Last week we looked at how utilizing Twitter in small businesses can save marketing dollars, expand your customer base, and manage and increase your ability to build relationships. In this final segment, we look at additional ways Twitter allows small business to reap big rewards.
Feedback loop
Small businesses rarely conduct market surveys due to the expense and time necessary to manage them. Twitter allows a business to monitor what people are saying about them and their products. You can ask for active feedback and criticism, respond to questions and deal with any disgruntled tweets through Twitter. Listening to what’s happening on the ground can also help small businesses decide on a strategic direction.
Keep your enemies closer
Competition is fierce for the small to medium enterprise. Twitter lets small businesses monitor their competition. What new initiatives are on the horizon and what can you do to stay on the cutting edge?
If your competitors are not on Twitter, search for tweets that mention them so you can see what others think. Competitive intelligence is a good reason for small businesses to use Twitter and stay a step ahead.
Differentiation
Being able to build a presence can make or break a small business. Twitter allows a dash of creativity, humor and humanity in marketing your business. Twitter accounts can be as funny or outstanding as you want them to be – better for your customers to remember you.
A car dealer in Albany, New York, has the attention grabbing twitter profile “iamhuge”, a silly but memorable profile name that fits in with the business’s general marketing pitch and attracts curious customers to his website, Twitter account and dealership. (“Being HUGE on Twitter: A Small Business Case Study,” Rebecca Kelley, website: 10er20.com/blog, 4 August 2009)
Twitter is not just for the big guys. Small businesses are signing up for Twitter accounts in ever-increasing numbers. There are quite a few benefits of using Twitter in small business, including cutting marketing costs and keeping tabs on competitors.
Please take a moment to share your Twitter experiences, or questions by leaving a comment below.
Jeannine Clontz, IVAA CVA, MVA, EthicsChecked™, owner of Accurate Business Services is a Virtual Assistant (VA). ABS provides ‘as needed’ marketing and social media support, training and consulting to busy entrepreneurs. Clontz is a writer, author, VA Coach, and speaker on business topics including business ethics. For her FREE 10-Step Guide to Finding the Right VA, or herFREE Report, Social Media Marketing Benefits, visit: http://www.accbizsvcs.com. Find out more at www.VAbizcoach.com or her book website http://www.entrepreneurialfreedom.com
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I was part of a group of women business owners, and members of the St. Louis Chapter of NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) who were invited to participate in a video about the organization which aired on St. Louis television this past Sunday. Sponsored by www.allaboutbusinesstv.com who did a fabulous job. Check it out!
The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), of Metropolitan St. Louis, recently announced their annual Public Policy trip to Jefferson City which includes their members, and participants from 15 statewide organizations including the St. Louis Minority Business Council, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Women Impacting Public Policy – Missouri, MidAmerica Minority Business Development Council, and the St. Louis Black Leadership Roundtable, just to mention a few.
This is going to be a great NAWBO St. Louis meeting – and you get a FREE book with your registration – hope to see you there! 
The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), St. Louis Chapter, is pleased to announce their January program featuring Susan Elliott, one of the first female programmers at IBM and later founder and chairman of SSE, a national firm recognized globally
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Twitter tips
Hi Jeannine,
When I talk Twitter to business owners one thing they find confusing is the use of Twitter itself. At least those who have played around with it.
If you are one of those challenged by Twitter’s interface, try not using Twitter to tweet. Experiment with one of the 3rd party apps like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck. They make Twitter easier and more monitorable. My personal favorite of the moment is Hootsuite. I manage Twitter and Facebook Fan Page accounts for several businesses and Hootsuite allows me to have all the accounts on my screen at the same time, as well as the searches I have set up. Oh, and it’s free. So is Tweetdeck, and I used to use that, quite happily. Right now Hootsuite is just better for how my brain works.
Carla, I’m with you – as soon as Hootsuite upgraded to allow me to ‘schedule’ posts and add in ping.fm (for the accounts they don’t support at Hootsuite), I transitioned all my clients there – now if I could just figure out how to actually look at my scheduled messages (like I can in TweetLater), then life would be fabulous – anyone know?