Relationships. They are the backbone and one of the most important parts of tech evangelism.
Building a business that builds loyalty and evangelists does not happen overnight. This. Takes. Time. As a tech evangelist, I’m all about long term relationships.
It’s not just in person… but also through social media, email and good old fashioned mail (I love to send postcards). Any way you can find to keep in touch and connected will be beneficial.
I want the customer interaction to be so remarkable that they will comment about it to their friends and family.
When you work with people, remember one size does not fit all. What works with one person might not work with another. You are working with unique indviduals.
And, while we’re at it… turn off those automated replies, auto-tweets and DMs. Don’t send me a form email. As soon as you do that, that tells me that we are not friends. I’ve never found an automated direct message which added any value. And, I’ve never met anyone who has had something positive come from an automated DM.
Be personal, be genuine, be curious, be you.
Oh, and when your boss or an executive asks you, “What is the ROI of a hug?”, you can tell them that your relationships are helping to gain insights about your products and services, building happy customers, building awareness, putting a face to the brand and giving it a human voice. Back these up with stories about feedback and any data you have (measure noise, buzz, sentiment, engagement, etc). Or, you can ask them, “What is the ROI of email or your cellphone?”. We know they’re valuable, but no one ever questions that.