For the past couple of years, businesses have been trying to figure out what it means to be "social," to create "communities" of users, prospects and customers.
The concept is hard to understand, in some ways. Every business satisfies some understood end user want or need, selling products or services that are an answer for those needs or wants. So social networking is seen as a better way to connect with people, and buildconnections between people, in an environment that is conducive to the company’s success.
Some of us call this a shift from "push" marketing to "pull" marketing, from "promoting products" to "inviting people to be part of a conversation about shared interests."
Jahin Mahindra points to Chick-Fil-A as an example. The firm knew it would have a hard time competing against other giants such as Kentucky Fried Chicken. So instead of "selling chicken," Chick-Fil-A created a gathering spot for mothers with children.
Almost all Chick-Fil-A buildings are constructed with indoor play areas for children. Wi-Fi has been added to many locations to ensure the parents can flip open the laptop at the table while junior plays in the jungle gym. Employees routinely pass through and refill drinks or even clear tables as if users were dining in a more formal establishment.
What this has done, in many Chick-Fil-A locations, is create a place for the desperate housewives to gather and nosh on weekday afternoons, Mahindra says.
"It’s not about the food; It’s about the social environment created that is conducive to buying the food," says Mahindra.
"If you have a location, make visiting your location a social event," he says. "Why do you think many bookstores now have coffee shops built in?"
"If you’re a meeting place as well as a place to buy things, people will frequent your location for reasons other than buying stuff," he says.
That's admittedly a tougher thing to do in a business-to-business setting than in a business-to-consumer environment, but the principles are the same.
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