Bob (not his real name) owns a busy, independent retail sports equipment business. His customers range in age from under 20s to those over 70. His loyal customers have brought him a good deal of repeat business and referrals during the 25 years he has owned his store. The customers like the staff and get along well with them.
What Bob does not know is that some of his customers actually like his staff better than they like him. Sure, he knows his stuff, but the staff are eager to interact with customers. They spend time talking to the customers and getting to know them. Bob is too busy to spend more than a minimum amount of time with each customer. He thinks his staff are wasting time if they spend too long chatting with customers, when they could be stocking shelves, tidying up or cleaning. To Bob, a transaction with a customer means he has a relationship with them. Bob does not understand the value of building relationships (beyond transactions) with his customers and getting to know them.
That can be bad news for any entrepreneur, but when the staff are active social media users and the business owner is not, it can spell disaster...
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Social Media Literacy for Business Owners: What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You-Good advice for people who don't link Social Media
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