Social Media ROI Series Part 5: Sales

Sales ROI - Social Media

Social Media ROI Series Part 5: Sales

Members of the c-suite like this ultimate ROI. Will it boost our sales? They tend to ask immediately. Who wouldn’t? I mean, businesses exist to make sales. The more sales a business makes, the more profits it makes in that financial year. However, businesses involved in e-commerce, stand a better chance of reaping this rewards through social media efforts.

According to Peter Friedman, LiveWorld, ‘There are two types of sales ROI. Firstly, there is the direct revenue lift brands see when they push promotions through social.’

Direct revenue, because of direct sales; belong to the short-term category of sales ROI. In this category, all that businesses want is to sale, sale…sale! They will post a product, its price, and a bold call to action, prompting immediate sales. This is a characteristic of businesses in the e-commerce industry.

Through a social media program, a business can make direct sales (short-term) by offering their products up for sale and or through promotions. Through coupons and or sales promotions, products can indeed move. As we know, immediate sales, is what members of the c-suite want to see: making it quite a challenge.

‘Of course, short-term sales are not bad. They’re good—as long as the promotional push to make them happen doesn’t compromise building a social experience with committed, long-term customer relationships (and the revenue they create).’ says, Peter.

If your goal is to drive sales, it is advisable that you embed call to actions in your messages and or have some metric in place that will show you how you are doing in regards to making sales. For instance, having a link on social media that directs the visitor to a landing page and or sign-up to a newsletter page, and or build a mailing list. These are good places to start. The key is to have some way of measuring your sales efforts.

‘Long-term sales ROI generated from relationship-building ROI when customers become active with the brand community, form a deeper relationship, and build a space for the brand and its products in there and their friends’ everyday lives. Here is where we see increased loyalty, increased lifetime customer value, and enhanced revenue growth that is sustained overtime.’ says Peter.

Still on the path to making sales, businesses can decide to go the long route and or short route. Instead of hitting their visitors with hard selling messages, they choose to forge a relationship first. Then cultivate that relationship into a lifetime customer.

This is the best route businesses are always advised to take. In the process, they not only make sales but also, convert total strangers into loyal and lifetime customers. Who better to evangelize your products and or services other than your customers?

Research has shown that people will tend to buy more if they get recommendations from close relations, compared to advertising and or persuasions by a business. Then why not leverage this opportunity? Make her want to talk about your products and or services, wherever they are.

In the sales funnel, for which social media plays a critical part, its takes time to convert a prospect. Holding his hand all the way from awareness, interest, decision, and action needs patience. In addition, social media plays a pivotal role in taking a prospect through all the stages.

In conclusion, knowing social media ROI is key to knowing the value any social media program brings to the table. Without which, any social media efforts would be seen as throwing away money. Knowing which ROI to be on the lookout for helps in finding a way forward. Knowing what works and what does not.

If you missed my earlier posts on social media ROI, read them here. I would love to hear from you on this. Until then, happy reading.