Social Promoters Cheer Your Business without Buying

People will surprise you. Well, maybe not you, but they certainly surprise me. While I was COO for Ballard Designs, the home furnishings catalog, I met a woman at a cocktail party. Her vocabulary was as colorful as her floral dress. I listened as she regaled our group with amusing stories about her week, silently grateful that my days weren’t filled with her drama. When she tired of story telling, she asked each of us “how we paid the rent.” I responded that I worked at Ballard Designs. Nothing in my previous life prepared me for the next half hour.

It began with her squealing, “I LOVE that catalog!” followed by her grabbing my hand and dragging me around the ballroom. Every person we encountered got an introduction and a spiel about the great service and products at Ballard Designs. I barely had the opportunity to say, “Nice to meet you” before we were off to the next victim, er, introduction. Needless to say, I was exhausted after the event.

The next day, I received several calls from people at the party requesting a catalog. Apparently, the party bumblebee was a connecter with influence. The next surprise came when I tried to send her a thank you note. We didn’t have her address. She had never placed an order or requested a catalog.

Fast forward to last year –

A B2B client has a trivia contest on Facebook. The winner matches the customer profile perfectly. The prize, a product from their catalog, was sent with promotional materials included in the package. The winner raved online about the prize and all of the great items in the book. It was nice, but not particularly surprising. The surprise came later and repeatedly.

When new items were posted on the Facebook fan page, the winner almost always “liked” them. She also added commentary about how much she loved some of the products. It was an ongoing conversation with a prospect that NEVER became a customer. Weeks passed, the likes and commentary continued, but the order didn’t come. Of course, no one visiting the fan page was the wiser, but this seemed odd to me. It turns out that this is more common than one might think.

All of our clients have people who regularly participate in their community that haven’t placed an order. Social promoters aren’t customers, but they add value. They tend to be very vocal and respond well to a little encouragement. Keeping them involved expands your reach and can bring real customers into your community.

One caveat –

I suspect that social promoters may be easily alienated and can become a problem. Exercising caution is wise when dealing with them. Respond to their comments and thank them for their participation. Today’s social promoter may be tomorrow’s best customer or worst troll.

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