Discounting Your Customers: The Customer Experience v. Vanity Metrics

What Moment will Define Your Customers Experience with Your Business

Faces Get Likes

The stat included above shows a very simple social media concept… faces get likes! But many times likes are viewed as a vanity metric, with good reason. But as a business owner, it is incredibly important to be aware that those vanity metrics that we may be discounting are our potential customers.

Vanity Metrics?

As I was looking for some content to support the statistic above and to see what I wanted to say when I posted it and I found myself wadding into a soupy mess of negativity about “collecting likes for likes” or “vanity metrics.” Plus lots of folks ranting about how stupid social media interaction is in general. I spent far too long spiraling downward into this mess and found myself downright angry. I get the idea of vanity metrics, yes you should always aim for valuable deeper interactions with followers.

Your end game should always be creating customers for life but that relationship needs to start somewhere.

But c’mon people lets be real here the customer (who we will call Becky) to the business relationship has to start somewhere. Maybe Becky just stumbled upon your page and thought one of your posts was cool. Becky Double taps. What if Becky was the only one that liked your post? What would you do? Discount Becky with the mentality of likes don’t matter and move on?

Don’t Discount Becky

No, a smart business owner would have brought on someone to handle social media at least part-time and made sure that Becky was engaged. That has the potential to start a relationship.

“Thanks for the like @Becky, we have tons more of these in store we hope you come in and check them out soon.

Becky sees that comment on her way to work and it makes her smile, unfortunately, she has a crazy busy week and didn’t respond. But Becky smiled and maybe that relationship is budding because she wanted to respond back and see where the store was located but life got crazy.

Sadly, this time Becky lost track of this company, couldn’t remember the name but really wanted to check them out when life calmed down.

Another Chance to Begin the Customer Relationship

Three months later while on vacation Becky again stumbles upon another cute post from this company and she is happily reunited and quickly double taps before throwing here iPhone onto her lounge chair where it took an awkward bounce and landed in the deep end of the pool.

Poor @Becky just a poor discounted customer “like” on the sale rack.But while on vacation, Becky met her future husband and they bonded over wet iPhones and they both loved social media, and how he also ran a small business and he was looking for creative people to partner with.

The  Customer/ Business Relationship Finally Begins for Becky

A little Instagram stalking and they find the post that Becky liked, he loves the same post, he follows the company. When he returns, he send a DM and sets up a meeting. Becky finally gets to see the store and thrilled with all the quirky offerings! She buys 20 items for friends and family that Christmas. She knows they will love them.

See where this is going?

Yeah, the store is about to have a lot of new customer relationships!  19 of the 20 recipients of the gifts from Becky love the items. They get and can’t wait to visit this new found treasure.  When they all visit over the next few months they all buy items to take to friends! Becky’s friend Becky actually has her bridal shower in the store. Sales are up 200% that year and the social media manager lands a full-time gig with an assistant to help!Ok, I know what’s my point: My point is Becky’s like was easy but it was a start, as a business owner I don’t know where my next meal may come from. I don’t know if that one like is a gateway. Be aware of your mindset and tone of conversations about social media metrics. Each one of those likes could be a new customer for life if they feel valued; discount them and they will find someone else to take money from them