Twenty years ago the “Experts” would tell you that the way to success with a service business was a prominent, full page yellow pages ad. If you could only afford that big ad, all the work and profits would roll in.
Ten years ago the “Experts” would tell you that the way to success with a service business was a web site and email account. If you could only afford that custom designed web page, all the work and profits would roll in.
Today the “Experts” will tell you that the way to success with a service business is a Facebook page and a Twitter account. Get a bunch of “Likes” and an army of “Followers”, and all the work and profits will roll in.
Well, the “Experts” were wrong then, and they’re wrong now. They’re not wrong because print ads, web sites, and Facebook are useless. They’re wrong because they are just tools to reach your target market so you can tell them about who you are, and what you have to offer.
Having a twitter account when most of your potential customers don’t know what a tweet is, is useless. Having a large group of Facebook followers made up of you friends and colleagues may be good for your ego, but it probably doesn’t get your message across to your target market who may think that the Internet is just two things: Google and YouTube videos.
Ask any successful service business where the majority of their business comes from. The vast majority will tell you it’s repeat customers and word of mouth. They use all of the new and old media, but business success in local markets is still based on the quality of your service experience and your customers telling their friends about it.
So, does this mean that you should abandon your social media efforts?
Of course not. You just need to keep things in perspective. New media outlets are just tools for telling your story to your potential customers. Having a web site, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account may help grow your business, but they probably won’t play as big a part as you hope. What can help your business grow is providing a good quality service experience, and then spreading the word about it wherever you can.
Use every media outlet you can find to get your story out, but keep track of your return on investment for each ad, each web site, each tweet. Track every call you get, every job you sell. Measure the profit you earn versus the cost just like you did in the old days with your yellow pages ads. If after a reasonable length of time you find that the cost is not bringing in enough profitable business, scale back your efforts and move on to other tools for telling your story to your target customers.
Remember that there is a synergy to social media that is often not apparent. Don’t abandon your Facebook page, your web site, or your blog just because you can’t trace sales directly to them. Since search engines like Google and Bing are such a huge force in local marketing today, staying towards the top of your local listing is important. Having multiple digital outlets that all refer to your company with a phone number and address on every page can boost your search page listing location.
So, by all means, take advantage of the digital tools you have at your disposal. Just remember that they are just advertising tools. Use them to get your story out, but don’t put all your faith in the “Experts” who tell you that social media is the key to your success because some things never change.