If you ever worked in retail as an everyday sales associate, you know what I mean when I say “creating different levels of relationships”.

Some customers are one-offs (see them once and never again). Other customers, though, are regulars. Some are so regular that they can (and often do) become personal friends. How you interact with your customers has great influence over what kind of customer they become.

Take that sort of relationship-building and place the involved parties on opposite ends of the planet.

Previously there was no real way to mimic the face-to-face connection between individuals. Introduce the technology of social networking/social media, though, and bam – you’re now much closer to creating that person-to-person connection.

Simple, no?

The big hurdle shouldn’t be what social media is. It’s just good customer service, and I’m confident that everything I’ve said above is just common sense.

The hurdle, instead, should be more specific; more tactical than strategic.

What social media channels do you use? How do you use them? What goals are you setting for yourself with these channels?