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5 Ways To Connect With Your Customers Online

If you are struggling with how best to connect with your customers online whether it's via a company Blog or your website, consider these five approaches from the best-selling book, The Network Is Your Customer, by David L. Rogers:
  • Try Branding, Not Selling -- Offer a story, entertainment, or a compelling idea that you can link convincingly to your brand, rather than trying to sell products or services directly.
  • Offer Utility -- Provide content and interaction that helps solve a problem or answers a critical information need for your audience.
  • Show A Personal Face -- Engage customers by showing a personal side and an authentic voice in digital content rather than the objective and authoritative voice of an institution.
  • Focus On The Particular -- Focus on niche audiences and their specific needs and interests, rather than trying to engage every possible customer with the same content.
  • Make It A Game -- Use the interactive, goal-based play of online games to engage customers for fun, education, and relationship-building.

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