140 characters can be worth a lot of money these days. Twitter has certainly proven that to be true. Hundreds of millions of people use Twitter to chat about their daily lives, their needs and their problems. And along with consumer users of Twitter, companies have also joined this popular social network for business purposes. Twitter can actually enhance the efficiency of your sales team by giving your business the opportunity to interact directly with your prospective clients online.

Using Twitter for Business: What’s it Good For?

The new movement of using Twitter for business purposes has increased the personal interaction between companies and consumers. It breaks many barriers between brands and their customers by allowing these two parties to interact freely and comfortably. While there are many ways that you can utilize this for your business, three of the most effective uses of Twitter are as follows… 

• Use It As a Tradition Breaker-

  One of the worst things your sales team can do is get into a habit with their pitch. Not only does it depersonalize your value proposition, but it makes your company feel cold and uncaring. Twitter is a great way to break this habit because your sales team can do some field research and really see what interests your leads. Your potential customers are out there in the Twitter world, posting information about what they like and dislike and constantly communicating about their needs and wants. Twitter allows you to gather this information in order to personalize your pitch to their meet their unique preferences. You start building a relationship with leads by having real-world conversations with them and showing them that you care.

• Use It As a Powerful Communicator-

  Keeping in touch with converted leads is just as important as converting current prospects. Twitter provides you with the means to see how your current customers are doing and show them that you still have a vested interest in their well being. Ask clients to follow your company on Twitter and then follow them back. Make an effort to occasionally interact with their tweets. This will create a unique, personalized relationship between you and those who have benefited from your services. Chances are, your customers will feel special, will develop a higher level of commitment to your brand and may even retweet your posts, which will help to promote your company online among their networks.

• Use It As a Response System-

  Your leads and customers are going to have comments, questions and maybe even concerns associated with your products and services. They may even post some of these in their tweets. You can set up filters on Twitter to inform you of when certain keywords, such as your business name, are mentioned and take the opportunity to respond to those posts in a timely, professional and helpful manner. Keep in mind that you can also track uses of your brand names or even your competitors’ business names in other people’s tweets. Use all of these opportunities to engage in meaningful, helpful conversations with potential clients.

When using Twitter for business, always keep in mind that it is about building trust.

Through simple, occasional replies or retweets, you can strengthen a relationship in a unique way that is often more effective and less intrusive than the traditional phone call. This is not to say that Twitter should replace phone calls from your sales team, but rather that it should be a stepping stone to make your leads more comfortable with the idea of doing business with your company. Start taking advantage of Twitter today..all you need is someone who can type 140 characters!