just exactly what's not working. Often times the answer is clear.

Just make sure you're not the last to know.