Digital Word-of-Mouth Attracts Customers at Light Speed
This post by Bill Sims
The reason everybody is talking about Twitter is because it can be so freekin’ effective! Just imagine:
- While working at your cash register, you can instantly tell your loyal customers that the new shipment has just arrived.
- While having a coffee, you can let all your fans know the Tickets are on Sale!
- You can let your commuting morning customers know that you have just taken the delicious apricot ginger scones out of the oven, as you take them out!
One of our own clients, The Hi Point Cafe near the corner of Rob Drive and Mae Ann Avenue in Reno, has just opened their doors, and are using Twitter to grow their business.
While big businesses like Best Buy, Apple, Coca-Cola and McDonalds are rapidly developing uses for Twitter, small business are the ones that can really benefit from this powerful micro-blogging tool.
Here is a great article from the New York Times about the power of Twitter for the Mom & Pop business:
Mom-and-Pop Operators Turn to Social Media
SAN FRANCISCO — Three weeks after Curtis Kimball opened his crème brûlée cart in San Francisco, he noticed a stranger among the friends in line for his desserts. How had the man discovered the cart? He had read about it on Twitter.
For Mr. Kimball, who conceded that he “hadn’t really understood the purpose of Twitter,” the beauty of digital word-of-mouth marketing was immediately clear. He signed up for an account and has more than 5,400 followers who wait for him to post the current location of his itinerant cart and list the flavors of the day, like lavender and orange creamsicle. Read More
Great explanation of the power of social media. It won’t be long before the businesses utilizing this media will be head and shoulders above those who think they can afford to remain aloof from it.