LinkedIn’s IPO went through the roof, Google rolled out their +1 social sharing functionality, Groupon was next up on the over-hyped stock watch, and the market as a whole is now exhibiting more volatility than a Philadelphia sporting event. 
And that’s just in the past couple of months or so.
“Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel…”
Is Bud Fox still #winning?
Charlie Sheen imdb references aside, even the most clueless Carlsbad businesses out there can glean some beneficial info from all of this social search, daily deals, and professional networking media buzz.
How does your business possibly keep up with all of this and try to use this information to your advantage?
By paying attention and by having your ear tuned-in to your customers.
Don’t Just Hear, Listen
If you don’t take an active role in the communication habits of your local customers, you can’t possibly know how to best reach them with important product info and beneficial local savings opportunities.
You need to find out their likes, dislikes, favorite ways to communicate, who they most often communicate with, where they go to do their communicating, and how your Carlsbad small business can get in on the conversation.
To make it really easy, you can just ask each customer how they’d feel about receiving discounts or product updates through their Facebook page. You can also ask your customers how your Twitter account can provide more helpful content and less inane BS.
And you can also direct local customers to your very own online review portal where they can easily and instantly beam positive digital word of mouth across your business’s social stratosphere.
You can even have local customers check-in on your Facebook Places or Foursquare profile to capture some additional discount or savings opportunities.
Talk straight to them, they’ll know if you’re not. 
The important point to remember here is that all of this communication is going on around your Carlsbad business, and it’s high time you throw a hat in the ring.
Sure there are pitfalls, like having someone leave a negative review or a competitor glomming onto your identity and squatting in your digital environment. But those things WILL happen, and they will happen regardless of your digital marketing IQ.
Customer word of mouth is probably your primary new customer recruitment source. That word of mouth has been increasingly going social, local, digital, mobile, and viral.
Digital word of mouth is the new Anacott Steel…and your customers love it!
Will your Carlsbad small business learn to love it, elicit it, capture it, and syndicate it to be socially searched and shared in your local online environment?
Snide remarks and scathing comments are always welcome, why is your business still straddling the fence with all this social media, local search, and digital marketing mumbo jumbo? 
To your immediate left you’ll find the status quo – is that good enough?
To the right is increased online practice visibility, amplified (digital) word of mouth, and improved search engine rankings for your website.
…And a thousand other tangible benefits we’ve repeated – and will continue to do so – ad nauseam.
In which direction is your Carlsbad small business planting its digital footprint?
Disclaimer: This post was originally published on July 25, we are re-posting now due to recent website issues.
