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Google Business Networking Tips for Building Your Small Business

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3 Ways To Grow Your BusinessGoogle Business Networking Tips for Building Your Small Business

Google Business Networking Tips for Building Your Small Business Google “business networking” and you’ll see links to articles on how to increase your Facebook Likes and Twitter followers. Connecting with potential customers and business partners via social networking is, by now, an essential part of any company’s growth. Despite the skyrocketing impact of social media over the past decade, however, the importance of old-fashioned, face-to-face networking has not faded. Shaking hands at conferences and making chit chat at cocktail parties is still one of the best ways to expand your brand’s reach, build your business, and create vital partnerships. So, just how good are your networking skills? To turn that annual conference small talk into a critical company connection, look over this list of networking Dos and Don’ts.

 

DO research who is coming

If possible, look over the guest list for any conference or party and make a mental list of those folks you want to meet. Shawna Tregunna, founder and owner of ReSoMe.com, a social media company, explores who is coming online and uses social media to reach out to fellow attendees before the event. “I watch for mentions of [the event] on social media by hashtag or name. I also check out the guest list if it is public. If I see someone I want to connect with, I look for them on Twitter or LinkedIn and [send them a Tweet or message such as] ‘I see we are both headed to XYZ event! I would love to get a chance to say hi. Looking forward to connecting!’ Then, at the event, I have a list of people I know I will connect with,” says Tregunna. Google Business Networking Tips for Building Your Small Business

 

DON’T be afraid to approach someone

“Take every advantage possible to meet new people,” says Lori Cheek, founder and CEO of Cheekd.com, a sort of reverse-engineered dating site that provides its members icebreakers they can use to introduce themselves to new people. “When attending networking events, I find that it’s most advantageous to go alone so that you’re forced to talk to new people,” suggests Cheek. “Understand everyone is there for a similar reason and, for the most part, want to make new connections, so don’t be shy—just walk up and introduce yourself. The only thing you have to lose is an opportunity.” Cheek also offers a reminder not to make quick judgments. “Efficiently communicate and never dismiss a single soul—you never know who you’re talking to, who they might know, or how they’d be able to contribute [to your company].” Google Business Networking Tips for Building Your Small Business

 

DO listen…and listen and listen

“Listen more than you talk. People invariably like someone who listens to them and makes them feel interesting and appreciated,” says Lisa Thompson, L.P.C., director of professional services for Pearson Partners International, Inc., a full-service retained executive search firm. Thompson suggests keeping your own story to a minimum. “Avoid immediately going into too much detail about what you offer. Unless they indicate a real interest by asking direct questions, you will bore them and they will want to escape,” suggests Thompson. “Practice describing what you do in just a couple of sentences.” Google Business Networking Tips for Building Your Small Business

 

DON’T stay in just your industry

Getting beyond the folks within your industry can benefit your company in surprising ways. New ideas for marketing partnerships, insight on fresh ways to approach sales, and more solid business opportunities may arise from chatting with someone in another field or specialty. “It pays dividends to diversify your connections. Raise your awareness of the circles you spend your time in and if the circles have become too narrow—one type of industry, one type of profession—make it a point to widen the circle from time-to-time,“ writes founder and CEO of Impact Instruction Group Amy Franko in her e-book 35 Tips to Build Lasting Strategic Relationships. Google Business Networking Tips for Building Your Small Business

 

SmallTalk_PQ.jpgDO take notes

Katie Shea, director of marketing at OrderGroove.com, a company that launches and manages subscription programs for major retailers, suggests taking a brief moment to take notes on people you meet. “If you are at a large networking event like a cocktail party
or fundraiser, it’s easy to collect dozens of cards, yet difficult to keep
track of all of the different two- to three-minute conversations,” says Shea. “After a few
conversations, take a break to write personal notes on the back of each
card you’ve received—[things like] ‘NYU alum, born in South Africa, avid traveler.’ Not only will this jog your memory of the conversation, but your new
contact is likely to be impressed that you remembered such a personal
detail about him or her during later conversations.”

 

DON’T get stuck in conversations

Having a few ideas on how to exit a conversation is just as important as having opening lines to start one. Being “trapped” with one person for too long means missed opportunities to connect with others. “Learn to handle networking vultures and elegantly get out of a conversation with someone who wants to stick with you,” suggests Thompson. “You might say there is someone across the room you just have to speak to, or introduce that person to another and move along, or have other possible strategies up your sleeve.”

 

DO follow up in person

Keep that brief conversation going after the event with another face-to-face meeting—even if you don’t see an immediate use for the relationship. “You’ve heard the saying that if you need a relationship, it’s usually too late to build it. It’s often why people end up feeling as though they’re being insincere, because continual relationship building isn’t a habit built into their everyday life,” notes Franko. “A quick conversation with a new contact is rarely a bad
thing, but where the deals happen is later down the road. Be sure to follow
up—offer to buy coffee, lunch, a drink—with those individuals that you
believe offer synergies to your business,” offers Shea. Google Business Networking Tips for Building Your Small Business

Google Business Networking Tips for Building Your Small Business

DON’T have an out-of-date online presence

To cultivate and grow relationships, many go beyond “just touching base” periodic emails. They build on that face-to-face networking with social media, which means it is vital your LinkedIn account is always up-to-date, and you are active on at least one social media channel. “I will connect with everyone within 48 hours [of an event] on LinkedIn with a unique greeting and ask for their other social channels so we can stay in touch,” notes Tregunna. “I then try to do mentions of them on social media if they are active – ‘Great meeting at on ! If you haven’t connected with them here you should try!’” That virtual connection keeps the lines of communication open and ready for future business opportunities that happen in person. Google Business Networking Tips for Building Your Small Business

3 Rules of a Compelling Value Proposition

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3 Rules of a Compelling Value Proposition

Posted by Inc. in Advertising, Sales and Marketingon Nov 16, 2012 2:04:36 PM

To create a compelling value proposition, you have to know your three C’s: competencies, customers, and competitors.

 

by Karl Stark and Bill Stewart

 

A new school year has arrived. As teachers and students wipe away the cobwebs that formed over the summer, so too should we return to the basics of business: creating a compelling value proposition. This is the first topic on the first day of Business 101, yet the news is consistently filled with the stories of companies that have fallen out of favor because they have lost sight of how they provide value.

 

A gripping value proposition is important to a business at any stage, but never more so than at the start. In any new business venture, you are trying to motivate the most apathetic type of person: the consumer. You are either convincing them to move from a competitor or to buy something they did not know they needed. In either case, you have to provide them a reason to buy.

 

To create a compelling value proposition, you have to know your three C’s: competencies, customers, and competitors.

 

Know Your Competencies

The first step in creating a value proposition is knowing what you are good at (and what you are not). These core competencies serve as the building blocks for determining how your business creates value. What will you provide customers that they cannot get today, and how can you provide it in a way that uniquely differentiates your business?

 

These competencies are the foundation of your value proposition, and you should consistently work to further develop and improve them to maintain a compelling offering.

 

Know Your Customers

Having competencies that differentiate your firm from competitors is not enough. You also have to have a market, which means you have to understand your customers, their needs, and how best to serve them.

 

We recommend an activity from the Business 101 playbook: describe your first customer. To really know your customer, you have to have a deep understanding of their life, what drives them, and what keeps them up at night.  Take time to describe who your first customer is and how you can couple your competencies to better meet their needs. Designing a value proposition around your customers’ needs will better prepare you to move the apathetic consumer.

 

Know Your Competition

The final piece of a truly effective value proposition is knowing your competition. Markets and competitors tend to gravitate to the areas with the most distinguished and developed customer needs. However, these strategies limit differentiation and often do not represent the future direction of the market. Know your competition, their strengths and weaknesses, and develop a value proposition that meets the needs they are unable or choose not to address.

http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/growing-your-business/salesandmarketing/blog/2012/11/16/3-rules-of-a-compelling-value-proposition

Thinking Beyond the 10%-off Coupon: Five better ways to thank your customers

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Thinking Beyond the 10%-off Coupon: Five better ways to thank your customers

Posted by SBOC Team in Advertising, Sales and Marketingon Nov 15, 2012 8:04:36 AM

ThankYouGift_Body.jpgby Heather Chaet.

 

Holiday commercials started hitting the airwaves even before the kids went trick-or-treating. “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” has already been stuck in your head three times. There is no mistaking it—the hustle and bustle of the giving season is upon us. With one of the largest buying weekends right around the corner, consumers are thinking about where to spend their precious dollars, which means small business owners need to think about how to say thanks to those folks who choose them. To get you beyond that ubiquitous 10 percent-off coupon, we have “five golden rings” to consider as you create memorable thank you gifts for your customers this year.

 

1. Give your time and thoughts.

Though you may want to bulk order some flashlights with your logo on them, leave that for a summertime promotion. A refreshing gesture in this era of emails and texts is a simple, yet personal hand-written thank you note. Alexandra Mayzler, founder and director of Thinking Caps, an innovative tutoring company, says, ”I have found that
hand-written thank you notes go a long way. Personalizing the note and
actually taking time to thank our clients communicates our level of thanks
and, I believe, resonates with those working with us.”

 

2. Remember, it’s a thank you, not a marketing tool.

There is a fine line between a thank you gift and a promotional object, which is why Jeannie M. Bush, owner of Amenity Electrolysis, never gives a thank you gift with her business name on it. “My thank you is about my guest, not promoting myself. People have noticed
that huge difference and commented,” says Bush. ”In the years before unlimited long distance calling, I gave each of my
guests a pre-paid calling card, asking them to call someone from their past
and tell them how they impacted their life, [or] mend a
relationship, [or] say thank you. People told me at length about
their special phone calls.” Bush says this gift choice makes a big impact. ”The last couple of years I have turned to a leather-cased post-it note set,
engraved with a message on the cover. Last year, it said ‘Note to self–you
matter.’ It
has a meaning so that my guests will remember they are valued each time they
use it.”

 

ThankYouGift_PQ.jpg3. Go one step beyond the plain tin of goodies.

A box of cookies or a bottle of wine—both are lovely to receive, but not very personalized. Elle Kaplan, CEO of Lexion Capital Management, one of
the only 100-percent women-owned investment firms in the nation, changes that by creating her own delectable gifts. “I infuse my
own vodka and give small bottles out as gifts to my clients,” she says. Julia Labaton, President and Founder of RED PR, a boutique beauty, fashion, and lifestyle public relations firm, also puts a personal touch on her end-of-the-year gifts for clients. At the start of the holidays, Julia spends three days baking chocolate chip cookies from her own secret recipe in her Upper East Side kitchen. However, you don’t have to be a whiz in the kitchen to go this route. David Jacobson, the owner and producer
of
TrivWorks, a corporate entertainment and team building company that specializes in
live trivia events in New York City, uses yummy treats from other great local businesses. “I send my
most loyal clients a huge box of hot chocolate from The City Bakery—arguably the very best in the city and make sure it is delivered fresh and
piping hot with the message, ‘Wishing you a warm and sweet holiday season!’ ”
Customers notice these added personal or local touches that makes treat gifts more thoughtful.

 

4. Individualize the gifts.

For many businesses, customers don’t come in a “one size fits all” category, so why should the thank you gift you give them all be the same item? Jennifer Pottheiser, a commercial photographer who works primarily with corporate clients, spends time selecting specific gifts she knows her customers will appreciate. “Each November, I rack my brain looking for personalized gifts meant specifically for the recipient. I sent one young ad agency a ‘beer of the month’ membership so that they could be reminded of me each month while they were enjoying their custom brew,” says Pottheiser. “One client of mine is an ice cream fanatic, so I got her two beautiful ice cream bowls with sundae spoons and fancy ice cream toppings.” That type of individualized gift-giving, taking note of a client’s interests, makes a special impression.

 

5. Create a holiday memory.

http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/growing-your-business/salesandmarketing/blog/2012/11/15/thinking-beyond-the-10-off-coupon-five-better-ways-to-thank-your-customers

Setting Goals: Steps to take now for growth in 2013

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Setting Goals: Steps to take now for growth in 2013

It seems like almost everyone has something to say about setting goals, and coming up with their own way for achieving them. Books by the late Stephen Covey and organizational tools such as Day-Timers and online file sharing solutions like Dropbox have made a lasting impression on the way we organize our lives. In a much-cited paper from 2006, two researchers found that establishing specific goals was more likely to lead to better results and improved performance than simply encouraging workers to “do their best.”

SettingGoals_PQ.jpgGoals that challenged workers to stretch, the paper concludes, “lead to greater effort, focus and persistence than moderately difficult or easy goals.” Workers who rose to the occasion also felt a greater sense of purpose, self-fulfillment, and value to the company.

Here are the experiences of three owners in setting goals for their business for next year.

Giving everyone a say

Founded in 2006, Savvy Rest in Charlottesville, Virginia, makes organic mattresses and bedding accessories made from natural, non-toxic materials. Gross sales were $4.5 million last year, up 55 percent since 2008, according to Michael Penny, president and sole owner. “There’s more competition now than there was five years ago because [bigger manufacturers] see that you can be profitable doing what we do and so they want to get in,” he says.

Penny holds a two-day meeting every September with his marketing, operations, production, and recruiting departments. The five-member team sets goals for the coming year by performing a SWOT analysis—Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats—that uncovers and addresses critical issues affecting profitability.

To keep on track, they’ll also meet twice a month, either for a couple of hours or sometimes for a whole day if a big decision needs to be made. Because the five-member team is representative of Savvy Rest’s entire 20-person workforce, they can modify their goals more nimbly, make sure everyone is on board, and move forward.

Case in point: At their meeting last March, they realized that they would soon run out of room in their 23,000-square foot production facility. They had the chance to buy a small parcel of land with a tenant on it at an affordable monthly payment, so they authorized Penny to make the deal. “I could have done it anyway—I own the company—but I want everybody’s buy in,” he recalls. “They help me act on the good ideas and refrain from acting on the bad ones.”

Improving the business for the long-term

The recession and sputtering economy upended the plans of thousands of small businesses including The Queensboro Shirt Company, a Wilmington, North Carolina-based online seller of custom logo apparel and promotional products primarily for small- and medium-sized businesses. As a result, adjusting to the challenging climate was their first goal.

Like Savvy Rest, the key players at Queensboro met at the end of the summer to evaluate their marketing programs, map out customer acquisition targets, and model retention revenue. Based on this, they’ll put together a plan for the first half of 2013. In March or April of next year, they’ll go back and refine their projections for the second half.

To give the 115-person workforce a concrete appreciation of the company’s progress, Queensboro invested in a web-based order processing system several years ago that has had a profound impact.

“Everybody in our business has a real-time display on their desktops of orders that were received by the hour, broken up by new and existing customers,” explains Fred Meyers, who founded the company in 1982. “We adjust in real time as we see the results come in. If it looks like our projections are off for that

month, we reevaluate what we projected going forward.” Sales for the company reached about $13 million in 2011.

Meyers is executing two new goals for the fourth quarter holiday season. First, a customer referral program that rewards existing customers with a merchandise credit for referring a friend. Second, a sampling program that allows new customers to buy a quality shirt with their custom embroidered logo on it for just 99 cents. “It’s a real aggressive deal,” Meyers admits. “We find that when a customer tries us out, they tend to spend several hundred dollars with us over three or four or five years. It’s worth it to us to invest in establishing a relationship with that customer.”

Meyers emphasizes that focusing on the long-term goal of improving the organization is more important than just daily, weekly, or monthly sales figures. “I want this business to be the absolute best at what it does,” he says. “That’s the biggest goal that we have.”

Limited goals, clearly expressed

SeekingSitters, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based on-demand referral service that extensively screens and supplies qualified babysitters, has licensed franchises in 15 states since its founding in 2004. The growth of the business can be traced, in part, to accountability, achievable goals, and clear communication.

The initiatives for the week are spelled out during a short meeting every Monday with the entire office team. Then, on Friday, another meeting reviews that week’s accomplishments and identifies the actions that need to be taken the following week. “It shows everybody what you’re moving towards and what you’ve been able to get through,” explains Adrienne Kallweit, the company’s founder. Based on a review of past projects and how they’ve moved forward, monthly and quarterly goals are also developed.

http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/growing-your-business/salesandmarketing/blog/2012/10/01/setting-goals-steps-to-take-now-for-growth-in-2013

Every Customer Read This!: Using invoices and bills as marketing tools

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Every Customer Read This!: Using invoices and bills as marketing tools
by Robert Lerose.

Invoices occupy a sweet spot for business: they are one of the few types of mail that are promptly opened and read. A surprising amount of invoices, however, are devoid of any kind of marketing message. Since you have the complete and immediate attention of your customers—the first step in any sales cycle—putting a message on your bill or invoice is an opportunity that shouldn’t be ignored.
“The biggest advantage is that it’s something the client is already receiving from you, so it’s not overly invasive,” says Melanie Wright, the marketing director for Abstrakt Marketing Group, a full service marketing company in St. Louis, Missouri.

Besides this stealth superiority, you can insert a wide range of messages on the invoice. For example: announcing a new product, upselling a service package, asking for customer feedback, sharing a testimonial, offering a free white paper, or acknowledging the customer’s loyalty. It’s not so much what you put on the invoice as it is capitalizing on a new touchpoint and reconnecting with your customers.

Just say thank you

Abstrakt’s Wright notes that they’ve used invoice marketing to give updates on products and services. They also nurture relationships by reminding their customers to use them for upcoming projects, discreetly asking for referrals, and requesting testimonials. “Those little details and touches and customizations play into [business-building],” she says.

Putting a simple thank you or other sincere note of appreciation on the invoice can pave the way to future sales, too.

“Instead of using your traditional carrier envelope, put [the invoice] in a nice envelope,” recommends Daniel Glickman of FirmFlair, a marketing consultancy in Sherborn, Massachusetts. “Change the perception that [the invoice] is a penalty of doing business with you. It’s not a downside, it’s one of the benefits.” For added impact, send the thank you in its own envelope inside the main invoice envelope.

Glickman emphasizes that any invoice message must complement—not contradict—your overall messaging. For example, a business that markets itself as giving personal customer service would send the wrong tone with a message on an invoice that sounded cold or bureaucratic. Still another mistake would be to come across as pushy or hard selling if you usually cultivate a warm, low-key tone in your other advertising.

“You’re sending an invoice to get paid for the work you’re doing. The question is, why did they hire you in the first place? You don’t want to contradict that,” Glickman says.

Working together is key

Which department owns invoice marketing, accounts payable or marketing?

“It’s definitely a joint effort,” says Abstrakt’s Wright. “I could have a million ideas for what I think would be great for invoice marketing and then I would run that by our accounting department [to have them] review the functionality of it as well as the professionalism and legal aspect.”

Abstrakt relies on both internal and external collaborations to enhance the power of their invoice marketing. For example, Abstrakt partners with a web design firm to handle services that they don’t cover themselves. But instead of sending them just a regular invoice, Abstrakt takes its own advice: they include customer feedback on projects that the design firm executed and even gives them leads for new business.

It is generally agreed that messages on invoices should be short, direct, and few in number—one, or sometimes two at most. As with a renewal series, variety is key.

“If your customers see the same thing on every invoice, they’re going to quit looking at it,” says Jerry Ellis, vice president of sales and marketing for Lanvera, an outsourcing company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that delivers documents to customers through print and electronic means. “If [the message] changes all the time, now your customer is going to be trained that you’re doing promotions or marketing in the invoice, so they’re going to look at it.”

Ellis recommends putting the marketing message upfront on the invoice so the recipient sees it right away before they get involved in the financial transaction of paying the bill. Since the bill is primarily text, using graphics is a keen way to draw the customer’s eye.

“The entire back of the carrier envelope and even certain portions of the front can be used to put a marketing message on it, too,” he says. “The message on the outside could be the full message or ‘Look Inside For’ something more.”

Marketing messages also work well on bills sent electronically, and even offer a distinct advantage over snail mail. Not only can the bill be paid immediately, but it can also be embedded with a link that takes the customer to a new landing page with a fresh marketing message. Response can be tracked to identify what language or offer was most appealing.

http://smallbusinessonlinecommunity.bankofamerica.com/community/growing-your-business/salesandmarketing/blog/2012/09/24/every-customer-read-this-using-invoices-and-bills-as-marketing-tools

Marketing Insight Q & A: Getting the Scoop on Your Customers

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Marketing Insight Q & A: Getting the Scoop on Your Customers, by Iris Dorbian.

As a longtime marketing strategist and founder of Venture Drive Consulting, Mark Kotzer has amassed over 20 years working with what he terms “scrappy entrepreneurs.” From helping small business owners craft a vision and business model, to product launches and sales development, the Seattle-based Kotzer—whose clients have included Microsoft and Weyerhaeuser—has carved a niche for himself as a go-to-resource for companies seeking to advance to the next stage. Recently, business writer Iris Dorbian caught up with Kotzer to discuss how entrepreneurs can better know their customers without being invasive and how that market intelligence can be used to boost sales.
ID: What’s the best way for entrepreneurs to know their target demo or audience?

MK: Part of that is going to be derived from the thought processes you put forth when you first started your business. Hopefully, the company will have created a business plan or a branding strategy that they will keep updated at times. One of the things I’ve found with companies is that they think about who their target audience is before they open and then not again. It may be prudent for companies to revisit who their customers are at least once a year. Part of that is going to be driven by who is actually buying the types of products being sold in your store. I strongly recommend that businesses focus on or identify the top 5 percent of their customers. That’s going to give you a much more meaningful indicator of who your target customer should be. You will have lots of people who are “lookers” but not “bookers.”

PQ_QAmarkkotzer.jpgID: Can small business owners know too much about their customers? What are the pros and cons of having that much information?

MK: The pros are that if you treat the information well, your customers are going to view you as not just a retailer but as a real resource. They’re going to look at you as someone whom they can count on for good advice or to help them solve a problem. Through the loyalty or trust they develop in you over time, they’ll become less price-sensitive and more brand-loyal. And that’s ultimately what the retailer wants. If you’re able to demonstrate through the information you provide on your website and through the quality of service and attention that you provide in-store, customers are going to reward you with their business and be a much greater referral vehicle as well. It’s that stickiness factor that you want.

ID: And the cons?

MK: If you become too aggressive with the information. It’s a relationship that needs to build over time. With all the information at your fingertips nowadays—particularly if you’re online—retailers can go overboard if they’re too overt or too direct. Saying things like, “We understand what you like or what you’ve purchased in the past” can feel too forward. It needs to be clear to the customer why you’re sharing that information. Also, if you’re asking them to share lots of information during a website registration or before they make a purchase, they’ll more likely enter incorrect information or discontinue that effort.

The other part of that is once they share [personal data] you’ve got to be judicious in how you use that. Look at it more in the aggregate and understand how that information can be better utilized to support the customers’ needs over time as opposed to being too direct. It’s a subtlety of the tone aspect that needs to be conveyed.

ID: So much current online advertising rests on behavioral targeting. What are your thoughts about this practice?

MK: For the small business owner it’s somewhat less of an issue. When you think of behavioral targeting, you think of the ads found on websites. I find it creates a lot of clutter and is a distraction. From the standpoint of a retailer, having ads on a website is a real negative. When people visit your website, that is a reflection of your brand. If you’re trying to be a trusted resource and you have ads that are popping up that are not related to your company—but are related to the specific visitor—then the customer will wonder what else you know about him or her and why do you know it? Retailers have to consider the overall impression their site will create and if there is any value to having ads there. Quite frankly, if the ads are not done well, they can even be competitive to the site itself. It can spur customers to leave your site because something popped up that interested them.

ID: What’s your best advice for entrepreneurs who want to know their audience without infringing on their privacy?

MK: Start out small and don’t be overly ambitious. Some entrepreneurs will insist that they have to be on Foursquare or other social media sites. And then they end up not doing anything particularly well. Whether it’s a frequent customer program—a punch card of some type if you’re a brick-and-mortar store or a loyalty program on your website—really focus on how you can best serve those people who clearly have demonstrated a repeated interest in your product. Build on that loyalty by providing incentives for them to purchase more. And over a period of time, give them opportunities to request more information from your business and share more information about themselves.

How to Identify and Target Your Top Customers Online

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How to Identify and Target Your Top Customers Online. by Cindy Waxer.

Today’s business marketers are under extreme pressure to identify top customers and make smarter business decisions in record time. However, pinpointing a business’s most valuable customers is harder than it sounds.

For starters, there’s more than one way to determine a customer’s worth. According to Mac McIntosh, a B2B marketing consultant and speaker from North Kingstown, Rhode Island, there are three main measures of a top-notch customer:

The amount of revenue a customer generates for a company.
The profit derived from a particular customer.
The customer’s overall satisfaction.

PQ_IdentifyCust.jpgBut the work doesn’t end there. McIntosh warns that while businesses can gain invaluable insights from their best customers, they need to determine the most effective way to reach them or risk offending them.

“You have to be sensitive to when it’s appropriate and when it isn’t appropriate to respond to a customer,” warns McIntosh. “For example, rather than inserting yourself into an online conversation with a customer on Facebook or Twitter, it’s better to write, ‘I’d love to talk more about this offline. Here’s my phone number—please call me.’”

Fortunately, many companies are discovering new ways to identify and cater to the needs of top customers without breaking the bank or landing a restraining order.

Build relationships

Take, for example, Mike Schwarz. Founder of Ribbed Tee, an online provider of men’s quality undershirts, Schwarz points to one of the company’s celebrity clients, a high-profile NFL player. “He buys lots of stuff from us, he’s great, and we love it. But I don’t think he really advocates our company or talks about us,” says Schwarz. “We appreciate the business, of course, but ultimately I look at our top customers as advocates who actively endorse or recommend our product.”

In order to effectively target these customers, Schwarz says he conducts weekly Google searches and participates in online men’s fashion forums to find customers that mention or recommend Ribbed Tee’s products. Next, Schwarz says he tries “to establish a personal relationship with them, ask them for their feedback, and offer them a few sample products of new launches.” After all, he says, “When you create a personal relationship with a customer, it further enhances their support and they’ll continue to recommend your products to other people. Quite frankly, it just grows the business.”

Nevertheless, Schwarz says there’s a fine line between communicating with your target audience and stalking them online. “Participating in a forum is an art—not a science,” he cautions. “You have to be very thoughtful about how you participate. The one thing you definitely never want to do is promote your product. Answer any questions, but never be too marketing-driven when talking about your products.”

Connect via social media

For PetFlow.com, an online pet food store, Facebook is the perfect platform for identifying and targeting top customers. Recently, the popular online pet food company ran a promotion on Facebook that encouraged fans to pick any three items on PetFlow.com for free delivery. “This kind of contest sends a potential customer to our site to browse and find the products they like,” says Alex Zhardanovksy, co-founder of PetFlow.

By doing so, Zhardanovsky says it’s an opportunity to “walk a potential customer through the entire buying experience of an actual customer,” rendering that prospect far more likely to visit PetFlow the next time they require pet food.

But while online promotions can target everyone from upper-echelon clients to mere prospects, Zhardanovsky says, “The best kind of customer you can have is an evangelical customer—someone who’s an influencer in their community. It’s really important for us to keep that customer happy because one happy customer can bring you ten others.”

Technology as a tie that binds

For this reason, Zhardanovsky says PetFlow invests a lot of time and energy in optimizing its auto-replenishment system, which lets customers predetermine how often they wish to receive orders, from once a week to once every four months. Customers can also use the system to make one-time purchases for future deliveries or as gifts purchases for friends and loved ones who have pets.

“A PetFlow customer is someone who has spent money with us,” says Zhardanovsky. “But a top customer is someone who is really happy with his or her experience and would recommend us.”

And in today’s competitive online marketplace, small businesses can ill afford to mislabel or overlook their top customers.