You’re smart and savvy and you know your business, but do you know your social customer? We’ve discussed who your social customers are not; now let’s think about who your social customers are.

Your social customers are smart, and savvy too. You can’t fool them. They know when you’re pitching them. Stop pitching and start focusing on getting to know them.

It’s all about relationships. If you think you don’t have the time to spend on building relationships with your social customers then consider how much it might cost you if you don’t. Take some time to read their stories, visit their websites and comment on their blogs – and have fun getting to know them along the way.

Your social customers are communicators. They want to talk to you, and they want you to talk to them. They also want you to listen. Not just listen quietly but acknowledge that you’ve heard them and care enough to discuss their suggestions, comments and questions further with them.  If you’re invested in your social customers, they’ll be invested in your brand.

Your social customers are frugal. They’re on FourSquare, Groupon, Facebook and Twitter – and they want discounts and perks. They want to feel like VIPs without having to spend the big bucks. Show them they’re valued by giving them something they’ll value. Don’t just roll out random discounts and perks either, but perks based on their interests and discounts on the things that would be useful to them.

Your social customers are busy. They don’t always have time to sit on hold for customer service when it might be faster to send a tweet. They can’t always wait until they get home to call about that issue they’re having. They need to deal with it now while they’re stuck in the waiting room at the dentist’s office. Be ready for your social customers to reach out to you across social networks and make it easy for them to do so.

Your social customers are on the move. They go from home to work and travel the globe. They want to be able to bring up your site wherever they go and they want to do it on a variety of different devices. They want access to your brand on their tablets, on their mobile phones and on their laptops. Make sure your social customers can get the information they need from you while they’re on the go.

Your social customers aren’t all that different from the customers who walk into your brick and mortar storefront. They come in all shapes, sizes and financial flavors and each has the ability to help make or break your brand. Each one is unique and each is an influencer in their own word-of-mouth network and therefore should be treated as such. Value them, get to know them and build relationships with them and you’ll be well on your way to having social customers for life.

Do you know who your social customers are? Do you think they differ from your customers who aren’t engaging on social networks?

Trish Forant is a Community Manager at Radian6. She blogs about social media, life in South Florida and has a Yorkshire Terrier named Sebastian Bark. Connect with her on Twitter at @Dayngr.

Tags: Brand, CRM, Customer relationship management, Customer service, Facebook, Foursquare, Groupon, intermediate, scrm, twitter