Social selling is more than a fashionable term. The direct interaction with customers and the positioning as a contact partner have been known in many industries for years. Through the social media companies are increasingly succeeding in applying the models and methods of social selling to the digital contact channels to expand. The advantages of these possibilities are enormous.
In times of increasingly well-informed customers and a wide range of information options, informing the customer plays just as important a role as the direct interaction with this. The term Social selling and the associated interaction options are becoming increasingly important for many companies. We show you why the social component plays an important role in the sale and to what extent you can use it for yourself.
In these industries, social selling has long been part of the program
Social selling has been a lived concept in sales for many years and decades. Only the methods have changed permanently in the context of digitalization. Especially in the B2B sector, the social component of sales has been one of the concepts for success for many years.
Those who not only want to structure this success, but actively expand it, also use social selling in the modern networks and the social media. We will show you why this concept is convincing and how you as a company can clearly benefit from these advantages.
Social selling in the age of social media
Social media offers you many advantages as a company. Above all, customers offer you via this platform enormous interaction potentialwhich you as a company can actively use for your own benefit. Because customers provide, among other things Information about their pain pointsThese are problem areas for which you can actively stand out as a problem solver.
Among other things, social selling means actively support the customer and this to address specifically therewhere the problem areas become visible. Seeing oneself as a company not only as a passive contact, but actively approaching customers, often makes the difference between successful and less successful companies.
Sales professionals have known for many years that actively approaching customers and addressing their problems leads to sales success. This can be done much more easily via social media than in traditional sales conversations.
Develop the personality of the company
Through social selling, a company can not only raise its profile, but also gain recognition among a Optimally position multitude of customers. Because the direct and personal Interaction of the company with its customers ensures a significantly better market positioning and thus an edge over the competition.
Be and remain responsive to the customer
As a company, you should not only remain approachable via social networks, but also use the various Tools also use to Act as a problem solver in the existing problem areas. For example, by monitoring specific hashtags or brand mentions, you can be notified of appropriate comments in social media and respond with an appropriate response. Thus, through social selling, a company not only gains profile, but can also sustainably win over customers.
Social selling and social media marketing are often confused
Many companies use the terms social selling and Social Media Marketing same. Unfortunately, this is a problem because it does not do justice to the approach of social selling. The two variants are sometimes quite different. This is because social media marketing is usually about creating a The largest possible number of customers with just one shipment. This process is carried out in the company by the marketing department.
In social selling, on the other hand, marketing plays a subordinate role. Rather, it is sales that actively markets, but always with the addressee in mind. It is therefore a direct communication with only one interested buyer and therefore not about targeted marketing with a wide range of addressees.
Further advantages through social selling
For companies, there are further advantages from the various interactions in social selling. Among other things, this form of selling also has an external effect on other interested parties, since direct communication via social networks becomes visible to people who are not actively involved in the sales conversation. Let's take a closer look at the possible benefits.
Customer loyalty through personal ties
The Customer loyalty is noticeably diminishing in times of ever larger offers and in times of international trade. However, if you win customers through successful social selling, you will benefit from these customers in the longer term. With appropriately good products and comprehensive advice for the customer, you can Benefit from customer loyalty for longer.
If a company actively presents itself as a problem solver for customers, they will increasingly use the services of this company and also recommend the company to other customers. Social selling is therefore an excellent way to specifically target the Strengthen customer loyalty and passively optimize general customer acquisition in the process.
Upselling and follow-up purchases - another step to success
Thanks to direct communication and the successful positioning as a problem solver, you as a company can create sustainable Influence on the buying behavior of your customers take. Successful selling using social selling means, among other things, that you can use the existing and grown trust of the customers to further subsequent purchases to initiate.
Upselling and thus a Improvement of the Customer Lifetime Value can be significantly improved through direct and sustained social contact. In other words, they ensure that customers can be reached not just once, but in the optimum case permanently as customers.
Sustainable marketing as a result of social selling
If your company offers itself to the customer as a discussion partner and problem solver and helps individuals, thus boosting your own sales, you also benefit from the external effect of these measures. On the one hand, such a form of sales contributes to branding, and on the other hand, customers are offered a Appreciation conveyed, which can be significantly different from competitors.
The company thus gains profile and thus also to Standing with customerswhich can be rated enormously high. Because potential customers will increasingly turn to the company from which you can expect a quick response and comprehensive support. Through social selling, you can focus on these core competencies and thus actively and sustainably win over customers.
