If you’re like me, you probably use the various social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to stay in touch with your friends and family – whether a family event is coming up, a surprise birthday party for your friend, or you’re just hanging out and having fun.

Social networking has created an environment where we are constantly in reach of each other. Consider this of the priceless reasons to get involved with social networking as a business owner – you can stay connected with your customers … even after they’ve left the building!

See your customer base

An obvious advantage of social networking as a business owner is that you get to see your customer base – in other words, you get to see who’s interested in what you have to say and what you’re offering. The brilliant thing about social networking is that people tell you they’re interested in your updates, service / products, and activities simply be adding you as a contact, friend, fan, or follower. Check out the connections you’ve made and actual contact them personally and connect on another level – customers are more likely to get involved and pay attention to you if you pay attention to them. A common mistake here is to pay attention only to your ultimate goal – make money. Avoid being impersonal in the social realm … users can spot these types of social aliens from a mile away.

Offer exclusive discounts

While lowering your price isn’t a wise answer to a sag in sales (reveals desperation), it is a good idea to offer your social networking communities exclusive discounts and deals. Not only will the customer be interested in your products or services, they’ll also be interested in the social network they’re participating in! If you can find a creative way to dish out deals, discounts, and maybe even free services amongst your social networking crowds, you’ll be able to attract social customers, increase your web presence, brand, and in the end reach that ultimate goal of making money.

Collecting payments and following up

Perhaps one of the most advantageous aspects of using the social networking realm for business relations and promotions is the ability to track your customers – especially your customers who have yet to pay you for your provided service / products. While it’s not a good idea to stalk and harass customers by any means, social networking does enable you to stay connected with your customer, which is a good thing when a customer feels like they might be able to get by without paying you. While email has worked in the past, the real advantage of social networking is that you can eventually remind your customer publicly that you’re still waiting for payment – not in a harassing tone, but rather a friendly reminder. Remember, just as you’re connected to them in the social realm, they’re connected to you. Use your judgment as a smart business owner and act accordingly.

One possible way to remind a customer that they owe you money for services or product is to send a friendly message that includes options such as the following:

Hi there, I was just checking in to see how you’re doing and to remind you that the payment for the premium website package has yet to be received. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to provide a payment plan in which you could make smaller payments over a period of time. Hope all is well!

Overall, social networking has created a place not only where business owners can connect with their customers, but also a place where they can follow up, track, and contact individually. It’s the best ways to keep in touch with your customers since the creation of email and the newsletter.

For more on this, check out The Power of the Business Owner’s Connection with the Customer.

Subscribe for Daily Business Tips
Follow us on Twitter!

Reach out to customers online by adding your business to the Dapeem yellow pages - it’s free!

You might also like these posts:

• How Business Owners Can Take Advantage of Social Media
• Word of Mouth is the New Smart-Bomb
• Find More Customers at the Dapeem Yellow Pages
• How to Drive Traffic to a Website
• How to create content people want to read