Observational Marketing is the practice of discovering information which is most important to your contacts and applying it in positive ways to earn trust and build rapport with your clients.
Facebook is an excellent tool to help you expand your practice of Observational Marketing. It allows you to be aware, at a glance, what moods, interests, and current life changes people in your community are experiencing.
If you are friends with clients and prospects on Facebook, you have access to a wealth of information which you may use to increase the depth of your data in your contact database.
By spending a few hours a month on Facebook, you can not only engage people in conversation, but you can also use information you find there to add notes to your database about people you hope to do business with in the future. Status updates, wall posts, and friend lists provide a wealth of information.
Once you’ve gathered information about your clients and prospects, you can then refer to that information to enhance the relevancy of future communication.
By tailoring your communication around prospects’ interests, you not only capture their attention, but reinforce your position in their mind as a thoughtful, helpful resource.
Here’s a list of potential details you could glean from an average prospect’s Facebook page:
- Birthdays
- Spouse / children
- Pets
- School networks
- Favorite sports teams
- Other people they know
- Life changes (births, deaths, graduations, new jobs)
- Political interests & affiliations
- Hobbies
- Local community connections
- Professional affiliations
- Upcoming vacation plans
- Upcoming leisure activities (weekend plans, etc.)
- Volunteer organization affiliations
- Favorite restaurants
- Music & arts interests
- Aspirations & goals
By entering details from Facebook into your contact database, you can create a rich, searchable resource for communicating with your contacts.
