Business Plan School

You know how when you're eating in a restaurant and you don't like the food, and the waiter asks you "How is everything?"

What do you say? "Oh, everything is fine, thanks."

Your customers are doing the same to you - they're not telling you what they don't like about you to your face. But with the rise of social media, they're going home and sharing their negative (and positive) experiences with their online connections.

What if you could overhear what your customers were saying about you?

How could that improve your business? What would it highlight that you're overlooking? How much power would that give you?

Yes, this is possible. It's called social media monitoring. Simply put, social media monitoring is using technology tools to identify what people are saying about your company online.

Social Media Monitoring Tools & Resources

Here are a few free and simple ways to do this:

1. Twitter Search

Enter keywords relevant to your business in the Twitter search form, particularly your company name.

2. Google Alerts

Enter your relevant keywords at google.com/alerts. Google will email you any time in encounters those keywords online, based on your preferences. (You need a Google account to set this up.)

3. RSS Feeds

Set up a Google Reader (or other RSS reader), then set up RSS feeds from social media sites as generated by searches. A specific RSS feed is generated for every search.

4. Facebook Page

Set up a Facebook Page for your business, then simply check the wall daily for comments.

5. Free Monitoring Platforms

There are a number of free social media monitoring platforms to take advantage of, such as Addictomatic, Socialmention, and Tweetdeck. There are also tons of companies who offer social media monitoring services, such as Spiral16, Radian6, and Trackur, but I wouldn't recommend these for most small businesses; it's simply unnecessary.

Your Customers are in Charge

Knowing what your customers say about you is vital. It tells you what you're doing wrong and right and how to improve.

As my business partner and I write in our book:

"Not only has power itself changed, but also who controls it has shifted. In the past, it was business that wielded power to achieve its ends. Now, the power lies with customers.
"It is customers who dictate the creation and disposition of information. It is customers who determine not only what things get produced, but also how they get produced (note the rise in social-oriented and environmentally-friendly businesses).

"Customers are firmly planted on the new throne; businesses are their servants. Those that understand and adapt will survive and thrive. Those who don't will disappear, leaving only a memory."