I’m looking to buy a book. Mind you not just any book, but one that fits my needs at the moment. The title and topic aren’t relevant.
And this isn’t the first time I’ve bought a book. Truth be told I buy a lot of books. So much so that I have a process to ensure I don’t waste time or money.
One of the best things to come along for book buyers like me is the availability of research and opinions before buying a book. Back in the bad old days, one just took a chance on a book based on its title. Or perhaps spending a day browsing in a bookstore would lead to finding a great book.
There didn’t used to be a lot of information available to help one decide.
Thankfully, there are now a lot of opportunities for people to make their opinions and recommendations known. From blogs to forums to the social web, information is available on almost topic imaginable.
So now my new process is this – when I’m in the market for a new book, I’ll go looking for the experience that others before me have had with the book. That is, does it come recommended, does it contain the information I need, will it serve my purpose.
If the answer is yes then I’ll buy the book. My bookshelf is proof of how well this works – it’s stocked with great books that I would highly recommend to others.
Maybe I’ve belabored the point. I’m sure you’ve picked up that I’m not really talking about books per se.
It’s just that books are more identifiable as a delivered product than, say, real estate services. Or your service as a mortgage broker. Yet the process that potential customers use to find you is exactly the same.
But where a book purchase might be around $20, surely your services are much more expensive. What type of process do you think your customers will use to determine if you are worth what you’re charging? How can you help in that process?
Amazon has my book business because they are a useful resource in my process (along with a competitive price structure). But the real value is that they save me from spending money on stuff I would never read.
So how are you helping your customers with their process? Is there enough information available out there to help them find you and make an informed decision about you? Are there enough positive stories about how you’ve helped past clients? Do you contribute in areas where your new customer will view you as a useful resource?
If you answered no, then make a start with some of these social media sites where you can contribute in order to make yourself known:
- activerain – a real estate network that allows real estate agents, mortgage professionals and brokers to create a customized profile.
- BiggerPockets – a real estate social networking community. Learn real estate investment and network with others in real estate on a social network.
- Blogger – a free blog publishing tool from Google for easily sharing your thoughts with the world. Blogger makes it simple to post text, photos and video onto your personal or team blog.
- brightkite – discover the hidden communities behind the places that you visit. Brightkite lets you make the connection and start a conversation.
- facebook – a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them.
- flickr – almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world. Show off your favorite photos and videos to the world.
- Linkedin – strengthens and extends your existing network of trusted contacts. LinkedIn is a networking tool that helps you discover inside connections to recommended job candidates, industry experts and business partners.
- myspace – find friends, meet new people, share photos, watch videos, start a blog, read celebrity news, get cool apps, and more.
- Ning – lets you create and join new social networks for your interests and passions.
- RealTown – a resource for a wide variety of real estate-related articles from industry experts, syndicated columnists, NAR, RIS Magazine, vendors and members.
- Squidoo – the popular (free) site for creating single webpages on your interests and recommendations.
- twitter – a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time.
- WordPress – free blogs managed by the developers of the WordPress software. Includes custom design templates, integrated statistics, automatic spam protection and more.
- YouTube – share your videos with friends, family, and the world.
If you want to increase your business, then become a useful resource in your customer’s research process. Make yourself easily found and known. And when customers are ready for your services, they’ll already know you and be ready to close the transaction.
Maybe that’s why they say ‘read you like an open book’.
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