Online social networking is something of a buzz word at the moment. The huge success of sites like myspace and facebook has led to huge interest in the area and companies are looking at how this new technology could be implemented to help them communicate internally and with their customers.
At Kwiqq, we have built a software framework to drive online social networking websites, allowing users to create profiles, share information and communicate efficiently online. It can be harnessed for business networking, internal corporate communications or just for fun.
To give you an example of our work, we recently built a social networking site for 2wentys Holidays. 2wentys is the youth brand of First Choice. They sell package holidays to thousands of young holiday makers each year, covering 9 resorts in popular destinations across the Mediterranean.
2wentys determined that an online social network would be an innovative marketing tool and benefit their already strong brand. 2wentys were aiming to:

Increase brand loyalty amongst their customers.

Increase the number of bookings that were made on the Internet.

Add value to their product by allowing holiday goers to meet their reps and other holiday makers online before going on holiday and then stay in touch with them after their return.

Increase their rankings on major search engines.

Build a database of users in the target demographic who have in interest in their brand.

Open a simple and direct channel of communication to their customers.

2wentysworld.com has proved to be a huge success with thousands of First Choice’s customers using it to meet before going on holiday, share holiday photos, videos and memories and to write reviews on their hotels.
2wentysworld has been a fantastic research tool for the 2wentys product team and has increased the percentage of bookings they take through the internet by over 30%, saving huge commission payments.

The 4 Steps that will help increase your sales and customer loyalty:

How often have you heard people tell you that the secret to increased sales and customer loyalty is to treat your customers how YOU would like to be treated? It’s a simple idea, however it’s a BIG assumption and one that is still widely believed. I hear this same old quote time and time again when running development programmes for experienced staff.

I personally prefer to be treated in a friendly, relaxed but respectful manner and I know that some of my customers are very much like me. We click, simple as that. On the other hand, some of my most loyal customers are much more formal in their approach, direct with their communication and prefer not to mix business with pleasure. We are like chalk and cheese in our preferred style, however we still do good business together, as I’ve learnt how to read their behavioural style and adapt my preferred way of working to suit theirs.

The fact is that many business people are still stuck in their ways, with only one method of communicating and approaching business relationships. Their way. A little time spent developing their understanding of others needs and ways of working, would undoubtedly improve their business relationships, improving communication and reducing the likelihood of conflict.

So the real key to increasing your sales and delighting your customers is to treat them how THEY wish to be treated.

With this in mind, I’m going to introduce you to 4 steps that will enable you to begin reading other peoples behaviour preferences, which will develop your flexibility in all kinds of situations and improve your likelihood for success, whether in sales, marketing, customer care or when interacting with your work colleagues.

PRISM - the key to understanding behaviours

The theory behind this aspect of my work is based upon PRISM Personal Performance Mapping, one of the most up to date behavioural profiling tools on the market today and currently used by some of the worlds leading organisations. We use this tool in many of our development programmes, to help our customers improve their communication skills. It’s a very powerful online process that uses the most up-to-date discoveries of neuroscience to provide users with a personal map of their behaviour preferences, divided into the four colours of Gold, Green, Blue and Red.

The tool enables individuals to develop an understanding of the impact that his or her style may have on others and allows them to learn how to recognise other people’s preferences, by observation, listening, questioning and by using the colour system.

They will then be able to use this information to adapt their own style for increased success, for example by providing customers who are naturally analytical with the data they need to assess a proposition, or those who are results orientated, by focusing on the elements of a proposal that will demonstrate potential success.
These techniques improve profitability by selling to individuals in the most appropriate way, creating harmony and building rapport, rather than following the desire to win at all cost approach that so many sales people still resort to.
Similarly, the techniques can help reduce the decision making time to close a deal, by instilling trust and confidence in the relationship created between the customer and the salesperson. The system can also help customer-facing staff to handle any conflict situation and turn complaining customers into real advocates for your products and services.

The 4 Steps to success


STEP 1 – Learn the NEEDS of each colour

There are four colours associated with the key behaviours and each colour has a key area of need:

GOLD Need for Regimentation

GREEN Need for Recognition

BLUE Need for Relationships

RED Need for Results

Be aware that our behaviour is made up of elements of each colour. Some people have a particularly high preference in certain areas and will be relatively easy to read, whilst others will have a ‘rounder’ profile and will be harder to judge.


STEP 2 – Recognise the STYLES of behaviour

Let’s look at the four colours in a little more detail, in particular the key styles associated with each one:

GOLD
People with a high Gold preference are often quieter, more reflective types, who like to spend a lot of time making sure things are done correctly and have an accurate, ordered and thorough approach to their lives. They are patient, will question you on the finer points and like to take time to make decisions as they prefer not to take risks.

GREEN
People with a high Green preference are often energetic, animated and upbeat and love to be at the forefront of any activity. They prefer to keep things moving and as such, have less patience with highly detailed tasks. They love to spend time with other people, talking with others, forming relationships, and thinking up new ideas.

BLUE
People with a high Blue preference are often softly spoken and friendly and enjoy being included with others. They are very caring and often think of others before themselves and prefer not to disagree and cause unnecessary friction. They often like to listen, rather than talk.

RED
People with a high Red preference like to be challenged, enjoy competing and getting results. They are often louder, speaking directly and forcefully. They like to take control of situations and get to the point as soon as possible.


STEP 3 – Tailor your APPROACH to meet the others preference

With training, you can develop a detailed understanding of how to recognise the key behaviours and learn how to tailor your approach when dealing with certain individuals. The key is to find out what makes the person tick, by observing them closely and asking the right questions. This will enable you to tailor your approach and build a deeper, long lasting relationship.

For example, when interacting with a person with a high Gold preference, expect plenty of questions, give them as much detail as they require, let them have time to make a decision and most importantly, know your product inside out, as they will have probably researched it thoroughly beforehand!

On the other hand, a high Red will want brief information that is to the point and clearly indicates the key benefits, the cost and the timescale. Too much information, that isn’t results orientated, will simply turn them off.


STEP 4 – Behave like a gymnast - be FLEXIBLE!

In an ideal world, everyone that we deal with would behave like us, which would mean that we all spoke the same ‘language’ and had the same methods of communication. In the real world, you need to be flexible with your behaviour. You can’t easily get other people to behave how you behave and even if you try, you will undoubtedly experience conflict at some point.

The more flexibility you have with your approach, the better results you will achieve. If you find that your interaction with an individual isn’t working, simply adapt and try another way. If a person is difficult to read, then you may need to use a more diverse approach, as they may have a more rounded set of preferences.

If you would like to find out more about our staff development programmes and our upcoming PRISM workshops, please take a look at www.seriouslyequipped.co.uk or call Ian Davies on 07770 854589.