How to Capture the Internet Dividend
Here’s a little tip about a mistake nearly every small business and entrepreneur gets wrong. Its simple. The tip is that the conversation is practically never about you and its always about your customer.
Apparently its not that easy for businesses to comprehend the social networking paradigm. Harder again for them to capitalise on the phenomenon. Take the example of a blog and Twitter set-up for a standard three star restaurant run by Joe and Jill in Sydney, Australia. Both their blog and Twitter web strategies broadcast their spiel – specials, come to Joe and Jills, the atmosphere at Joe and Jill’s is the best in the world… Joe and Jill’s steak tonight at 7.40pm is 30 per cent off…
Seriously, if you’re a Joe and Jill, would you ever read a website anything like that? Would you go back to one? No. So why plug away at that blanket strategy where the broadcast is the equivalent of a sad old community radio station? You’re on the Internet – you’re using social networking and Web 2.0 tools for collaboration and user feedback. Why aren’t you excited?
Here’s the thing – stop broadcasting your spiel and just be yourself. Share your PASSION from their perspective. Discuss coffee, the quality of grapes in this year’s vintage, ask questions about what interests your customers, share quirky moments and make it all about them and nothing about you. Act as though you don’t even run a restaurant with a profit motive… let the profit work itself out as the by-product of providing good service.
Let go of the fear that when you lose control of the message the world will fall apart. If you’re any good at what you do for a living that just won’t happen.
Joe and Jill might imagine the Internet as their business opportunity to create touchpoints with their customers. An opportunity to always talk about the customers’ interests and provide them with value enhancing experience. Its the exact opposite of the spiel. Its like going to the market and having Hartzview Vineyard pull you aside and give you two nips of their liqueur for no other reason than to share the experience… how could I not like Hartzview Vineyard after that happened? When I finish my MBA I would consider working for them… we’ll see.
In two weeks I’ve told about 20 people of my Hartzview Vineyard experience… I’m considering buying some of their Spiced Apple and Honey Liqueur Meade (served warm). I’ve blogged about the experience and talked about them on Facebook and Twitter. What did it cost them? Two nips and an interaction about my experience…
Versus useless strategies like the cold call… the blog spiel… or the self-promoting Twitter (that drive me bonkers!). So Hartzview Vineyard get this paradigm… you should copy their ideas…
Joe and Jill should use the opportunity of each touchpoint to provide customers with something special – a small experience, a gift or a value-added something. No strings attached. Simply a brush on the hand that says they are aware of these people on a more personal level. The result over time will be that customers grow to love the restaurant and the people who own it… and the benefit from the loyalty and trust built out of the relationship will be increased profitability and business success.
I’m writing this article because its sadly evident that a lot of small businesses and entrepreneurs really do have their arse screwed onto the top of their neck when it comes to the Internet dividend. Put yourselves in the place of the reader or the customer. What would you want out of a restaurant experience?
Even more to the point, what would you want out of a restaurant relationship?
Your strategies and processes can be copied by your competitors as fast as you make them successful but intangibles like relationships are pure GOLD.
