Social media has given customers the tools to demand more honest and direct relationships with companies – forging a new era in business transparency and customer engagement.  

Here are 4 broad paradigm shifts business leaders need to consider – inspired by a blog in Mashable.

Move from “trying to sell” to “engaging with your customers”

Talk less about your products or services - and focus more on pro-actively adding value to customers so they will feel more comfortable doing business with you.  You also need to monitor what people are saying about your company online, and respond promptly in an authentic, helpful way.   

Move from “large advertising campaigns” to “thousands of small acts of kindness”

Gone are the days when companies could rely on carefully crafted press releases or spending large sums on advertising to communicate “at” customers.  

Social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter give customers their own broadcasting network.  Today if you have a bad or good experience with a company, you can tell everyone in your global network in a matter of seconds.  The devil is in the details.  “Moments of truth” are the everyday interactions a customer has with your firm – and they must become awesome experiences.

Move from “controlling your image” to “being authentic”

Employees express themselves online in the same way customers do, and you are deluding yourself if you think you can prevent this.  Companies do need to have clear communication guidelines to prevent brand damage.  But more importantly, you need to engage your people with your core values, your strategic plan, your key marketing messages - and then trust them to interact and build the customer relationships that will grow your company in the long run.

Move from being “hard to contact” to “available everywhere”

It is no longer enough to have a “contact us” email address and customer service number on your website. Today, customers want to interact with businesses via their chosen means of communication, whether that is LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or other platform – and you need to engage with them where they want to be.

Business success in the future will have less to do with the size of marketing budgets, and more to do with the quality of your interactions with customers.  Remember also - it is not about having a large number of followers on your social media platforms – it is about reaching out and creating genuine connections with your customers.  

Get these things right, and your customers can greatly help your marketing by posting positive messages about your company to their network.  “Word of mouth” really has been turbocharged with “word of mouse”.