Recent research reports mixed reviews of the benefits of social media like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for small business. A Citibank study reports that the majority of small-business executives found social networks no good for expanding their business. But Ad-ology’s Small Business Marketing Forecast 2010 reports that 50% of respondents feel that lead generation is in fact the biggest benefit.
Perhaps social media is one area where small businesses can actually take a lesson from big business. As a recent home buyer, I have been dealing with a lot of vendors and contractors for my home. I have used Twitter as a medium to report my customer experience — both good and bad — and to my surprise it was large business like Comcast and Home Depot that stepped up to the plate fastest with replies. My Comcast complaint went all the way to the Blue Ridge Regional Director who apparently told the installation team to “treat the account with white gloves.” Responsibly I Tweeted back to the world my compliments. When a Home Depot contractor dropped the ball on a job, the corporate customer service team stepped in and sent out their counter top expert. Problem solved quickly = happy customer.
Not all small businesses have call centers, help desks or full-size customer service teams. In many cases the sales manager owns all those responsibilities and more. But a wise investment for most small businesses would be to hire a junior marketing associate to manage the company’s reputation online. After all, it’s really brand that we’re talking about…and perception is reality.
-Melissa Richards
Founder, iMarketingMix
