Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
Social Media in a Business Setting
Friday, April 15, 2011 by Michelle Hartley
It's all anyone is talking about anymore, social media. It's
talked about in businesses, in restaurants, in homes, in schools,
in pretty much any place around town. For as much as we hear about
social media, we have to assume that every business in America is
jumping on the bandwagon to start promoting themselves via Twitter
or Facebook and training their employees in the best practices to
utilize this new channel for selling. Yet, this actually isn't the
case. According to an article titled, "The Future of Selling: It's Social" by Forbes.com, only
9% of US salespeople indicated they received training or education
concerning social media at their workplace.
Research indicates that more and more people are buying items in
a totally different way than before. Now more than ever, people are
using social media sites to help find the products they desire. As
times change, people change, and therefore their buying habits
change. It is imperative that businesses and the ways they operate
change with the times as well.
First, it is important to look at how your target market is
finding you. Are they finding you via different search
engines, directories, referrals, social media channels, or a
combination of a few? From here, you can start to evaluate exactly
how your target market might want to purchase your products.
Evaluating and constantly reevaluating your customers buying habits
can help keep your company as up to date as possible.
Another point the article made was the importance of the
cohesion of your sales and marketing departments. Is everyone on
the same page? Everyone's working towards the same goal, but is
everyone in agreement of the best ways to reach that goal? Often
times if teams are not on the same page this can show a break in
the overall message of the brand. Keeping lines of communication
between departments open can help to harness new and unique ideas
of how to sell your product which will help your company keep
up to date with the constant changes in the technology world.
The best and most successful companies question their methods
every day. Simply sitting in a seat that seems comfortable and "has
always worked" is going to leave you in the dust. Take the time to
get up to date with the latest ways people are looking into and
buying your product; it will only help you sell more.
Until next time -
Michelle Hartley
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support &
Consulting
Rochester IT Support &
Consulting
Outsourced Marketing
Services
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