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Connecting with Customers: The Mack Collier Second Encore

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A SERIES in the quest to know more about the offline world

Part 4 in (what is now) a 4-Part Interview with Mack Collier

Monday, Mack Collier was back by popular demand to continued the our conversation with about connecting with new customers. This is the second part of that encore.

What’s in the beginner’s tool kit?

In line with the above, I think companies need to start with basic search tools, Google Blog Search, Technorati, Twitter Search. Add in a feed reader like Bloglines so they can subscribe to what we call the ‘vanity searches’. Then they can also monitor what’s happening in their industry, and what their competitors are up to as far as using social media.

What’s a realistic timeline for a client to expect results that they can feel good about?

I tell clients that if they start blogging, that they need to approach it as having no expiration date. Meaning that once you start, you do it from now on. But for most businesses that start blogging, it will be several months before they can see solid results that they can be excited about. Readership will slowly grow, and there’s a lot of time that needs to be spent interacting with current and potential customers on other sites. At first, it may seem like ‘ok is all this leading anywhere?’, but as interactions and communication with customers increases, companies can usually begin to realize that there’s ‘something’ here.


What form would those results take?

I think when companies start to see people being more active on their blog, starting to leave comments, email them. When they see that more communication is taking place, then the value starts to become apparent. When they see that other bloggers are linking to their blog, or when they see bloggers starting to post about them on their blog.

When traditional marketing has been so focused on a polished message presented systematically in a controlled campaign, how can communicators start to talk naturally but still present a clear message?

See I don’t think it’s about presenting a ‘clear’ message as much as it is a ‘human’ one. And don’t think of it as ‘presenting a message’, that sounds like broadcasting. Think of how you can participate in existing conversations around your business, and help shape future ones. A ‘polished message’ comes across to most of us as ‘advertising’, and we tend to tune that out. A ‘human’ message spoken in a voice like our own, is what resonates.

Wow, Mack! Thanks for doing double duty. You’ve moved the quest of connecting with offline customers forward. AND it’s been a pleasure having you around!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Connecting with Customers: Mack Collier SRO

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A SERIES in the quest to know more about the offline world

Part 3 in (what is now) a 4-Part Interview with Mack Collier

Last Wednesday we continued the a conversation with Mack Collier about connecting with new customers. The interview has been so popular that I’ve asked Mack to return for a few more questions and answers.

Hi Mack! Thanks for agreeing to talk some more!
Could you bring us back to a description of your typical client?

Right now it’s mainly small businesses. But have also noticed some corporations aren’t ready to put plans in action, but want to get some general Social Media 101 advice. Am also noticing that now most of the clients I come in contact with already have blogs and need help with them, instead of needing to know how to get started blogging.

Many people get a mindset that the Internet is one thing and offline is another. How do you fit social media into the whole of a marketing mix?

Here’s an example I use alot; if you sell anything online, then why wouldn’t you want to better connect with and communicate with your online customers? Social media can help you do that. Now if you run a auto repair shop, you might not even have a website. But if you do any business online, then you have customers online that you can better connect with via social media.

What is the most natural first small step for most companies to take? If you’re getting someone to ramp up slowly, what’s the first thing you suggest they do to learn the culture and why that?

I always advise clients to start monitoring the existing conversations. Figure out first what is being said online about your business. And I will show companies conversations that happened maybe last year, and ask them to think about how that exchange (especially if it was negative) could have been different if the company would have responded. When you know what is being said about your business online, then you can respond. Doing so makes you more comfortable with the space as a whole. Which makes it easier to start blogging and using other social sites/tools.

. . . More on Wednesday — We’ll talk tools, timelines, and clear results!

Thanks, Mack!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Connecting with Customers: More Talk with Mack Collier

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A SERIES in the quest to know more about the offline world

Part 2 in A 2-Part Interview with Mack Collier

Monday, I shared the beginning of a conversation with Mack Collier about connecting with new customers. This is part two of that interview with Mack.

What do you do when your potential client needs to sell him or her company on the idea of social media?

Make sure they understand how social media can improve their businesses. Many cos/organizations want the ‘monetization’ part built from the start. Social media is often viewed as a potential monetization channel, instead of being a communication channel. What I try to do is make sure the potential client understands that money can be made with social media, but that it comes as a byproduct of using the tools to facilitate connections with current and potential customers, and build those connections into relationships.

It’s very counterintuitive at first because many cos don’t want to enter into a space unless they can see direct monetary benefits. It takes time and much hand-holding in some cases to help businesses realize that successful social media initiatives are based on creating value for others. As you create more value, an INDIRECT benefit is that you can see sales increase, positive equity/awareness grow, etc.

What do most new clients ask for your help with? What misconceptions do they bring?

When the questions start to shift from ‘what do I get out of this?’ to ‘what do my readers/friends/customers get out of this?’ And I think that’s a normal progression for anyone that’s using social media, I was the same way with my blogging and Twittering at first. But after a while I began to understand that the more value I created for others, the more value came back to me. We need to remember that companies need time to learn these same lessons.

. . . It seems that we — you and I — have more questions, and I’ve confirmed that Mack has more answers. So Mack and I have agreed to extend the interview. Watch for parts three and four next week!

Thanks, Mack!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Connecting with Customers: A Conversation with Mack Collier

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A SERIES in the quest to know more about the offline world

Part 1 in A 2-Part Interview with Mack Collier

Recently, I asked Mack Collier. if he’d talk about connecting with new customers. He was more than generous in sharing how the clients he looks for and how he interacts with them. This is part one of that interview with Mack.

Hi Mack, I can tell by what you write that you meet many folks who are just figuring out that the web has something going on. How would you describe the most likely candidate to move toward the Internet these days?

I think the people that are successful in social media moving forward will be the ones that remain curious. This space is just changing so quickly that you have to keep an open mind and be receptive to the changing landscape. The people that write social media off as a ‘fad’ and refuse to learn more about how these tools work are the ones that are really going to be at a disadvantage in the coming years.

What do most new clients ask for your help with? What misconceptions do they bring?

Most are wanting help with blogging. And many are viewing a blog as a more frequently updated website. They want to use the blog to make ‘announcements’ and even view it as something to be search-optimized, as they would a website. Many can tell me what keywords they want targeted in their blog posts, but haven’t given any thoughts to a comment policy. But this is just a byproduct of unfamiliarity with the space.

Where do you usually start them out?

Usually a potential client will start off with “Well I know I need to be blogging…”, and I’ll ask them to back up and explain how they know that. They usually offer that they just assumed that blogging is the logical starting point. So what we’ll do is examine their business goals and see if blogging, or any other social tools, make sense for them. But before they launch any type of social media strategy, I want to get them started monitoring online conversations about their company. To me, monitoring and properly responding to what current and potential customers are saying online about your company, is the natural foundation of any social media strategy.

As companies begin to do this, they become more familiar with social media tools, and how to interact with customers online. All of this results in greater success for any social media initiatives they later launch.

. . . Tune in Wednesday. We’ll be discussing what happens when folks back in the office aren’t as keen as the client who connects.

Thanks, Mack!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!