Most businesses want more customers.
Or if they have too many customers, then they want to get more out of their current customers.
I don’t know anyone, not in either of those situations.
They have a Facebook page and do some PR, but wonder why they don’t have as many customers as they want.
Or they have an email list and do some advertising, but wonder why they don’t have as many customers as they want.
Or they have some great PR and do some paid placement, but wonder why they don’t have as many customers as they want.
I coach and consult to a lot of small businesses on marketing and sales and one of the most common statements I hear is “we are going to get more customers via social media.”
LOL.
As soon as I hear that I immediately know they have no idea of what they are talking about.
They have heard some advice about social media being the be-all-and-end-all of customer acquisition.
Don’t get me wrong; it can be.
But there is quite a bit of nuance to social media and how it relates to sound principles of marketing and sales.
The vast majority of prospects (remember those are the people who are not yet customers) come from sources.
Those sources have two differentiating elements – control and ownership.
The legal structure called a company also has control and ownership.
Both are important, yet very different.
Paid sources of prospects are where your brand controls but DOESN’T own the pipeline of prospects.
This is sources such as advertising, paid placement and so on.
Yes, social media fits in here.
Earned sources of prospects are where your brand both DOESN’T control and DOESN’T own the pipeline of prospects.
This is sources such as PR, SEO, social shares and so on.
Yes, social media fits in here.
Owned sources of prospects are where your brand both controls and owns the pipeline of prospects.
These are sources such as your email list, social media pages and so on.
Yes, social media fits in here.
I tried to make it obvious, but here it is: social media could come from all three sources
Social media advertising, social shares and a fan page respectively, for example.
Businesses that want more customers, or have too many customers and want to get more out of their current customers, need to use all three sources in combination, not just solo or in a pair!
So, how do you use control and ownership in the context of paid, earned and owned prospect sources to get more customers?
It’s simple, yet not very obvious.
You get prospects you paid for (that you control but you DON’T own) through advertising, paid placement and so on to qualify themselves and turn them into an owned source.
There are lots of ways to do this.
You get prospects you earned (that you DON’T control and you DON’T own) through PR, SEO, social shares and so on to qualify themselves and turn them into an owned source.
Again, there are lots of ways to do this.
You then use those once paid and earned prospects as owned prospects and market and sell to them through your email list, social media pages and so on.
Want more prospects?
Just turn on the paid, earned and owned prospect pipeline taps all at once.
“We are going to get more customers via social media” as it’s a useless statement.
Snapchat filters, Twitter hashtags and Instagram photos alone are fluff, and you’re most likely wasting your time and money.
Don’t repeat silly mistakes!
It’s not based on some pimply teenage who thinks the social media bandwagon is cool.