I recently completed a social media plan for one of my clients. She went from reluctant participant to over-excited user in no time flat! However, like many of us when we first find a new toy, she ignored the part of the plan that had to do with listening.
This problem not only occurs when women business owners launch a social media plan, but also occurs with everyday marketing. We want to make it “all about us” because we’re comfortable in that zone. We’re experts in our own discipline. Often, we are extremely good at what we want to do and have the solution to the problems our clients have. Unfortunately, we may not be expressing it in the language that our clients use.
It can be as simple as choosing the right keyword combination when you talk. I frequently talk about the woman entrepreneur. I was surprised when an SEO mavin told me that “entrepreneur woman” was equally as useful for search engine ranking. It’s not a comfortable turn of phrase for me, but apparently its how people search for information. I didn’t know that until the research (listening) was done.
In the 1990s Steve Haeckel conceived and developed “Sense and Respond” as a strategy while he was Director of Strategic Studies at IBM’s Advanced Business Institute. Since I was working in a sales organization in IBM at the time, I was exposed to the concept. (Somewhere I still have the book, I’m sure!) The concepts of Sense and Respond help organizations build a more adaptive structure.
As the economy begins to come back, the first organizations that will begin to rebuild are small businesses. It’s because they are more agile and don’t have a lot of the encumberances that corporations have. In order to truly thrive women entrepreneurs (or entrepreneur women!) will need to pay attention. Things have changed. Social media has become a big component of our lives and so has massive unemployment. The illusion of stability has further eroded. Who can succeed in this environment?
The people who succeed will be those who take time to listen (sense) before they comment, take action or even create new products.
I invite you to spend some time today focusing on what your customers want and need. Let me know your results in a comment below!
