• by Neil Rosen , July 9, 2013

A few years ago I wrote a book in which I posit that social media has changed the whole online playing field for e-marketers, and that becoming part of the online conversation—the chatter—is essential if marketers want to survive and flourish.

That observation becomes more and more relevant every day. Because now, more than ever, your competition is finding new and different ways to reach your prospects and customers … and make them their own.

How are they doing it? Think for a moment of all the available cost-saving opportunities—and there’s not a customer out there who isn’t concerned about cost. There are Groupon coupons. There are sponsored links. Promotions are in your face on Facebook. Google tells you where to shop. And the list goes on …

The reality is that competing on price alone is a loser’s game. There will always be someone who can undercut you. There will always be someone with a bigger advertising budget, more people on their salesforce, more creative ways to lure people in. 

So maybe it’s time to stop thinking about competing. Maybe you should stop spending your time, energy, and money working a marketplace where your voice is easily drowned out by others who will always be able to shout louder than you can. Maybe you should be just doing what you do best.

Paradoxically, it’s by doing just that—creating and producing a superior product or service and linking it to the best customer service in the business—that you’ll find yourself not only keeping your current customers, but also gaining more. Instead of focusing on your competition, focus on supporting and growing relationships with your core customers, because that’s the way that you will turn them into your best salesforce.

The reality is that they already are—or could be. Social media has taken the power from advertisers and put it into the hands of consumers, and when people get really excited about a company with which they do business, they share their positive experiences with colleagues, friends, and family. Most importantly, they will passionately recommend your company to everyone who will listen. Your customers are your best ambassadors, as long as you give them the tools and information they need to become your advocates and ambassadors. 

Those tools aren’t difficult to find. “Shares” and “likes” are a keystroke away in social media forums, and the forward-to-a-friend option is available on most emails. Give those tools to your most enthusiastic customers, and you won’t be paying a penny for advertising. Great CRM results in great sales. 

How? You can make the customer service experience over-the-top easy and straightforward. That may be the single most effective CRM and sales tool out there. 

You can also work with price, but not in the way you think: make it more worthwhile for everyone than a simple markdown. What about a group discount? Get your friends and colleagues together for this special?

I’ve written in this space before about having your own branded community as part of your website, and I remain convinced that it enables customers to feel more a part of your company. And when they feel a part of it, it’s a natural progression to want to draw others in. 

Take a look at your website, your Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn presence, and make them into a dialogue rather than a monologue. Don’t be afraid to initiate and/or respond to product discussions. This allows your customers to feel a part of the company, like what they say matters and may even improve the product in its next iteration. Ownership is a big part of good CRM.

 Remember that you have to put in the time and the effort to giving your customers that sense of ownership. How? By following up with them, by using transition marketing techniques if they’re new to your company, by sending them relevant offers and specials, by making sure that every contact they have with your company is positive (and “making it right” if ever it isn’t), and by asking them to share their experiences with others.

You can generate great sales through CRM, and talk about two birds with one stone! Try it, and let me know how it works for you.