Are you engaging with your customers like it is 1999

Prior to the online world controlling our lives companies, businesses and salespeople held all the cards and it was extremely difficult for buyers to find unbiased information about products and services.

For those of us 35 and over this is just how it was.  As business owners this was great for profits, service was an afterthought and sellers were completely in charge of the sales process.  This meant the upper hand in negotiations rested solely with companies, businesses and salespeople.

Fast forward to today and what a different landscape we live in.  With the plethora of information out there the roles have been completely reversed.  Now it is the buyer who has the control and in most cases they are armed to the hilt with facts and figures.  Today customers spend a lot of time researching everything they need to know about a product or service including pricing, quality and importantly what others are saying about you.

For many companies this is frightening however now more than ever when a customer engages with you they are ready to do business.  David Meerman Scott, an online marketing strategist and author of several books on marketing, points out that when a buyer is ready to buy the company must respond with light speed.

Today it is all about educating and informing your customers by sharing your knowledge and helping them get to the point where they are ready to buy.  It is important not to push products but to teach using social media and encourage your customers to interact and connect with you.

The internet has fundamentally changed the way we do business and in this era slow and steady does not win the race.