How to Sell Business Owners on Social Media Marketing

I was recently met with an anomaly—a business owner who did not want to grow his business. Or so he said. Yet in the half hour or so I was in his establishment, one customer came in. ONE. O-N-E. Granted, he owns a food joint and it was 2 p.m., but still, ONE customer. And he was happy with that. Unreal, right?

Now, I don't know this guy all that well, so maybe he is in fact happy with that. I've been in his place before, during peak hours, and it is busy. He puts out a good product. But I couldn't wrap my head around the idea he could be content with the status quo. Doesn't everyone want to grow their business? In the interest of full disclosure, I'm fairly certain he thought I was trying to sell him something he didn't need (the proverbial snowball to an Eskimo kind of thing), but I wasn't. I was offering to include him in a community promotion, but because I used the words, “social media marketing,” he shut down. His exact words were: "I don't advertise. I rely on word of mouth."  As social media marketers, let's all take a second to release a heavy sigh as we always do when someone says that to us. There are businesses out there that still don't get it. If you're like me, you treat these moments as a challenge, a real opportunity to show someone what they're missing. Here are ways we deal with the Social-Media-Isn't-For-Me business owners.

We recognize him by his slight overconfidence, general disdain for anyone who would pay to promote, and air of condescension regarding anyone who would need to do so. I exaggerate, of course, but only a little. Typically business owners who rely on word of mouth do so because it works (or has worked) for them. We can't debate them on their past results. What we can do is explain the new word of mouth—social media. Word of mouth works when people are talking face-to-face, but people are doing that less now than they once did. Don't believe me, Mr. Word-of-Mouth-Guy? Let's conduct a little experiment. Walk into any (and I do mean any) coffee shop, local watering hole, restaurant or social gathering facility of your choice and watch other patrons for 30 minutes. Will they speak to each other? Sure. But nearly every one of them will pick up a mobile device (phone, tablet, Blackberry) at some point. Chances are, each one will do it more than once. What exactly are they doing, Mr. Word-of-Mouth Guy? They are checking their social networks (or sometimes email, then likely, social media networks). And what are they doing on their social media networks? They are TALKING. And they usually aren’t just talking to one person. They are talking to ALL of their friends AT ONE TIME. Now, I absolutely agree that word of mouth is a great way to grow business. We just have to recognize that words don't just come from mouths anymore. Whether it's sad that we don't connect in that way as often anymore is another conversation. For business purposes, it makes business sense to accept it. What can it hurt Mr. Word-of-Mouth Guy to use social media for marketing? He can still use his old methods, too; we're not asking him to put tape across anyone's mouth. We are offering an opportunity, with little or no risk, for him to allow his customers to speak on a different platform. Typically Word-of-Mouth Guy responds to numbers. See the infographic, at the beginning in photo section that I created to help put things in perspective for Word-of-Mouth Guy.

We've all met him. He looks at us through narrowed eyes and thinks we want to rob him blind—typically before we've even said anything. A business partner of mine once asked a new business owner, in casual discussion, how he planned to market his new establishment. The owner had just spent over $100,000 setting up shop (we know this because he told us) and, according to him, had, “No budget for advertising.” Unless he has an exceptionally poor business plan, it would be safe to assume what he meant was, “If you're trying to sell me something, I don't want it.” I love those immediately wary people (probably because I can be one myself at times). Plenty of people assume all discussions about social media marketing are just the evolution of the fast-talking sales pitch. And, frankly, they can be. But there is value in these discussions—to them—and it’s part of our job to prove it! As social media marketers, we have to wow them with value. The best way to do this is to compare traditional marketing methods with social media marketing in both cost and potential customer reach. If you’ve seen the business advertise in print or on television, you have an advantage because you are able to do a little research before this conversation. What would an ad that size cost? How often and how long will it run? And what is the potential customer reach? It’s most effective to go into these discussions knowing what local papers charge and what they promise. Then I highlight one of the greatest parts about social media marketing—the power of the customer as your business spokesperson! When someone reads a print ad or sees a television commercial, it’s pretty much the end of the road. Even if they like it, unless they are sitting next to someone and mention it, that’s where it ends. But social media is a whole different ballgame. When one of their customers “likes” them or otherwise shares their experience with the business on a social media platform, they have given a personal endorsement. I hate to use the cliché again, but that is the new word of mouth. The best part is the cost to get a business presence on social media, including all the perks of spokespeople and being able to measure results, is far (I emphasize: far, far, far) less than traditional marketing—and the potential reach is greater. That, Mr. All-I-Care-About-Is-Cost Guy, is called “value.”

I recently met with a customer, a younger guy who runs a business with his father. Like most people in his age group (under 40), he is actively involved in social media, so he understands how huge of a resource it can be to help grow business. His father, on the other hand, just got rid of his Rolodex last year--his words, not mine (for the benefit of anyone under 30, Wikipedia says “A Rolodex is a rotating file device used to store business contact information...The Rolodex holds specially shaped index cards; the user writes the contact information for one person or company on each card. The cards are notched to be able to be snapped in and out of the rotating spindle—sounds absolutely archaic, doesn't it?). I get it. My own father couldn't send an email until 2 years ago and he never used the computer for his business, even though he didn't retire until a few years ago. There are old school business owners out there who either don't believe in technology or (more likely) don't understand it. So when we start throwing around words like “tweet” and “share” and “like,” they look completely lost or overwhelmed. A customer can't possibly recognize the value social media marketing can bring to them until they first understand what it is. Try describing Facebook to your 95-year-old grandmother. I've done it. The conversation went like this: Facebook is like a huge bulletin board. You decide who gets to see it, they're your friends. One area of the board is devoted just to you, to post whatever you want—pictures, quotes, stories, questions—and that area is just for you and your friends to see and use. The rest of the board is split up so that each of your friends has a place to post whatever they want. You and your friends can look at the whole board and post and respond to one another. Whenever you post something in a friend's area of the bulletin board, all of their friends can see it. Chances are your friends know people that you don't, so anything you post there will be seen by all of those other people. My granny is a smart cat because her very first response was, “That's a lot of people.” Yes, as a matter of fact, Gran, it is a lot of people.

Now I translate that conversation into terms the I-Don't-Get-It business guy can understand. The conversation often starts like this: Social media seems overwhelming, I know. I wasn't a computer person myself for a long time. (This is true. When I managed my dad's business, I always kept written notes out of constant fear that I would lose something on a computer. Fast forward to now, when I realize I'm more likely to lose a written note than anything on my computer, plus I recognize the value of digital notes as time savers with the added bonus of password protection and I'm a new, more efficient business operator.) I promise that there are social media outlets that are user-friendly and then emphasize that if they weren't, I wouldn't be using them. Once presented with the potential customer reach of a social media campaign, Mr. I-Don't-Get-It-Guy is usually a little more the I-Want-To-Get-It Guy, so I enter these discussions with visuals—on paper, not my computer. After all, he told me he is more comfortable with his old school ways, I may as well illustrate it in a way that doesn't seem overwhelming. But I have my laptop or tablet there because once they get it, I show them. It's a slower process, like walking into a cold ocean. At first, you feel it out, but eventually it's just easier to dive in to adjust as quickly as possible before you have a chance to change your mind. Once Mr. I-Want-To-Get-It guy is engaged, I present starting a social media presence in short, easy to follow steps.  See the infographic, at the beginning in photo section, I use to explain Facebook and Twitter to the business owner who has never logged in to either.

Like cell phones were a trend? Like microwaves? Like televisions? Like cars? Occasionally you meet the It's-A-Trend Guy who is completely unconvinced that social media is here to stay. And because sales through sarcasm isn't typically effective, laughing while you ask him if he still uses 8 track tapes probably isn't the best approach. To Mr. It's-A-Trend Guy I ask this: “What exactly is your definition of a trend? Does it last for a week or a month or a year? Would you call 5 years a trend? How about 8? Because that's how long it has been since Facebook started and every year it gains users. Can I guarantee you it will be around forever? No, although I think it's safe to assume it will be, in some form or another. But what does it matter if it will be? It's here now. And it is where your customers are gathering. Are new networks popping up all the time? Yes. Am I suggesting you engage with all of them? Not necessarily (and typically, NO). It's not important that you are there first, it's just important that we find the platform that makes sense for you and use it. If you are more comfortable waiting for a social network to have 4 million users (like how I worked that in there? 4 million people, waiting on you, Mr. It's-A-Trend Guy). There are plenty of options for you that have already hit that benchmark—and they're still growing. We’re talking 800 million in some instances (Facebook, of course). I tend to focus on risk here with It's-A-Trend Guy, or truly the general lack of significant risk. Because an effective campaign can be launched with very little capital, there is no real harm in trying it. And the return on investment can be greater than you can imagine. So, even if it is a trend, Mr. It's-A-Trend Guy—even if you are in fact, correct that there will be a mass exodus away from the single most popular way for people to engage (ok, ok—don't say that, we've already established that sales through sarcasm isn't the way to go)...Why not jump on board? If you're trying to stick it to the man, this isn't the way to do it because it's hurting you and your business. Or at the very least, it probably isn't helping you grow to ignore social media." Then, I usually present them with some numbers, maybe a visual. Socialnomics has a great YouTube video that shows just how huge social media is. It illustrates the social media revolution so well, that even Mr. It’s-A-Trend Guy can comprehend its magnitude. And—bonus—the music makes you feel like the Lion King may come busting through the screen at any moment. "So, if you have 4 minutes, let's watch a video about this 'trend,' Mr. It's-A-Trend Guy:"

Watch this video 

Simple answer to this one: Fair enough, buddy. Truly. That's it. I can't speak to things I don't understand. It's his business, not mine. If he's happy, fantastic. Chances are the reason he is saying he doesn't want to grow is more about one of the reasons above (or, as in the case of the business owner I met the other day, a perfect storm of all four) than not wanting to grow. If he were given new business, he likely wouldn't turn it away. You could always go with, “You mean to tell me if a busload of customers pulled up outside, you would lock your door?” But most of us don't have the time for those types of discussions. We have our own businesses to grow.

Written by Ginger Miller, Social Media and Marketing Principal for 3V Business Solutions. 3V Business Solutions is a metro Detroit social media, marketing, SEO/SMO and web design company in downriver Detroit, Wyandotte Michigan. We are focused on providing our community with social media and marketing news from leading sources in the industry. Our social media and marketing offerings are flexible and scaleable enough to accommodate any size project, no project too big no project too small!

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