Last week, I sat down with a potential business client at Starbucks.
As Carrie (fictitious name) tells me, she has a very successful offline practice and very busy helping a lot of clients herself.
A few years ago, she decided to diversify and offer her knowledge and skills in the online world.
I looked at her web assets, and she has made a lot of progress; much more than any other local business that I’ve encountered.
She had a lot of the pieces put together, but not quite working together as a well-oiled machine.
So for the next 45 minutes or so, I described to her the big picture strategy, and outlined the various steps necessary to develop an internet business plan.
Mentally, she stepped back and realized that she needed to change her approach.
Unbeknownst to me, there was another lady in an adjacent table who couldn’t help but overhear our discussions.
She politely introduced herself, and then asked for my business card. Unfortunately, she did not have a card to exchange with me, but she said that she was very much interested in what I had to say, and will later give me a call.
Shortly thereafter, I also parted ways with Carrie – giving her a lot of things to think about.
The weekend went by, and frankly, I forgot all about the “Starbucks stranger”.
Then last night, I received an email … and I almost missed it too.
Here’s what she had to say:
I met you at Starbucks this past week. I can’t believe I did this, but I misplaced your business card somehow. I was able to track you down though with the few details I remembered. So I Googled you and found you on LinkedIn, which led to your e-mail address!
Also through your LinkedIn profile I was able to find your website. So at this point I’m checking that out and reading up on all you have posted there. I wanted to at least touch base with you, however, and let you know that it was a pleasure running into you. I would certainly enjoy speaking with you sometime.
How would you like this to happen to you? How would you like this to happen everyday?
This is social marketing in action!
And this is the kind that I like best, because it is the most effective: a combination of offline and online social interaction. (Of course, 100% online works too.)
Here’s one thing for certain: if you don’t start building your internet real estate properties, your business will never be found.
So what about you? What social marketing stories do you have (either online or offline)?
If you don’t have a story yet, you can take baby steps by attending my next presentation –> Twitter 101
