Page 75 - Social Media Marketing for Dummies

SMM at the preference stage

At the preference stage, the prospective customer leans toward making a pur-
chase. He has considered several products and established his favorites. He likes
the product that you’re pushing him toward. By this time, the prospective cus-
tomer is concerned with confirming that he’s getting good value for his money
and that his purchase will be suitable for his needs. At this stage, you may offer
free trials and 30-day money-back guarantees. Generally speaking, you hope your
prospective customers have developed an emotional attachment to your brand
that will push them to purchase your products.

By the time a prospective customer is at the preference stage in the marketing fun-
nel, she has probably evaluated all the competitive alternatives to the product. She
has found information about them through product brochures, the product web-
sites, and customer reviews across the web. As she enters the preference stage,
she’s likely to talk to her friends some more and get their opinions. This may have
less to do with whether one product is better than another from a feature stand-
point, but the customer can get a feel for your brand as well. The prospective cus-
tomer also views user-generated content about your brand at this stage.

You must be very careful at this stage. It’s important that you establish a trusted
relationship with the prospective customer. The prospective customer needs to
feel that he will get good customer service after he makes the purchase. He wants
to believe that his decision will be a good one over the long term, too. You can
build that trust and allay those concerns by talking to the prospective customer in
an authentic, personal, and genuine fashion.

This is when your product blogs play an important role. It reminds your prospec-
tive customers that actual people are behind your product or brand. Make sure to
spend time answering questions, resolving product issues, and discussing how
the product is evolving.

Consider these SMM tactics at this stage:

» A blog, or several blogs, that discuss the product: Granted, blogs are
valuable at the awareness and consideration phase as well, but they matter
the most at the point of preference. Customers want to hear from you at this
stage more than ever and it’s important to frame the benefits of your product
in ways that your customers will appreciate them the most.

» Podcasts with interviews and product explanations: As a supplement to
blogs, podcasts are an appealing way to explain the product to prospective
customers in an engaging fashion when you’re not in the room with them.
Running your own podcasts, appearing as a guest on someone else’s podcast,
or advertising on a podcast network are all valuable strategies for marketing

CHAPTER 3 Getting in the Social Media Marketing Frame of Mind 59