I was recently asked to join a group of experts to contribute thoughts on trends driving the evolution of CRM over the next five years. I must say, that it’s a group of individuals whom I not only respect, but also am lucky enough to know in the real world.

- Ray Wang, Principal Analyst & CEO at Constellation Research
- Brent Leary, Owner at CRM Essentials
- Esteban Kolsky, Principal & Founder at ThinkJar LLC
- Denis Pombriant, CEO at Beagle Research Group, LLC
- Paul Greenberg, Owner at The 56 Group, LLC

SoftwareAdvice‘s Lauren Carlson led the discussion under the banner of CRM’s Next 5 in 5. I’ve included some of the highlights here to give you a glimpse of what each expert is tracking. Of course, take a moment to read the full post for a deeper perspective…

Ray Wang: In the next five years, we will see tremendous growth in context services and the data they provide. A key source of this context data will be from mobile devices. Context services are subscription services that help add context during engagement. For example location, relationship, roles, business process, and other sensing technologies.

Esteban Kolsky: We still don’t have the analytical tools to make sure we can deliver value in the instances described. We need to build the infrastructure to make sure there is value in the technology. Analytics and Cloud are leading the charge there.

Paul Greenberg: We’ll see more technologies like SAP HANA, Hadoop and other in-memory and distributed technologies deliver radically faster information processing capabilities. Real-time customer intelligence will become a reality. Technologies around unified communications will be not only hot, but game changers.

Denis Pombriant: Virtual interaction increases the need for enhanced content management systems, as well as spur demand for video production tools that lightly-trained people can use to create animations and conventional “talking head” broadcasts. We will also probably see CRM systems evolve to track these virtual interactions.

Brent Leary: Near Field Communication and the impact it will have on person-to-person and machine-to-machine information exchange will have a big impact on CRM in the not too distant future. I’d also throw in connecting the TV to the mix of screens companies will use to create better customer experiences When people are at home with access to a big screen, they will want to leverage that for their interactions and rich content experiences. Companies that begin developing engagement strategies with this in mind should be in line to see some competitive advantage in terms of customer engagement.

While only some of thoughts made the cut, I didn’t want to lose the other ideas that were swirling in my mind as a result of this exercise. I needed a place where I could park the other important trends I’m following…

1. In 2012 and continuing into 2013, I believe businesses will start to explore new dynamics of CRM beginning with the Customer Influence Factor (I.F.). Services such as Klout, PeerIndex, and Kred are by default creating a social customer hierarchy that introduces influence beyond marketing, to now include service and sales professionals.

2. The second trend is the development of CRM systems that integrate I.F. data into the mix. This will help the front line prioritize engagement, personalize engagement, while providing a more comprehensive view of the social customer and their needs and expectations.

3. Naturally this introduces complications and new parameters in how businesses engage and develop relationships with customers. This will by default necessitate the development of new rules of engagement and supporting metrics to convert leads, solve customer issues, and improve experiences.

4. Next, we will see gamification extend beyond marketing to improve loyalty through integrated social rewards programs, social graph data, and a more community-focused effort on expanding the company’s reach through influence and advocacy programs.

5. Finally, the convergence of marketing, service, sales, and business intelligence will set the stage for businesses to build a more holistic front and experience through traditional web, social and mobile networks. Integration signals not only technology frameworks and connected systems and processes for collaboration, but more importantly, a mission, purpose, and charter to meet and exceed customer needs and expectations.

Where do you see CRM headed?

Connect with me: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google+

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Guest post by Scott Forshay, creator and editor of mobi.luxe. Following him on Twitter @mobiluxe

Establishing consumer relationships through mobile marketing, as with any successful, productive relationship, inherently requires a mutual exchange of value. Whether consumers are opting-in for brand communications via SMS or engaging with the brand in a single instance through scanning a QR code, the onus is on the brand to deliver value in return for customers’ valuable time and information. Without the perception that value has been exchanged for value, the relationship becomes essentially one-sided and unrequited attempts at interaction on the part of the consumer will spell the end of the relationship – perhaps permanently.

In the early stages of mobile marketing, the value exchange was almost exclusively defined through promotional-based marketing. Consumers were asked to share their mobile numbers in exchange for coupons. While seemingly primitive by today’s standards, text back couponing remains an effective behavior stimulus for many brands and retailers, but for luxury brands discounting flies in the face of the intrinsic value of the brand. The challenge for innovative prestige brands is defining how best to create a true value exchange with their most loyal advocates while remaining true to themselves and not cheapening the brand in the process of attempting to deepen relationships.
Any value exchange requires the exchange of currency. Whether the currency is monetary, emotional, or informational, it establishes the parameters necessary to define a successful exchange and secures a commitment to future exchanges. With this in mind, an analysis of the efficacy of any value exchange must be measured by the mutually beneficial exchange of mobile currency.

Affluent loyalists of prestigious brands seek greater intimacy with, and priority access to, the brands they most covet. In exchange for priority access, the affluent consumer will exchange premium monetary currency. A mobile campaign touchpoint that directs the consumer to an optimized landing page or microsite featuring a product exclusive to mobile subscribers effectively plays marionette with the heartstrings of affluent consumers by exclusively engaging a prestigious audience with exclusivity and access to product available only to a select audience. Tactics such as these create a successful value exchange whereby a monetary commitment is made by the consumer in exchange for priority access to the brand and the prestige associated with exclusive ownership.

The essence of any coveted brand is the story it conveys. And as Brian Solis believes, “the aspiration it evokes.”

The rich heritage and tradition of the brand is infused with creative vision and continued innovation as the brand narrative unfolds across mediums to engage consumers and create a vision of a lifestyle to be aspired to and desired. Traditionally the brand narrative has been told in a unidirectional fashion through artfully produced photography and film, but the consumer was only capable of experiencing the story in a disconnected way. Mobile, as a medium, is innately transitive in nature, serving as a persistent interface for consumers to navigate an ever-evolving digital ecosystem of retail touchpoints and become, themselves, players in the storytelling experience. Strategically dissecting the brand narrative to take on an episodic form allows the brand to engage audiences in the on-going drama, create desire to see where the story will lead, and create deeper emotional connections in the process. Whether bringing still imagery to digital life through QR codes or augmented reality, targeting desired audiences and engaging them with rich mobile display advertising, or consistently communicating emotional currency via SMS marketing, the mobile value exchange is successful in the exchange of permission to communicate with highly-valued consumers in return for deeper levels of involvement and engagement with the brand.

Regardless the strategies or technologies employed, successful mobile marketing relies heavily on a fair and evenly balanced value exchange between consumer and brand. Given the intensely personal nature of smart devices, coupled with the fact that the device is nearly always within arm’s reach, it is more important in mobile marketing to avoid being intrusive and irrelevant. Consumers will not give up their valuable information in exchange for clutter or noise. Focus on an understanding of the currency of mobile marketing and utilize it to create an exchange that delights both the audience and the brand that value them.

Scott Forshay is a Luxury and Premium Brand Marketing Consultant and Mobile Strategist who’s been featured in PSFK, Luxury Daily, Fashion’s Collective, Business of Fashion, and The Wall Street Journal.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Part 16 in an ongoing series that serves as the prequel to my new book, The End of Business as Usual…

It’s a new year and a new set of predictions to set goals and expectations for 2012.  I won’t bother you with the top 10 emerging social networks or apps to focus time and resources. Nor will I gaze in the crystal ball to reveal the five secrets to viral marketing and user/customer acquisition. Instead of adding my forecasts to the endless sea of debatable prophesies, I chose a more aspirational path.

2012 is the year of transformation as digital Darwinism threatens rigid and traditional practices everywhere. Regardless of industry, digital Darwinism is a phenomenon when technology and society evolve faster than the ability to adapt.

Indeed, this is a time when organizations will invest in change to better adapt to emerging market opportunities, to more successfully engage with customers, employees and stakeholders, rethink systems and processes, and ultimately, revive the company’s vision, mission and purpose. The result is an adaptive culture that signals an end to business as usual. Without doing so only expedites the inevitable journey towards irrelevance.  For 2012 and beyond, the following trends serve as beacons for not only survival, but leadership.

Trends for Transformation

Leadership: As technology continues to evolve & permeate work and life, behavior, expectations and communication evolve. Someone must look ahead, see where we need to go and lead the way to relevance. Leadership is something that must be earned. Without a top-down charter toward a direction everyone can march behind, leadership is relegated to operational management. In the age of empowerment, those who march blindly will follow a path not unlike what Steve Jobs envisioned in the infamous Apple Lemmings commercial.

Vision: The stated outlook of organizational direction needs review. When’s the last time you read your company’s vision or mission statement? If you did read it recently, would you Tweet it proudly? In a time when brands are not created, but instead co-created, if vision is unclear or underwhelming, alignment, community and camaraderie will prove elusive.

Strategy: With new media and emerging technology creating a groundswell of customer empowerment, new strategies must focus on the alignment of objectives with meaningful experiences and outcomes. All too often, emerging technology is confused with either disruptive technology, where is impacts how companies work or how customers behave, or that of yet another channel or platform for traditional marketing or selling. Far too much emphasis, budget, and time is placed in new media channels without an understanding of why or what it is that customers expect or appreciate.

Culture: This is a time of change, which requires coalescence and solidarity. We can’t change if the culture is rigid or risk averse. We can’t innovate if those who experiment are not supported. Organizations need to focus on cultivating a culture of adaptation rooted in customer- and employee-centricity and more importantly, empowerment. Culture is everything. It is and should be intentional. It should be designed. Those companies that invest in the development of an adaptive culture will realize improved relationships that contribute to competitive advantages.

People: The 5th P of the marketing mix, “People,” will take center stage. Organizations that embrace the spirit of intrepreneurialism will empower employees to experiment through failure and success to improve engagement and morale. And, by embracing customers, insights will inspire relevant products, services and processes.

Innovation: The ability to recognize new opportunities is perhaps the greatest challenge rivaled only by the ability to execute. Emerging and disruptive technology is now part of the business landscape and customer lifestyle. Innovation, trends, and hype is not going to stop. In fact, it will only amplify. The capacity to identify and consider new solutions and responses is critical. It must be supported by innovative collaboration and decision-making processes and systems to assess and react. Innovation must be perpetual.

Influence: Digital influence is becoming prominent in social networks, turning everyday consumers into new influentials. As a result, a new customer hierarchy is developing forcing businesses to identify and engage to those who rank higher than others. There is no future in any business model that is cemented in reactive engagement. Organizations should identify and engage all connected customers to extend reach outside of problems. Businesses must engage when touchpoints emerge, during decision-making cycles, when positive experiences are shared, or to proactively feed the results who search for insight and direction.  Contributing value to people and investing time and energy into networks of relevance will also earn any organization a position of equal or greater influence.

Localization: For global organizations hoping to connect with customers around the world, localization & contextualization are king in any engagement strategy. This is also true for any engagement strategy regardless of local. Many companies are jumping on every bandwagon imaginable, syndicating content, thinning resources, and investing no more in each network than what’s necessary to maintain a pulse. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Youtube, Foursquare, Instagram, Pinterest, Quora become broadcast channels for one-to-many strategies and programs that do very little for cultivating dedicated and engaged communities.

Intelligence: One of the biggest trends in 2011 was the development of social media command centers. At the heart of these sophisticated data gathering silos were conversations and tools that allowed community managers to listen, respond, and promote engagement within the company. While social media is introducing the art & science of monitoring to marketing and service teams it is the organizations that invest in technology, teams and processes that will translate activity into actionable insights.

Philanthropic Capitalism: Customers expect values to match their own core values. What used to be a necessary checklist of community focus, such as corporate social responsibility or CSR is now rebooted. Philanthropic capitalism is a business model where companies contribute to worthwhile causes on behalf of customers as part of the transaction. Additionally, customers are expressing that they will also invest in companies where employees are “treated well,” pledging trust and loyalty as a result. The empathetic business model on the horizon requires charitable and sustainable decisions as part of everyday business where customers naturally become stakeholders.

These pillars will serve as the foundation for an adaptable business model where opportunities are readily assessed and innovation is regularly practiced. The reward is relevance, affinity and advocacy. As Leon C. Megginson once said in paraphrasing Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”

#AdaptorDie

Order The End of Business as Usual today…

Part 1 – Digital Darwinism, Who’s Next
Part 2 – Social Media’s Impending Flood of Customer Unlikes and Unfollows
Part 3 – Social Media Customer Service is a Failure!
Part 4 – I think we need some time apart, it’s not me, it’s you
Part 5 – We are the 5th P: People
Part 6 – The State of Social Media 2011: Social is the new normal
Part 7 – I like you, but not in that way
Part 8 – Are You Building a Social Brand or a Social Business?
Part 9 – CMO’s are at the Crossroads of Customer Transactions and Engagement
Part 10 – From Social Commerce to Syndicated Commerce
Part 11 – You can’t go back to create a new beginning, but you can begin to change the ending
Part 12 – How to Make Customer Service Matter Again Part 1
Part 13 – How to Make Customer Service Matter Again Part 2
Part 14 – Long Live Blogs! The State of the Blogosphere 2011
Part 15 – Going Global by Going Local: Why localization improves engagement

Image Credit: Shutterstock

In 2011, the digital landscape underwent a significant shift that will have profound effects on business in 2012.

The challenge is that hardly any business leaders noticed. That’s not their fault however.

Although the impact of technology on business and consumer behavior was widely reported, in-depth reports on what to do next or how this will affect their business specifically were scant at best.

I’m sure you heard it from experts everywhere, “You need a Facebook brand page! Why are you not on Twitter yet? Have you checked-in on Foursquare? Hurry up and get set up on Google+. If you don’t get on social media, you’re going to go out of business!”

And, here you are…still in business. But like any keen business leader or entrepreneur, you’re avidly thinking about your next move. You already know that running the show in a mode of “business as usual” is not only limiting, it’s terribly complacent. But if you are to change, you need to better understand exactly how technology is influencing the behavior of your customers and why.

The truth is that you can create brand pages on every social network you can imagine and you won’t succeed unless you know whom you’re trying to reach and where, what it is they expect and value, and how these channels represent a meaningful opportunity for you and your consumers to connect. You first must answer what’s in it for them and what’s in it for you.

What the social media gurus aren’t telling you is that the landscape for business isn’t changing because of social media, it’s changing because consumer expectations are evolving.

Your customers are empowered through technology where social media becomes only part of the disruption.

Your job in 2012 is to not embrace new technology with arms wide open, but instead understand it and learn which disruptive technologies separate you from existing and potential customers.

What’s unique about “connected” consumers is that they find and share information differently than their more traditional counterparts. They make decisions differently than the everyday consumers you’re used to engaging as well.

But keep in mind, the connected do not displace your traditional customer, they simply expand your opportunity to grow your business.

How you’re marketing, selling, and servicing customers today is largely missing this new breed of consumer, and thus limiting your overall opportunity for growth.

To reach the connected consumer, you must first walk in their footsteps. It takes research, not guesswork. It takes understanding, not skepticism. And it takes a dedicated, not generic or approximated, approach.

Why? Because while your traditional consumer relies on tangible media such as TV, radio, newspapers, direct mail, email, Google search or static websites, the connected consumer is not blindly seeking information, they are reliant on the right information finding them, in the right places.

For example, your new prospective customer lives on their smartphones and tablets. They network with friends, family and the businesses they support in mobile and social networks.

They check in to locations to signal to people nearby that they’re in the neighborhood and to alert businesses that they’re ready to interact live.

Consumers install apps to better make decisions and to broadcast those decisions to their social networks.

What’s more, they research products and services based on the experiences of their peers in real-time, and in turn, share their experiences with everyone else to shape and steer the experiences of others.

In doing so they expand the idea of “audiences” to something far more efficient and expansive — an audience with an audience of audiences.

While it seems foreign or dismissible to those who are not actively embracing or even dependent on disruptive technology, connected consumers are only growing in size, magnitude and influence. Ignoring them is a step toward digital Darwinism.

Today, no company is too big to fail or too small to succeed. Simply knowing your customer is one thing. But, understanding how they make decisions and participating in that process influences behavior while building meaningful relationships.

Connect with me: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google+

Order The End of Business as Usual today…

Image credit: Shutterstock

Originally published on Monster.com

Welcome to another New Year! While everyone else is busy thinking about or already breaking their New Year resolutions, it’s time for us to take a moment to rethink what it is we can really do better now and over the next 12 months.

I’m sure you heard it everywhere last year. Experts found the highest blog mountains and social network skyscrapers to Tweet in concert, “You need a Facebook brand page! Why are you not on Twitter yet? Have you checked-in on Foursquare? Hurry up and get set up on Google+. If you don’t get on social media, you’re going to go out of business!”

And, here you are…still in business, I presume. But like any keen business leader or entrepreneur, you’re avidly thinking about your next move and your social media strategies for 2012.

You already know that running the show in a mode of “business as usual” is not only limiting, it’s terribly complacent.  But if you are to change, you need to better understand exactly how technology is influencing the behavior of your customers and why.

The truth is that you can create your company brand pages on every social network you can imagine and you won’t succeed unless you know whom you’re trying to reach and where, what it is they expect and value, and how these channels represent a meaningful opportunity for you and your consumers to connect.

You first must answer what’s in it for them and what’s in it for you.

Defining your Social Media Strategy

Social networks, smartphones, tablets, review sites, gamification, geo-location, et al. are producing a new breed of consumer, and businesses are largely missing them altogether. In fact, the emergence of this more “connected consumer” is forcing the end of business as usual.

At the same time, the decision patterns of these connected consumers has ushered in an era of risk where any business, large and small, is vulnerable to digital Darwinism — the evolution of consumer behavior when society and technology evolve faster than the ability to adapt.

Ten Social Media Tips

In 2012, consider yourself a digital anthropologist or sociologist as you immerse yourself in a day in the life of your connected consumer and seek to close the chasm between you and them.

There are many professional social media analysts, researchers and strategists who can help you find the answers you seek.

Starting now and forever, technology and empathy are now part of your business strategy. To what extent disruptive technology impacts your markets will depend on your industry and the rate of adoption within it.

Priority areas for your social media strategy should include an understanding of the following:

1. Social Networks from Facebook to Twitter to Google+ and how they’re connecting to influencers and businesses

2. Geo-location check-in services such as Foursquare and Facebook location updates to share locations and earn rewards or opportunities for discounts.

3. Crowd-sourced discounts and deals including Groupon and LivingSocial and what’s valued and why.

4. Social commerce services like Shopkick and Armadealo and how they create personalized experiences that are worth sharing.

5. Referral based solutions like Yelp, Service Magic, and Angie’s List to make informed decisions and how shared experiences can improve your business, products, and services.

6. Gamification platforms such as Badgeville and Fangager, and why rewarding engagement improves commerce and loyalty.

7. How your consumers using mobile devices today and what apps they’re installing. Also, how they’re comparing options, reviewing experiences and making decisions while mobile?

8. The online presence your business produces across a variety of platforms such as tablets, smartphones, laptops and desktops. You must realize how consumers are experiencing the online presences you create and whether or not they deliver a holistic and optimized experience for each platform.

9. The consumer clickpath based on the platform consumers are using. Are you steering experiences based on the expectations of your customers? And are you taking into consideration the device or network where the clickpath begins and ends? Are you integrating Facebook F-commerce and m-commerce into the journey?

10. The expectations of connected consumers, what they value in each channel and platform, where they engage and how your business can improve experiences and make them worthy of sharing.

This is your year…

2012 is the year for you to grow your small business while earning relevance among a growing class of connected consumers.

Regardless of technology, the future of business isn’t created, it’s co-created. To succeed, it takes a culture of customer centricity and the ability to recognize new opportunities and adapt based on what they present.

In the words of Charles Darwin, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”

Connect with me: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google+

The End of Business as Usual is now available
____

Originally published on Monster.com
Image Credit: RedKid.net

During Blogworld Expo in Los Angeles, I was given the opportunity to interview Jim Farley, Ford’s Group Vice President, Global Marketing, Sales and Service live on stage. The discussion was focused on a powerful theme, putting your brand in the hands of customers. Certainly for any business, large and small, the idea of empowering customers to shape and steer your brand can be perceived as both frightening and dangerous. But here, Farley brings a refreshing perspective on why businesses, including Ford, need to engage customers in a more human and genuine manner. He looks beyond marketing to bring executives, employees and customers together in building a stronger brand, more relevant products and services, and investing in meaningful relationships to ultimately create a remarkable business…a business that matters beyond its goods.

“My responsibility is to teach the organization something they’re not willing to learn. If I get fired because of it or if I don’t fit, I should not have been there any way. We live in a new paradigm…with a new opportunity.” – Jim Farley

I think you’ll enjoy this video. Please take a moment to watch and share…

Season Two:

S2E1: How Mercedes Benz Successfully Uses Social Media to Engage
S2E2: Technorati’s Richard Jalichandra on the State and Future of Social Media
S2E3: Guy Kawasaki on the Art of Enchantment
S2E4: Adly CEO Arnie Gullov-Singh on the Social Era of Celebrity Endorsements
S2E5: Filmmaker and Webby Awards Founder Tiffany Shlain
S2E6: Jim Louderback, Revision3 CEO on the Future of Broadcast and Web Television – Part 1 of 2
S2E7: Jim Louderback, Revision3 CEO on the Future of Broadcast and Web Television – Part 2 of 2
S2E8: Marcel LeBrun of Salesforce Radian6 on the Future of Social Media Monitoring
S2E9: Our Digital Society in the Next 30 Years: An Interview with John Battelle
S2E10: How Social Customer Service is Changing the Culture at Comcast
S2E11: Dunkin’ Donuts Uses Social Media to Improve Customer Relationships and Experiences
S2E12: USA Today’s Jon Swartz on Disruptive Technology’s Impact on Business and Culture

Season One on YouTube

Now on iTunes!

Photo Credit: Isaac Brekken for The New York Times

As I think about disruptive technology, it’s clear that as an industry, we often get stuck in conversations about products, services, and features. In social media for example, we are enamored with Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and the like. At the same time, we tend to confuse emerging with disruptive technologies and overly invest in rising stars such as Instagram, Quora and to some extent Google+ before we understand the impact they have on our world and the impact we can have within each network.

Why does this matter?

As an analyst and as a geek, I too am captivated by all that’s new and shiny. I’m grounded however, by the real world conversations and actions necessary to translate trends into actionable insights. Innovation must be studied. Its impact must be understood. The benefits offered by disruptive technology must be analyzed to learn how it will benefit our business, whether its effects are of value to the business or market infrastructure, in customer and employee relationships, or in product or process breakthroughs. It’s not enough to experiment. While test and learn is a necessary ingredient in converting innovation into progress, it is in the recognition of opportunities where we need to begin. We need to start with a hypothesis or an idea about how technology plays a part in evolution and more importantly, how it allows businesses to realize its objectives better than it does today. It then takes research and experiments to prove or disprove your theory.

In addition to a culture of innovation, experimentation, and one that can recognize new opportunities, the future of evolution comes down to you and your leadership team.

I recently had the opportunity to join Steve Woodruff and Lisa Petrilli in their popular #LeadershipChat forum on Twitter. We discussed why this is the time where business as usual is no longer an operating model. We also dove into the importance of translating trends into opportunities to either lead or help leaders chart a new course. We indeed face an era of digital Darwinism, a phenomenon where technology and society evolve faster than our ability to adapt. This is a time for reflection and adaptation. In the words of Charles Darwin, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

In 140 characters or less, here are some of the highlights of the discussion…

This book (The End of Business as Usual) marks a departure from your past writings. In what way(s)?

- Social media is disruptive in how people communicate, discover & share. It is not a catalyst for leadership enlightenment #LeadershipChat

- To earn the attention of C-Level executives takes understanding, tenacity + ability to translate trends into opportunity

- Social media is only part of the story. The lessons many are just now learning are not unlike those who’ve focused on change

What’s advice re 1st step for a company to translate what see/know into actionable insight?

- My Advice? Stop focusing all of the $+resources on monitoring keywords & put someone from BI on analytics

You see the “connected consumer” as a major driver of change in business. Why and how?

- The connected expand opportunities. They don’t follow the steps of other consumers. They influence + are influenced differently

- We have 3 distinct groups of consumers & how they discover/communicate changes w/each – traditional, online & connected

- Connected consumers are just that…connected. How they find & share information and make decisions is not like the others

- The connected represent a wave of new consumerism & require businesses to rethink & amend its approach to reach & lure them

How can businesses most effectively attract and interact with the “connected consumer”?

- Some believe that consumers don’t know what they want. If we listen to them, we react vs innovate, which = meh products

- Steve Jobs once said “You‘ve got to start w/the customer experience & work backward – not the other way around”

- Consumers are becoming connected & influential. The opportunity is for businesses to architect exceptional experiences

- From marketing to sales to service to experience, businesses must think about defining meaningful + shareable experiences

- People will always talk, whether they’re connected or not, so give them something to talk about. Every consumer group wins!

What will it take for leaders to adapt to – and lead – the new climate and culture of business?

- Quests toward customer-centricity follow 2 paths. 1) Get closer to customers thru social. 2) Create a customer culture

- Leaders often talk about transformation, change or vision much like politicians address the needs of people during election

- Leadership is earned. It’s not a right…it is a rite of passage. Leaders must see what others don’t & do what others can’t

- There’s a drought of useful information-that’s OUR opportunity. We must translate what we see/know into actionable insights

- Change happens when persistence outlasts resistance & it is also your opportunity to become part of the new leadership team

You talk adamantly about vision, higher purpose and mission, where’s the ROI in that? Is that what CEOs really want?

- What’s the ROI of vision or innovation? Often ROI stands for Return on Ignorance, which as you can imagine is usually low

- If you ask an exec what they truly want, the answer will vary across the board-profits, sales, efficiencies, happy employees

- I spent a lot of time w/@zappos Tony Hsieh. He once told me businesses excel if they focus on higher purpose vs bottom line

- I researched it & companies focused on purpose, mission, experience tended to over index in satisfaction, profitability, etc

- Leaders don’t chase trends, they seek results. This requires customer engagement + experiences & leads to mission/innovation

You can read the full transcript over at Hashtracking.

Order The End of Business as Usual today…

Image Credit: Shutterstock

The new, new Twitter is upon us and while some of you already have access to it, others will have to wait up to three weeks. I’m not one to write about new features or products as they’re released. But I would like to take some time to review why this version of Twitter is important to you and your business.

Twitter has undergone nothing short of a complete redesign…again. The new experience offers a much needed simplification. After all, almost six years following its debut, one of the most common searches for “how do you use…” on Google, is still…Twitter. With over 200 million Tweets soaring across Twitter everyday, the service is now aspiring to become something your father or mother or even your “sister” can easily understand and use.

Unveiled through a tagline of “let’s fly,” the new, new Twitter centers around five distinct tabs, Home, Connect, Discover, Me, and Tweet. Each tab presents a dedicated page that presents a snapshot of important features tied to particular actions or interests.

Home: One of the most notable improvements is in the intuitiveness of the design. The format is also now consistent. What you see on Twitter.com for example is the same as the Twitter app on smartphones and Tablets.I should also mention that TweetDeck be viewed as a TwitterPro version and is also now available on the Web.

Now, you have access to what you need in a simple and functional layout.On the “Home” page, you will find your social stream of course in addition to trends, recommended people, DMs, etc.

@Connect: The Connect tab is where you can see who’s talking about you as well as who’s interacting with you or your Tweets. The tab offers two views, “Interactions” and “Mentions.” Under Interactions, you can view conversations and Retweets, who’s now following you, who favorited your Tweets, who added you to a list, and other activities related to you. Mentions is just that…Tweets mentioning your @ name.

#Discover: As Twitter so appropriately states, the Discover tab is where simplicity meets serendipity. I love that…it’s very true and also it is serendipity that makes the egosystem so personal, exciting and valuable at once. In the egosystem, everything literally revolves around you. Your experience on Twitter is defined by who you follow, who they follow, trends based on relationships, and the interactions you have as a result. These interactions are unique to you and that is true for each of us. What you see is not what I see and that keeps things exciting. The new Twitter framework ensures that discovery and also serendipity remains personal.

Get Embed with Twitter

Before we move on, I’d like to call attention to one additional update to the Twitter experience. With the new Twitter framework, certain elements become portable to websites, blogs and other web platforms. To begin, Twitter is now making Tweets officially embeddable. As you know, there’s more to any Tweet than 140 or less characters. There are experiences, conversations, and expressions behind each. Not only will visitors see the Tweet wherever it may be embedded, Tweets become living pieces of interactive media wherever they’re placed.

Yes, embedded Tweets are portable and fully functional. Visitors can Reply, Retweet, Favorite or Follow without leaving your page, simply by clicking the respective trigger on the Tweet itself.

Twitter also improved its Tweet and Follow buttons. The new #hashtag button tells visitors that there is a relevant conversation taking place on Twitter and allows them to follow or join in with just one click. The @mention button gives people a shortcut to easily Tweet you and any desired account.

Go here to design your custom Twitter buttons.

Brand Pages

If you’ve ever clicked on a Promoted Tweet, you were either sent to a custom landing page, a traditional website, or perhaps a Facebook brand page. With Twitter’s new brand pages, it hopes businesses will design Twitter experiences that keep you in Twitter. It also hopes to increase the value of its Promoted products overall by giving brands more control in how they market themselves to consumers.

Twitter’s Chief Revenue Officer Adam Bain recently shared that in his meetings with CMOs over the past year, the most recurring requests focused specifically on brandable pages. Like its bigger social siblings Google+ and Facebook, Twitter’s brand pages have officially taken flight. Enhanced profile pages as Twitter refers to them, give marketers the ability to shape the impressions of visitors while adhering to the brand style guide. Previously, businesses were confined to creative backgrounds and bios as well as their Tweets to define the brand experience. Now Twitter gives brands more control in how consumers view the company in Twitter…free of charge. And, Twitter removes outside advertising from each brand page.

For examples and perhaps to glean insights into best practices, Twitter launched with 21 advertising partners. You can view their enhanced profile pages by clicking each brand: @AmericanExpress, @BestBuy, @bing, @chevrolet, @CocaCola, @Dell, @DisneyPixar, @generalelectric, @Heineken, @HP, @intel, @JetBlue, @Kia, @McDonalds, @nikebasketball, @NYSE_Euronext, Paramount Pictures’ Mission: Impossible – @GhostProtocol, @pepsi, @Staples, @subwayfreshbuzz, and @VerizonWireless.

What does this mean for businesses specifically?

1. Businesses can host a branded experience for consumers in Twitter without forcing them outside of their preferred network

2. Brands can adhere to brand style guides to present a uniform color, typeface, presence, etc.

3. Guide the consumer experience with intentionally presented Tweets, media, and information.

4. Chart a new click path that starts with a Promoted Tweet and/or media to lead consumers on a more meaningful journey that can start and end in Twitter or continue outside of the information network. Much in the same way Facebook offers landing tabs, Twitter can offer a similar experience that changes based on the priorities of the brand.

5. Allow brands to present a more engageable profile where people follow companies because of the thoughtfulness that is invested in presentation and a meaningful Tweet stream. Brands are now measured not only by their actions, but also their words and content.

It’s now your turn. Are you ready to take flight on the new, new Twitter?

Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google+

The End of Business as Usual: Rewire the way you work to succeed in the consumer revolution

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ENGAGE!: The complete guide for businesses to build and measure success on the social web

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The following report is brought to you by the Pivot Conference taking place in New York on October 15-16, 2012. You can download a full copy of the report for free by clicking here.

At the end of 2011, Social marketing stands at a profound crossroads. Some organizations are finally embracing the importance of social networks and, as a result, increasing investments in creative engagement, marketing, and service programs. Others see the future value, but lag behind in execution. At the vanguard, Social Businesses drive a virtuous cycle of discovery: Their successes in Social marketing lead to new data, which lead to insights, which lead to new and more effective programs as well as the business systems and processes necessary to improve internal and external collaboration.

In 2012, social media marketing, driven by these innovations, will only continue to mature. Bottom-up learning about what really works in Social will be essential for this expansion. Research conducted by IBM in 2011, for instance, revealed a gap between consumer expectations toward the businesses they support in social media, and executive assumptions about what these consumers wanted. This “Perception Gap,” as defined by the IBM study, demonstrates the importance of bottoms-up, informed social marketing programs, as opposed to the traditional top-down strategies tied to the usual monologue-marketing channels.

Not all customers are created equal. So, businesses are learning that there must be more than one approach to reaching and engaging customers through the emerging Social channels.

This year, at the second annual Pivot Conference, we explored the evolving landscape for consumerism as colored by the emergence of Social Consumers. Brands, agencies, academics and thinkers examined how Social Consumers find and share information, how they influence and are influenced by engagement, and also how they make decisions. In the end, it was clear that the Social Consumer is fundamentally unlike a traditional consumer and, as such, compels brands to rethink sales, service, and marketing strategies across social, broadcast, and mobile networks. At stake is a business’ relevance to the Social Construct, which is the new key to consumer connection and success. For brands today, if you don’t establish this connection, Social Consumers will just connect themselves and collaborate without you.

To help brands more effectively plan for improving customer engagement and experiences in 2012 and beyond, the Pivot team, along with The Hudson Group, surveyed 181 brand managers, agency professionals, and experts. Their answers paint a picture for how businesses intend to reach their Social Consumers. Additionally, the results serve as a benchmark as you, the Social Business leader, assemble your strategies over the next year.

The Rise of the Social Consumer

Who is this Social Consumer and how does he or she differ from traditional counterparts? Let’s start with a working definition. A Social Consumer is someone who first goes to their social networks of relevance to learn about products and services. Though somewhat influenced by their overall social graphs, Social Consumers emphasize the input of those who define their interest graph – like-minded individuals on any given subject who share common interests and experiences with them. In this way, Social Consumers evaluate the shared experiences of those they trust, and expect businesses to respond to their socialized questions. As a consequence, Social Consumers don’t follow a linear approach through the classic ‘interest to intent’ funnel during their decision making process. Rather, they follow an elliptical pattern where their next steps are inspired by the insights of others, and their experiences are, in turn, fed back into the cycle to inform the decisions of others.

Reprinted from The End of Business as Usual, Chapter 14

In the Pivot study, we asked if participants had a clear picture of who their Social Consumer is. An astounding 77 percent said yes.

Comparing these results to the working definition presented above, which survey participants did not review in advance, as well as the Perception Gap produced by IBM, I wonder how these numbers would change if the question was asked now. Given the results noted below, it appears that respondents believe they know who their Social Consumers are, even though they may not have actually engaged them in a detailed conversation.

When the Pivot team explored specifically if respondent organizations asked Social Consumers what they expect from engagement, most responded, “No.” This is intriguing because we have 77 percent of organizations who say they know what their Social Consumers want, but 53 percent haven’t really asked. They do not—cannot—really know how to deliver value in social and mobile networks, thus pointing to IBM’s Perception Gap. On the other hand, 35 percent did note that they asked Social Consumers about their expectations. Our belief is that these organizations will most likely outperform organizations that did not ask.

Businesses shared their perspectives on the benefits and customer expectations of social engagement in their responses to the survey. The results cover a wide spectrum of sales, service, and marketing benefits, with customer service, insight to make decisions, and the ability to learn about new products as the top three entries. Deals and rewards came in fourth and fifth respectively. Each of the benefits is important, however. Offering exclusive content, the ability to provide feedback for improvement and social commerce add to the complexity of reaching and engaging the varying needs of social consumers. We think marketers should look here at the whole tapestry, more than the individual strands.

When asked about the gender of the Social Consumer, respondents believe their Social Consumers are equally divided between male and female. This is result is intriguing for many reasons, not least of which is the findings in previous studies that females skew higher across popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as for most social commerce services. Are we seeing the emergence of more men in social networks? Perhaps.

As we continue to examine the demographic makeup of Social Consumers, this study indicates they tend to be most commonly in their 30s and 40s. But there are strong showings of Social Consumers distributed across those 26-30, 46-50 and also 51-55. Clearly, social is no longer the province of just the young.

The household incomes of Social Consumers are scattered across the board. But in aggregate, it appears that Social Consumers lean toward desirable income levels. Median income from the study results is just over $60,000.

When asked which networks are frequented by their Social Consumers, participants stated that Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn were numbers one, two and three respectively. Facebook and Twitter are viewed as essentially ubiquitous. At the time of this survey, Google+ hadn’t yet opened up brand pages, but as of November 2011, businesses can develop official brand presences. Yet, even without the ability to do so during the survey process, businesses recognized the important role Google+ plays in the lives of their Social Consumers

When it comes to Social Consumers’ increasingly common mobile activity, Facebook and Twitter still maintain the top two spots. Foursquare, though, jumps into the third position ahead of LinkedIn, an indication that geo-location networks continue to rise in popularity.

Pleased To Meet You, I Hope You Get My Game

Gamification is becoming part of social networking, education, and loyalty programs due to its attractiveness to the Social Consumer.

Zynga is currently the overwhelming leader in capturing the time and attention of Social Consumers when it comes to gaming, probably a reflection of Facebook’s current dominance. Intriguing here is that the second most common response is “other,” a sign of the diversity in this arena.

Social professionals don’t see a clearly dominant player amount the many current portable photo networks available for popular smartphone platforms. No option received even 25 percent of the responses. However, Hipstamatic is firmly positioned at the top of the list with almost double the usage of Dailybooth, which currently sits at number two, according to respondents. They seem to be leading a rather open field.

In the world of social and group-based deals, Groupon ranks number one among Social Consumers, but LivingSocial maintains a strong foothold in the number two spot. Facebook Deals was in third, but the service has since been discontinued by Facebook.

“After testing Deals for four months, we’ve decided to end our Deals product in the coming weeks,” Facebook told Reuters in a statement published in August 2011, during the time the survey was already in the field.

Engagement is not defined by conversations. Engagement is the act of a consumer and an organization or brand interacting within the consumer’s network of relevance through a combination of conversations, content, or related information. Engagement, and here’s the important part, is then measured by the takeaway value, sentiment, and resulting actions following the interaction.

Brands largely disagree with the belief that conversations in social networks alone drive meaningful business outcomes. The true test, of course, is whether or not outcomes are defined and if they are introduced into engagement as a desired click path. On the flip side of the coin, brands either completely or mostly agree that conversations help with brand lift and relevance responding with 51 percent and 45.5 percent respectively.

There’s notable difference, however, in whether or not brands think their Social Consumers want something of tangible value in exchange for a social connection. 21.6 and 45 percent completely or mostly agree. 27 percent and 6 percent mostly and completely disagree. Our advice: When in doubt, ask.

With all of the fanfare around social media, it would be easy for those living within the new marketing paradigm to assume that social media already was or soon will be mainstream within the organization heading into 2012. However, respondents were divided in their outlook. Just over half believed that social marketing is already mainstream within their organizations and just under half think that social marketing will still be experimental a year from now. This shows where we are in the social revolution: the reality of change is broadly accepted, but norms about fundamental issues still remain elusive. We know we are going to a new place, we just aren’t yet sure exactly where and how fast.

When asked what was preventing the organization from moving beyond experimentation in social marketing, respondents’ reasons were widely distributed. Budget was seen as a challenge, as was the inability to define or measure clear outcomes. We feel that, whatever your personal sense, each of these points is worthy of exploration and definition within the organization. This is the only way to ensure that the needs of Social Consumers do not go unmet. A working strategy and understandable benefits are critical to rallying support across the organization, especially among executives. Defined metrics tied to thoughtful strategies demonstrate progress. Listening combined with research will reveal the need for a cross-functional approach as data always spotlights the varying needs of Social Consumers – beyond marketing.

Confusion reigns today, but conviction lies on the horizon. 2013 is the year a solid set of respondents sees social marketing finally breaking beyond experimentation within the organization. Still, we can see the current uncertainty about the development of social: 15 percent look to 2014 as likely year for corporate breakthrough, another 15 percent see 2015 or later, and a sobering 35 percent still don’t know what to think.

While respondents see social marketing as crossing into the organizational mainstream relatively soon, an overwhelming 89 percent of participants see social marketing as a permanent series of experiments. The takeaway here is that professionals, for the foreseeable future, feel that there is much to learn with regard to the Social Consumer and how to effectively engage and steer positive experiences and outcomes for social marketers. As one area of social moves into the mainstream, it will just open up new areas for experimentation.

The trend in social media budgets is positive. The percentage of respondent companies spending less than 5 percent of budget on social drops by about half between 2011 and 2013 and the percentage spending over 50 percent more than doubles. The sweet spot hovers around 25 percent of budget, rising slightly over the next two years. All this indicates to us is that it remains early days in the development of social in organizations.

Looking ahead to 2012, brands are thinking through goals as they plan next year’s social marketing programs. At the top of the list, at almost 100 percent, is the need to increase sales, which is a reflection of the need for marketers to demonstrate tangible ROI. Consumer engagement, lead generation and brand lift are also atop the list. Among the notable responses from participants, influencing consumer behavior is at just over 60 percent, establishing points of influence at just under 60 percent, and discovering points of relevance shown at 40 percent spotlight how new touchpoints will play a role in driving desirable outcomes and experiences. The overall sense of the responses is a tilt away from “soft” benefits toward harder edged benefits that drive the bottom line.

Surprisingly, improving customer service and support was toward the bottom of the list, but it is promising to see that the research does show that businesses are placing it in the upper half of 2012 planning. We see customer service as one of the potential breakthrough areas for social networks.

Make the Pivot

Here’s the important takeaway: To successfully reach the Social Consumer and ensure that social media extends across the organization, look at this list as a series of steps rather than a hierarchical rank. Thinking through each item will force a more thoughtful approach to reaching Social Consumers and guiding positive experiences and outcomes. Budgets and support are the net benefits of following these action items.

1. Increase understanding of the benefits of the Social Construct within your organization.
2. Develop a clear strategy for social.
3. Define outcomes.
4. Tie strategies and supporting metrics to business objectives.
5. Earn executive buy-in with data, demonstrate the needs of Social Consumers, and show how others are successfully engaging them today.
6. Earn support across departmental functions by showcasing how the varying needs of the Social Consumer are unmet by key roles in the organization.

As you review these data and compare them to your 2012 plans, or if you’re in the planning stages now, remember that benchmarking against peers is only one part of the process. The real opportunity lies among your Social Consumers by identifying their needs, and benchmarking them against your solutions for them and thus your business opportunity.

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Jon Swartz is a veteran journalist who has covered Silicon Valley’s highs and lows over the years. As Swartz says, he’s seen it all and along the way, he’s chronicled not only the events but its impact on business, culture, and society. Jon joins us on (R)evolution to discuss disruptive technology, what it means and what’s next.

Please take a moment to watch and let us know your thoughts…

Season 2 – Episode 12

Image Credit: Thomas Hawk

Season Two:

S2E1: How Mercedes Benz Successfully Uses Social Media to Engage
S2E2: Technorati’s Richard Jalichandra on the State and Future of Social Media
S2E3: Guy Kawasaki on the Art of Enchantment
S2E4: Adly CEO Arnie Gullov-Singh on the Social Era of Celebrity Endorsements
S2E5: Filmmaker and Webby Awards Founder Tiffany Shlain
S2E6: Jim Louderback, Revision3 CEO on the Future of Broadcast and Web Television – Part 1 of 2
S2E7: Jim Louderback, Revision3 CEO on the Future of Broadcast and Web Television – Part 2 of 2
S2E8: Marcel LeBrun of Salesforce Radian6 on the Future of Social Media Monitoring
S2E9: Our Digital Society in the Next 30 Years: An Interview with John Battelle
S2E10: How Social Customer Service is Changing the Culture at Comcast
S2E11: Dunkin’ Donuts Uses Social Media to Improve Customer Relationships and Experiences

Watch Season One on YouTube

Now on iTunes!

Part 13 in a series introducing my new book, The End of Business as Usual…this series serves as the book’s prequel.

These days, customer service seems to be a contradiction of words and intentions. Year after year, customers are appealing for attention, efficiency and a communicated sense of being appreciated. After all, what is the value of customer acquisition if retention itself isn’t valued? Now with social networks becoming the preferred channel of communication among connected consumers, businesses are losing ground and faith. The reality is that customers will share their experiences whether positive or negative and they will influence the decisions of others. The question is, how are you changing your service model to shape and steer experiences that deliver value to customers and also back to your business?

Social networks are emotional landscapes that are populated by human beings, not consumers. It is for this reason that many existing customer service approaches to social networks are the equivalent of the tips of icebergs we see above water. The real opportunity lies underneath the waterline and as you can imagine, it is beyond formidable. As part of this special series, my good friend Frank Eliason decried that social media customer service is a failure! He surely startled everyone including those who are championing change from within. To explain, I’ll provide a bit of context to his position. In order to do so however, we’ll need to peel back an additional layer to demonstrate where customer service and social media are missing confluence. I refer to this phenomenon as the horseshoe effect.

On either end, social media and customer service are either established or developing within the organization. While each exist, they do not naturally co-exist in regards to process, systems, vision, or collaborative workstreams. Allow me to clarify. Today, social media is mostly owned by one of three functions within businesses today, 1) marketing, 2) marketing communications, or 3) public relations. Social media essentially exists within its own silo and is largely disconnected from other divisions.

When a customer tweets at the company with a problem, the social media team is either unqualified to respond or chooses only to focus on those interactions that correspond with their focus or the company’s marketing efforts. Either way, the customer doesn’t see, nor do they care about, who owns social media. They see one company and they simply need an informed and empathetic response. Even when a company has a service team dedicated to social media, it is often a progressive front with a traditional infrastructure – or perhaps said another way, making something appear better than it is. When a customer is engaged, they’re often prompted to take the interaction offline, say through email or phone with a specialized representative, or they’re simply referred to a particular web address, phone number, or email address to start the process from the beginning through existing, less preferred channels.

With social media on one side and customer service on the other, a gap emerges where the social customer is left to fend for themselves. Businesses must look at creating a holistic experience where customer service extends to social media, providing engagement and resolution at the time and place of the social expression.

Case in point, Niklas Femerstrand is a web developer who discovered a security gap in a particular web page owned by American Express. Long story short, the security hole left an administration panel for Web site debugging wide open for anyone to access and provided a potential avenue for attackers to target AMEX customers. Rather than exploit the gateway, he alerted AMEX via the channel he relies on for personal and professional communication…Twitter. What happens next only demonstrates the horseshoe effect and why closing the gap sooner than later will benefit customers and the company alike.

In his own words, Femerstrand expresses his disbelief when he could not get through to the company on a network where it maintains multiple presences,  “When somebody voluntarily contacts a company and repeatedly mentions words like ‘security vulnerability’ and ‘hacker’ one would think the company would act as quickly as possible.”

If you follow the exchange below, you’ll see that Femerstrand made an honest to goodness attempt to reach what he deemed to be the most direct channel to the company, @AskAmex. Please do take a moment to read each line item so that you can both see and feel his frustration and also visualize the horseshoe effect that separated social media from customer service.

As you can see, the exchange is priceless. Poor ^Courtney…

Femerstrand was clear. He didn’t want to be referred to a traditional service backend.  While Courtney was staffing the shift for @AskAmex, she was obviously not trained to handle such a situation and therefore demonstrated the horseshoe effect perfectly. So what is Femerstrand left to do when he was insistent that he wanted to help the company, but did not have time or patience to go through a “technical support jungle?” He blogged not only about the experience, but he also exposed the code and tipped security publications everywhere.

What’s the ROI of a Good Customer Experience

In his post about the failure of social customer service, Frank Eliason also notes that part of the problem has to do with how customer service is measured or valued within the organization today. Traditional metrics that are deeply rooted within the call center today are used as a baseline for an entirely new paradigm. Fortunately or unfortunately, the connected customer defines the rules of engagement and based on the interaction, will in turn share their experience whether it’s positive or negative.

As Eliason explains…

This brings me to the failure of social service. The other day someone tweeted me asking about current costs of phone calls versus the cost per Tweet for customer service. Ugh! This is new media and yet we’re already focusing on old metrics. The truth is that the service world has been broken for years because of the emphasis of handle time or calls per hour. Companies do not want to talk to you, and it shows. The fact is most do not want to Tweet with you either. Since they are worried about brand sentiment, they may appease you to shut you up. Sorry, shutting your customer up is not customer service and trying to expedite resolution isn’t a metric for the new world of consumer influence.

The time is now for new metrics. And by new metrics, I’m not referring to those that simply measure time to resolution, cost per tweets, wait times or Tweet reduction. The opportunity for increased engagement is the real opportunity for customer service. This isn’t about getting away from the customer or simply about solving problems. This is about creating exceptional and shareable experiences! Customer service can contribute to engagement, advocacy, loyalty, and what I call NPS 2.0 aka SPS (Social Promoter Score). It’s not the traditional NPS of whether or not someone would refer a product or company. In social media, we can see if someone actually did and compare that to those who are clearly public detractors. We can also view those detractors that recommend against a purchase.

Additionally, the new doors that are opening to customer service and customer engagement don’t simply have to be relegated to negative experiences. For example, I recently flew United Airlines and I was fortunate enough to have an exceptional experience on a flight from New York to San Francisco. I was so elated with the wonderful customer focus of one flight attendant in particular, that I decided to share it with @United.

I wasn’t surprised when the response was the equivalent of digital crickets. But, I had high hopes for some form of acknowledgement. And even though I know I was daydreaming, I would love to have seen the semblance of a system where that feedback would get back to both Meg Callan and her manager. All too often, social customer service focuses on optimizing the systems and strategies to contend with experiences when they negatively impact social streams. But I believe that if businesses can provide mechanisms where customers, employees, and positive experiences are rewarded, more people will become willful advocates than detractors.

If you’re unclear where to begin, then simply ask. When Google+ was new on the scene, prior to the release of its official brand pages, several companies such as Dell and Ford asked customers how they can use the new network to engage more effectively with customers. In one such case, Michael Dell personally asked followers on his profile if they would like to connect with Dell service via video directly on Hangouts.

The response, to say the least, was phenomenal. Customers were elated that Michael Dell would ask people what they want while also demonstrating how an organization could use new tools to improve customer experiences. The result is support, loyalty, and advocacy. Additionally, the result of one simple post resulted in an array of influential press. I guess that says everything about that state of customer service. If businesses ask how to better help customers and press breaks out as a result, well…at least we’re on the right track.

Closing the social customer horseshoe to create a complete circle is the equivalent of a holistic experience. Fixing customer service is not the goal here. Improving customer service and delivering an integrated experience will not only help customers feel valued, but also establish a competitive advantage. In the end, businesses that invest in customer retention and acquisition to deliver positive experiences, regardless of platform, will strengthen relationships and loyalty and additionally contribute to organic advocacy.

#AdaptorDie!

Order The End of Business as Usual today…

Part 1 – Digital Darwinism, Who’s Next
Part 2 – Social Media’s Impending Flood of Customer Unlikes and Unfollows
Part 3 – Social Media Customer Service is a Failure!
Part 4 – I think we need some time apart, it’s not me, it’s you
Part 5 – We are the 5th P: People
Part 6 – The State of Social Media 2011: Social is the new normal
Part 7 – I like you, but not in that way
Part 8 – Are You Building a Social Brand or a Social Business?
Part 9 – CMO’s are at the Crossroads of Customer Transactions and Engagement
Part 10 – From Social Commerce to Syndicated Commerce
Part 11 – You can’t go back to create a new beginning, but you can begin to change the ending
Part 12 – How to Make Customer Service Matter Again Part 1

One of the most often asked questions about The End of Business as Usual is how it’s different than Engage.

I thought I take a moment to answer it here just in case you were wondering the same thing.

Engage was and is special. In fact, I felt the mission and content of the book was so special, that I wrote it twice. I viewed both versions as my chance to not only document the transformation in marketing and service because of social media, but also empower people to lead change from within. I didn’t expect people to wait for direction. I expected them to lead. Engage helped readers design social media marketing and service strategies and programs that mattered…that worked…that performed against business objectives.

Over the years, I observed their struggles as well as recording my own challenges within the enterprise, governments, and small businesses alike. I realized that the gap that exists between social media and executive leadership is far too great for social marketing or service to solve. And, to be honest, social media isn’t going to save businesses, but instead, it will contribute to relevance. The real opportunity for the transformation of business lies in the evolution of customer behavior and how technology, social networks, smartphones, RFID, and other disruptive innovations empower people AND organizations alike.

The End of Business as Usual makes the case that the need for business transformation is bigger than social media and more important than just connecting or communicating with customers in social networks. For executives to realize the opportunity for innovation and leadership, they need your help in making sense of the differences between traditional and connected customers. They need to know that this emergent consumer category affects business objectives, priorities, and financial goals.

The book examines how leading companies are finding success with connected customers. The lessons, case studies, and best practices contained within will help readers earn the support of organizational leaders by identifying growth opportunities and prioritizing where to invest time and resources. The end result is creating an adaptive foundation for businesses to not only build relationships with connected customers, but improve customer and employee relationships overall.

Adapt or Die!

Order The End of Business as Usual today…

Part 11 in a series introducing my new book, The End of Business as Usual…this series serves as the book’s prequel.

There are those who believe social media is the catalyst for a new genre of business and that it will ultimately change how companies engage with customers. Others believe that for the organization to truly matter, it must adopt a culture of customer and employee centricity. Then there are those who study the evolution of consumer behavior and market shifts to develop informed strategies for the business overall and in some cases, demonstrate the need for organizational transformation. To successfully compete for the future, you must unite these internal fronts and lead a concerted effort for meaningful change.

Social Media +
Customer service and employee empowerment +
Insights +
The development of compelling experiences through product and engagement =
A holistic approach

We must realize that no matter how successful we are today, we can always improve how we compete for equal or greater revenue and attention tomorrow. Your goal within the organization is to create a special taskforce to bring about change, shift the culture to recognize unforeseen opportunities, and bring together previously disparate decision makers to create and steer positive customer experiences. Sounds easy right? Unfortunately, none of this is easy, but nevertheless, it is important to help your organization adapt in the face of a shifting business landscape.

People See One Brand, Not Departments or Functions

The conversation about the future of business is bigger than social media. Yet, when we look at the top three departments that are responsible for social media within the organization today, marketing, marketing communications, and public relations essentially own social media. Critical functions such as product development, customer service, HR, finance, are all but absent. Here we are at the beginning of the end of business as usual and the champion of change, social media, is already a silo in the very organization it sought to transform and unify. That’s why your role cannot simply be relegated to social media anything. You are a change agent and your mission is to use the tools and channels necessary to help make your business, your story, your mission and vision, relevant in a new era of consumerism.

Booz & Co. and Buddy Media recently published a report that documents the migration from “Campaigns to Capabilities” and highlights how businesses are thinking beyond the campaign, viral video or Tweet to find the true meaning of Like. What struck me about this report is that it is among the first to show that departments outside of marketing are starting to embrace the social nature of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Blogs (the top four social platforms). Here we can see that customer service, research, sales, and product development are increasing adoption until one day, social media will be equally distributed across the organization as an extension of a more customer and employee centric approach.

Change requires support and in the world of business, that support will come from an executive sponsor. However, it is up to you to convince an executive who is willing to take a risk on you and your vision to internally promote the need for transformation. In this report, one-third of companies have a senior executive who is responsible for social media company-wide. That still leaves 65% of businesses that are operating without the benefit of senior leadership or involvement. As a wise executive told me for the new book, “If you come to me with a request for budget and resources for social media, you will lose. If you demonstrate how social media aligns with our business objectives and how it will play a role in helping us achieve our goals, then you will win every time.”

The study surfaced an interesting range of critical success enablers. I wanted to focus on a few that are instrumental in leading the transformation of what is becoming a social brand to a far more important state of a social business. The resounding theme here is developing an adaptive framework and creating a culture of change to unite the organization around a holistic approach.

- The ability to react quickly
- Education on what can be achieved via social media
- A culture that encourages experimentation
- Training
- Unique content that is exclusive to the audience of each

The report articulates a substantive data point in that almost 40% of businesses polled state that social media is a CEO-level agenda item. The question here is, to what extent is social media appreciated at the top? Is it another means to broadcast messages?  Is social media a channel to reach the Millennial?

This is why we must revisit the first paragraph of this section to clearly communicate what’s possible in these as well as other disruptive channels. It’s about customer relationships. It’s about creating meaningful and shareable experiences. The rest is just technology. What you place in these channels says everything about how your business views and appreciates your customers and your work will me measured and judged as such.

As you can see, the examples of use cases mirror those departments that own social media today. However, beyond marketing, we can see that customer service, market research, sales, product development and also employee engagement are showing strong examples of what’s possible.

Survival of the Fittest Fitting

What lies ahead is nothing short of digital Darwinism, the evolution of consumer behavior when society and technology evolve faster than the ability to adapt. While money is the lifeblood of the economy that makes the world go round, in the egosystem, where people are at the center of their individual online experience, attention is the new economy. This isn’t just about survival of the fittest, but instead, survival of the fitting.

To foster meaningful relationships and lure the attention of the increasingly distracted consumer, requires so much more than a Twitter or Facebook presence. The future of business is co-created and therefore is driven by the mindful creation of shared experiences. Those experiences must be designed, reinforced, and shaped over time. Marketing alone cannot trigger shared experiences and convert them into sales or customer loyalty. Retention, engagement, and empowerment must touch customers and employees and in order to do, the entire organization must #AdaptorDie.

Order The End of Business as Usual today…

Part 1 – Digital Darwinism, Who’s Next
Part 2 – Social Media’s Impending Flood of Customer Unlikes and Unfollows
Part 3 – Social Media Customer Service is a Failure!
Part 4 – I think we need some time apart, it’s not me, it’s you
Part 5 – We are the 5th P: People
Part 6 – The State of Social Media 2011: Social is the new normal
Part 7 – I like you, but not in that way
Part 8 – Are You Building a Social Brand or a Social Business?
Part 9 – CMO’s are at the Crossroads of Customer Transactions and Engagement
Part 10 – From Social Commerce to Syndicated Commerce

Image credit: Shutterstock

Dunkin’ Brands is a customer-centric business and has earned a community of loyal supporters over the years. If “America runs on Dunkin’,” or if it is to continue to do so, the company must continue to earn the time, attention, and support of customers. As their behavior and preferences evolve, Dunkin’ to must rethink its customer approach to remain part of its customer’s daily routine.

Tyler Cyr, Web Communications Manager, Dunkin’ Brands shares how social media helps continue and improve the Dunkin’ experience and also shares how the company is learning and changing as a result.

Please take some time to watch the episode and share your thoughts with us…

This episode was recorded during the Salesforce Social Advisory Board meeting in San Francisco. Participants included brand managers from the likes of Disney, Livingsocial, P&G, Nissan, SunTrust, Dunkin Donuts, Get Satisfaction, and VW, we address the need for businesses to not only react to conversations but also lead them.

Season 2 – Episode 11

Season Two:

S2E1: How Mercedes Benz Successfully Uses Social Media to Engage
S2E2: Technorati’s Richard Jalichandra on the State and Future of Social Media
S2E3: Guy Kawasaki on the Art of Enchantment
S2E4: Adly CEO Arnie Gullov-Singh on the Social Era of Celebrity Endorsements
S2E5: Filmmaker and Webby Awards Founder Tiffany Shlain
S2E6: Jim Louderback, Revision3 CEO on the Future of Broadcast and Web Television – Part 1 of 2
S2E7: Jim Louderback, Revision3 CEO on the Future of Broadcast and Web Television – Part 2 of 2
S2E8: Marcel LeBrun of Salesforce Radian6 on the Future of Social Media Monitoring
S2E9: Our Digital Society in the Next 30 Years: An Interview with John Battelle
S2E10: How Social Customer Service is Changing the Culture at Comcast

Watch Season One on YouTube

Now on iTunes!

It’s with great pleasure, and a little bit of nervousness, that I announce the official availability of my new book, The End of Business as Usual.

Business, government, music, finance, publishing, everything is changing. We have a unique role in all of this as we are stakeholders in not only defining the need for change, but we are also responsible for leading transformation within our organizations. We are the architects, the mediators, and the sherpas to a new era of relevance and empowerment.

The End of Business as Usual explores the rise of the connected consumer, their effect on the bottom line, and how organizations can adapt to effectively compete for their attention, their business or contribution, and most importantly, their loyalty. The book examines how leading companies are finding success with connected customers. And, the lessons, case studies, and best practices contained within will help readers earn the support of organizational leaders by identifying growth opportunities and prioritizing where to invest time and resources. The result is creating an adaptive foundation for businesses to not only build relationships with connected customers, but improve customer AND employee relationships overall. As the subtitle states, we must rewire the way we work to succeed in what really is nothing short of a consumer revolution.

I would love your support and also your help in spreading the word. It’s an important book at an important time. It’s a new era of business and consumerism and YOU play a role in defining where it goes from here.

Thank you!

Click to order from your favorite bookstore…

Photo Credit: Ken Yeung

Part 5 in a series introducing my new book, The End of Business as Usual…this is not content from the book, this series serves as its prequel.

What do people want? If you don’t know, why not ask them?

Seems like a common sense question to ask. However, when it comes to customer engagement and relations, common sense appears to be an uncommon virtue. The good news is that asking customers what they need is now easier than ever before. Learning about what they prefer or what they’re missing based on their actions and words is prevalent within social media. Asking them directly is also a powerful form of engagement. At the very least the act expresses intent to learn and perhaps adapt.

Too many research projects or studies these days focus on what brands are doing in social media rather than what they should be doing. And at the same time, most are conducted from the perspective of the business and not from the perspective of the people affected by the actions or missteps of brands.

In February 2011 ExactTarget and CoTweet released a revealing study “The Social Breakup,” that provided a glimpse into the oft missed customer point of view. While many reports highlight why people Like and follow brands, this study divulged why consumers “break up” with brands in social networks.

Like any interpersonal relationship, the consumer-brand relationship has a distinct and fascinating life cycle. The relationship begins with the initial “spark”—the decision by the consumer to become a SUBSCRIBER, FAN, or FOLLOWER—followed by a blissful honeymoon period in which the consumer gets to know the company better through communications and social interactions. As the relationship progresses, the frequency and quality of interactions shapes the consumer’s desire to take the relationship to the next level.

If the company fails any of these relationship tests, a “social break-up”—i.e., an “unsubscribe,” “unfan,” “unlike,” or “unfollow”—is all but inevitable. When the consumer is no longer happy in the relationship, they will actively break off contact with the company…or just ignore their communications in the hopes the company will get the message that it’s over.

According to the study, 55% of Facebook users have liked a brand and then later decided they no longer wish to see the company’s posts. 51% of fans say that they really aren’t fans as they don’t visit the page or web site after the “Like.” 71% of consumers say that they’re now becoming more selective.

When asked why the honeymoon is over, the top reasons for unliking a brand in Facebook are:

1. The company posts too frequently
2. My wall was becoming too crowded with marketing posts
3. The content was too repetitive or boring

The reasons, regardless of percentage are equally revealing…

I only “Liked” the company to take advantage of an offer.

They didn’t offer enough deals. (note: if you combine these two details, “deals” would become the one of the top reasons people connected and disconnected from brands)

Their posts were too promotional

The content wasn’t relevant.

The company’s posts were too chitty-chatty without adding value

Twitter is a much different network than Facebook. However, that doesn’t stop brands from attempting to connect with customers. And, it doesn’t stop customers from experimenting with brand engagement. However, 41% of Twitter users followed a brand only to unfollow them shortly thereafter.

Again, when you ask the customer why they decided to unfollow their favorite brands, the answers are as difficult to hear as they are enlightening.

1. The content was too repetitive or boring
2. My stream was too crowded with marketing posts
3. The company posted too frequently

The remainder of responses are identical to the reasons shared earlier in reference to Facebook.

Not enough deals.

Too conversational.

Irrelevant.

Mind the (Customer) Gap

It comes down to something that’s repeated so often throughout our lives that we may have become immune to the importance of its message, “Mind the gap.” This cautionary expression is designed to protect us from our own potential missteps. But in business, we must mind many important gaps, one of which represents a dangerous pitfall in the evolving landscape of business.

The customer gap represents the distance between what we think customers want and what they actually want. The definition of this gap is different for every business and it is something that we must overcome.

Today we see so many brands flocking to Twitter and attempting to befriend new customers without realizing that they’re willfully stepping directly into an abyss of irrelevance.

It starts with answering some very basic, but vital questions.

What do customers value?

What do customers value in social networks with regard to the culture of each?

Why are customers seeking or reacting to brands in these networks?

What turns them off?

Why do they unlike or unfollow brands?

How can we introduce value to induce a sense of appreciation and ultimately loyalty or advocacy?

The answers to these questions exist. It just starts with asking the questions. More importantly, it requires that you do something with the answers…that’s the hard part.

When Perception isn’t Reality

IBM recently set out to measure the gap between customers and the corresponding awareness of businesses and their ability to meet the needs of consumers in social networks. Authored by Carolyn Heller Baird, Global CRM Research Leader with the IBM Institute for Business Value, IBM Global Services and Gautam Parasnis, Partner and Vice President for IBM Global Business Services, the study, “From Social Media to Social CRM,” teaches us about the emerging social consumer. Coincidentally, we learn more about their preferences than many social media best practices reveal to date.

The report begins with a level-setting that is refreshing and also challenging…

Understanding what customers value, especially when they are in the unique environment of a social platform, is a critical first step toward building a Social CRM strategy. What triggers a customer to seek out a company or brand via social media? What would make a customer reluctant to interact? And does social engagement influence customers’ feelings of loyalty toward a company as businesses hope it does?

The answer lies in one of the reports greatest insights and also one of its most obvious, “Obtaining tangible value is the top reason most consumers seek out businesses via social sites.”

While it’s easy to blame it on the youth, the reality is that the DNA of social customers is indiscriminant of age or any other demographic for that matter. This is more about psychographics, the linkage of people through common interests (note: interest graph) than it is demographics or the social graph.

As discussed earlier in this series, consumers are investing time in social networks to connect with friends and family. According to the IBM study, the total number of users in social networks doing so accounts for 70% of all social consumers. The subsequent reasons individuals interact in social networks is to access news and entertainment at 49%and 46% respectively. 42% desire to share their opinions and another 30% seek to access reviews. But what of those seeking to engage in conversations or relationships with brands? They number at a mere 23%.

IBM mapped the chasm between brands and consumers highlighting the separation that divides intention and actuality. 65% of businesses view social media as a new source for revenue. At the same time however, consumers claim that it is they who expect to realize value from businesses in social media. Nevertheless, the discrepancy between what customers want and what businesses think they want reside at opposite ends of the stream.

The perception gap is reminiscent of couples therapy where each individual sees the world so entirely differently that they require mediation to meet one another in the middle.

If you ask consumers why they interact with companies in social networks, they’ll tell you it’s to receive a discount (61%) or to make a purchase (55%). If you ask a business why they think consumers follow them in social networks their response is likely to mirror IBM’s results. 73% believe that consumers wish to learn about new products and an additional 71% connect to receive general information.

Perhaps most telling is the severity of misperceptions between consumers and brands. While consumers expressed the desire to receive discounts or make purchases as the top reasons for engagement in social media, businesses view these actions as the lowest two motives for connecting in the social web.

To “bridge’” these gaps requires a social CRM strategy and infrastructure to foster collaborative experiences through engagement that customers value. Social CRM tends to focus on technology and systems to provide stakeholders with access to information and processes to support informed engagement. sCRM can also greatly benefit by adapting to the 5th P in order to inspire updated methodologies for engagement that today’s customer can appreciate. It is as much a function of infrastructure as it is a matter of adapting to human nature.

Next Steps

Brands must face the tough reality that social media is in direct conflict with the mode of business as usual. Businesses must first with understanding the wants and corresponding behaviors of the social consumer to effectively adapt.

Introduce mutually beneficial engagement strategies and programs that are unique to the expectations of each community. Technology is an enabler, but customer service works best when it’s designed to serve.

Think like a customer. Or better said, take the insights that are gleaned from gathering intelligence to become the customer you’re trying to reach.

Social consumers are not looking for information, recreations of your Website or links to existing, probably outdated web pages. Recognize that the social consumer is quite content operating without your interference. If you’re unsure what they want, ask them. Then build experiences that deliver value and also build experiences that are shareable. K.I.S.S Keep it Simple and Shareable or Keep It Significant and Shareable.

Elvis once famously sang, we need “A little less conversation and a little more action…”

The End of Business as Usual will be available in the coming weeks. You can order now at Amazon | Barnes and Noble | 800CEOREAD.

Part 1 – Digital Darwinism, Who’s Next
Part 2 – Social Media’s Impending Flood of Customer Unlikes and Unfollows
Part 3 – Social Media Customer Service is a Failure!
Part 4 – We are the 5th P: People

Part 4 in a series introducing my new book, The End of Business as Usual…

It seems that adding the word “social” to any category escalates its importance. From the Social Customer to Social Commerce and from Social Business to Social CRM, the common thread that weaves everything together is people. It is people after all that are responsible for placing the social in social media. Everything else is just technology. So why is it that businesses still approach social media and the services and channels that connect this very human network as it has traditional media in the past? Just as in the emergence of connected customers, this inherent behavior is simply part of the DNA. This DNA where perhaps the “D” stands for disconnected represents the very fabric of business and the very essence that requires evolution in order to genuinely connect with tomorrow’s customer, today. Operating with a business as usual mindset no longer cuts it.

Regardless of media, good business comes down to a simple process of identifying customers, learning what they want or need, feeling their challenges, learning how they communicate with one another, and observing how they discover and share information. Yet, many businesses approach what is a natural bottom-up occurrence through a top-down system of pushing information, pulling would-be customers through funnels, and confining them to artificial feedback loops. To put it simply, if we visit the traditional 4P’s of marketing of Price, Place, Promotion and Product, the key ingredient of favorable engagement and business outcomes is the very thing that’s been missing all along, People – you, me and the individuals who invest in products and sometimes the brands behind them.

Even though businesses are experimenting with engagement in Facebook, Twitter, forums, comments, et al., I’m not convinced they see us beyond our avatars. Nor do they view our communities as influential cliques, but rather as rudimentary clicks. Many businesses don’t take the time to get to know us, yet they invest in new media as an attempt to build relationships without understanding why we engage.

The bottom line is that customers are not necessarily looking to build relationships with brands. They’re, we’re, looking for solutions, direction, insights, and value. Information, contests, and clever videos are now commodities that contribute to the already clogged arteries of new media. But every day, companies ask customers to “Like” them on Facebook and “follow” them on Twitter weighing the extent of their efforts on the quantity of the 3F’s (friends, fans and followers) in addition to traffic, clickthroughs, and views. It’s no wonder why so many pundits debate the value of ROI when businesses are still not defining the “R” or the return we seek nor are brands defining outcomes.

We’re not driving experiences, we’re reacting to them.

We’re not introducing meaningful value, we’re pushing content and creative.

We’re not designing programs around intelligence, we’re focused on monitoring.

It’s time we had a click to action!

I Think We Need Some Time Apart

A few years ago, Microsoft released a video that to this day personifies the disconnect between brands and their customers.

Customer: “I want a divorce.”

Brand: “What now?”

Customer, “We don’t talk anymore.”

Brand: “I just put down a mil on a TV commercial just to talk to you.” OR sub that with, “I just invested time and resources on Facebook and Twitter just to talk to you.”

Customer: “Exactly, you do all the talking, I never get a chance to…[cut off by brand.]”

Brand: “You can talk on our web site can’t you?” OR sub that with, “you can comment, Like, RT, or interact with us in social networks.”

Customer: “Sure, if I want to say, ‘order this product.’”

Brand, “See…!”

Customer: “This isn’t exactly dialogue.”

Even in any examples of today’s social media best practices, even the dialogue isn’t representative of the dialogue customers are seeking or that they find enough value in to continue to return or interact with brands. The first step in the in a journey that lead brands and customers down discontinuous paths is the lack of understanding, context, or desire to better understand customers and the virtual and real worlds in which they dwell.

Again, customers are not on social networks seeking relationships with business. You know that better than anyone. That’s not why you’re there. You’re there to interact with friends, family, peers and everyone else who matters to you. In many ways, you are the very person you’re trying to reach and it’s that perspective that should factor into any business, marketing, service, or product development cycle moving forward. We are the 5th P of marketing and business and this is the end of business as usual…

The End of Business as Usual will be available in the coming weeks. You can order now at Amazon | Barnes and Noble | 800CEOREAD.

Part 1 – Digital Darwinism, Who’s Next
Part 2 – Social Media’s Impending Flood of Customer Unlikes and Unfollows
Part 3 – Social Media Customer Service is a Failure!
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Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google+ | BrianSolisTV

You’ve all heard the stat, if Facebook were a country, it would be the the third largest in the world. That stat was initially shared when Facebook hit 500 million users. Now the site has more than 800 million users and a new comparison that’s worthy of blog posts, tweets and conference presentations…Facebook now has as many users as the entire Internet did in 2004, which ironically is the year Facebook debuted.

According to data released by Pingdom, Facebook is also larger than the population of Europe, with Russia included. But when it comes to comparing Facebook’s population with worldwide users of the Internet in general, you can see that it ranks only second behind Asia. At 800 million, Facebook represents 28% of the current Internet population and 168% and 294% of the Internet population of Europe and North America respectively.

Pingdom also compared Facebook’s global citizenry with the actual populations of countries around the world (not just Internet users). Here you can see that Facebook’s active user base is 2.5x the population of the United States, 3.9x the population of Brazil, and 13x the population of the United Kingdom. Only India and China have populations larger than Facebook.

In the face, pun intended, of an important migration from that of a destination web to that of a social egosystem, businesses must rethink their web strategy. No longer is having a centralized www presence enough to satisfy the needs of online consumers. I’ve long maintained that businesses must augment their traditional web site with that of a social home page as well as a mobile experience. Catering to attention where it is focused is the only way to earn relevance in a new era of social consumerism. In doing so, businesses must also adopt a new mindset that doesn’t simply market to consumers the same old way just in new networks, but instead foster meaningful engagement and connections by providing value…as defined by the very consumers you’re trying to reach.

This is your time to not only earn Likes, but also make them count now and in the long term.

Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google+ | BrianSolisTV
___
The End of Business as Usual: Rewire the way you work to succeed in the consumer revolution

Order now at Amazon | Barnes and Noble | 800CEOREAD
___
ENGAGE!: The complete guide for businesses to build and measure success on the social web

___
Click here for your favorite infographics…now in 22 x 28 poster format!

Part three in a series introducing The End of Business as Usual…Written by Frank Eliason (@frankeliason)

Certainly not a statement you would expect to hear from the person formerly known as @ComcastCares, but I think it is an important perspective to consider if we are to build stronger relationships with customers. As I look around I see many interesting aspects of social media from large and small businesses. and I am very excited to see companies trying new things to reach their customers. But we are now moving in a new direction and I think too few see it yet.

Today I am SVP of Social Media for Citibank (of course thoughts here are my own). I have had the privilege to see the impact social media can have on big businesses and I look forward to watching this come to reality. A few key observations I have had are:

- It all starts with trust

- Stories are the most powerful way to create & reinforce change

- Human connections are against the grain for many businesses, but imperative for social media success

- Many people are trying to make money off business leaders who do not understand social media (and they are being successful at it)

- We are so stuck on measurements, yet we are measuring the wrong things

I sometimes refer to the last twenty years in business as the Jack Welch era. While he is a business leader whom I have tremendous respect for, I also believe times are changing. Companies have been striving to focus on greater levels of metrics. For those who study Six Sigma, you have seen it first hand. When I first learned the Six Sigma process I was very excited. It was not about opinion, but instead where the metrics guided you. I completely understand why executives loved it. What many did not realize is those running the projects typically chose metrics that told the story they wanted to tell.

I am seeing the same trouble with social media today. People are focusing on the completely wrong metrics and not properly educating executives on the real story of social media. Today, companies are focusing on metrics such as ‘likes,’ fans, followers, etc. These metrics tell you nothing of substance. Few companies tie this information directly to their Customers through measurements such as the net promoter score of the social Customer, what products they are buying, etc. Most companies proclaim to be ‘listening’ in the space but very few have changed or implement processes or products based on this listening. Huge ROI can be gained just by measuring changes that stem from listening.  It’s sad to say, but the only changes I have seen are those due to large or threatening groundswells. And in my view, change was only made to silence the noise.

It is easy to pick on businesses where problems play out in social media. After all, it’s there for everyone to witness. The fact is that every business, large or small, can find out useful information via social media. It’s not just about listening, it’s about gaining insights and intelligence.  It should not take a groundswell of any proportion to get people within your organization to start to think about the Consumer. The world as we know it has already shifted. This is indeed the end of business as usual, but few are willing to admit it.

It’s not just the lack of intelligence or powers of observation that fail businesses. Traditional marketing is not as effective as it once was perceived to be. When I do watch TV, I tend to fast-forward passed commercials. I ignore virtually everything that enters my mailbox. When I am online, I, like you, pay more attention to what I am looking for or reading than digital ads. When I do go to buy a product, also like you, read reviews on websites like Amazon or I ask my social graph for their thoughts. The pendulum has shifted!

This brings me to the failure of social service. The other day someone tweeted me asking about current costs of phone calls versus the cost per Tweet for customer service. Ugh! This is new media and yet we’re already focusing on old metrics. The truth is that the service world has been broken for years because of the emphasis of handle time or calls per hour. Companies do not want to talk to you, and it shows. The fact is most do not want to Tweet with you either. Since they are worried about brand sentiment, they may appease you to shut you up. Sorry, shutting your customer up is not customer service and trying to expedite resolution isn’t a metric for the new world of consumer influence.

Many businesses run new media efforts through PR or marketing. I have even seen a few that run social media through their outside marketing agencies (talk about being close to the customer). Anyway, I have tried a few of these out over the years. My view is that these disconnected businesses are attempting to placate consumers, to minimize or eliminate the complaint. In order for social media service to scale, change MUST happen. Companies must care. New metrics must surface that place the customer back in customer service.

I do not get a sense however, that much has changed in the way businesses run, no matter how engaged in social media they are today. This is not because the scaling is not possible, because for the most part you can queue up a tweet just as easily as you queue up a call. The trouble is the efforts are not leading to wholesale change in the way companies interact with their customers. If you are simply placating loud customers, all you are really doing is encouraging others to focus on the channels where they believe resolution awaits.

What people failed to see regarding the Dell or Comcast success stories in the early social media days, is the amount of work that went on behind Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. The true transformation of these businesses what not in taking to social network, but instead building the back end to start fixing the problems that created negative experiences in the first place. In my list above, I mention the power of stories, and both Dell and Comcast utilized these online conversations or stories to help drive improvements. I am sure both companies will admit that this is an ongoing process and that wholesale change does take time.

Social media is creating change in how businesses conduct themselves and placing still underestimated power in the hands of consumers and employees. If you truly want to influence brand perception, companies must:

- Empower employees (they are the life blood and the greatest ambassadors for your brand)

- Improve the customer experience, not just through service, but the entire experience with your company (please note I did not limit that to products or departments because most businesses are one brand)

- Be more nimble and not so stuck on processes that prevent change

- STOP being afraid of your customer! If anyone is afraid to speak to a Customer, you are doing the wrong things

- STOP minimizing the value of your customer! They are more influential to you in the post-commerce phase than you can imagine.

As Brian says in the next book, the brand of your business is the culmination of shared experiences. And as a result, we are entering a time when business will change dramatically. It already has in the eyes of the consumer, but few executives have connected the dots. The bottom line is that businesses need to have wholesale improvements over the way they interact with customers. This changes is currently being driven by the customer, but it also must be driven by empowered employees who want to see success in their business and processes that support transformation and adaptation.

How do you drive change at your business?

Is your business afraid of the Customer?

Do people within your company want nothing to do with the Customer Service department, or even worse, look down on it?

I personally love the customer; they are my passion and success. I represent them in everything I do. I use their stories to drive change. It is something you may want to do to.

#AdaptorDie

The End of Business as Usual will be available in the coming weeks. You can pre-order now at Amazon | Barnes and Noble | 800CEOREAD.

Part 1 – Digital Darwinism, Who’s Next
Part 2 – Social Media’s Impending Flood of Customer Unlikes and Unfollows

New media marketing is creating an undercurrent that is shifting the very foundation of business. Without a full understanding of what’s possible, a clear view to the future or an idea of the strength or extent of the market undertow, executives cautiously embrace emerging social and mobile channels based on guidance of internal champions and external pressure from competitors and customers alike. But, leaders can only lead when their vision is focused and direction is defined. The ability to execute becomes paramount and the gaps that exist between goals and capabilities must be identified and solved for quickly to stay the course.

Metrics are critical indicators of performance and progress yes, but when new media enters the fray, more questions than answers cloud the ability to see beyond the horizon. And, as new media becomes increasingly disruptive, innovation and a bit of clairvoyance are required to serve up new hypothesis that help leaders make decisions in the absence of history or precedence. It is in these times when competitive threat is equal to, or in some cases less than the threat of digital Darwinism. When technology and consumer behavior cause change faster than your ability to recognize and adapt (and lead), we surface the first and potentially dangerous series of slipping points that like the game of Chutes and Ladders, cause us to fall further away from our position or intention.

By the Numbers

These days, solutions are more experimental than they are evident. As a result, businesses rely on what they know. In this case, existing metrics and frameworks are applied to help ease testing and experimentation. Earlier this year Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the American Marketing Association published the results of its annual CMO Survey. Among the findings, we learn how executives are applying traditional metrics to new media to measure performance. Additionally, we can compare the current trends in measurement to this time last year to get a view into how businesses are adapting measurement against new opportunities.

At the top of the list, we see that traffic (hits/visits/page views) is the most important metric according to the report, increasing from 47.6% to 52.2% in one year. Naturally, repeat visits rank second at 34.9%. However, a less important metric, the number of followers or friends, commands the third spot at 34.1%. This represents a huge jump from 24% the year before. Clicks to action were surprisingly positioned in fourth with 29.3%, up from 25.4%, with marketers tracking conversion rates from visitor to buyer. I would have expected this in second or third. And, oddly enough, the importance of measuring sales fell from 17.9% in 2010 to 13.3% in 2011. The importance of measurements such as revenue per customer also plunged from 17.2% to 9.6%; customer retention costs dipped from 7.7% to 6.4%; and, profits per customer dropped from 9.4% to 4.8%.

At first glance, I can’t tell if these numbers represent the migration of an organization toward a culture of customer-centricity or a culture of compromise. Are these numbers falling because they’re difficult to measure or is it because they’re not important? Certainly with all of the discussions about ROI and the importance of proving the ability to meet customer needs while triggering meaningful outcomes, we could find a way to improve engagement strategies beyond the 3F’s (friends, fans and followers). To survive digital Darwinism, we must challenge ourselves and management to migrate toward relevance and significance. That means new metrics are necessary to measure progress in a new direction.

Over the last several yeras I’ve met with countless business leaders seeking input into the insights and corresponding metrics necessary to listen, learn, engage, and adapt in a new era of empowered consumerism. In fact, I believe that a significant gap exists between existing metrics and those required to chart new courses toward relevance. For example, one metric that I hear more often than not is the reduction of inbound customer inquiries as a result of DIY or automated knowledge bases. Of course, if the customer can answer their own questions, they won’t need us. But, that same metric is carrying over to social media. If a Tweet can resolve a problem, the company has succeeded in reducing the inbound burden to the contact center.

At a time when executives claim that getting closer to customers is a top priority for 2012 and beyond, how is it that we can employ metrics that continue to do what businesses have done so well over the last couple of decades – the ability to move further away from customer engagement through barriers of technology?  Customers just want to hit “0″ to talk to someone live. The same is true for new media. Customers are in control of their own experiences, what they share, and how they make decisions. Businesses can either accept this reality and work towards a collaborative business model of co-creation or simply choose to not be part of the long-term equation.

With an effective reduction of published negativity, we should explore acts of increasing customer engagement as a way of cultivating meaningful and productive experiences. It is through the generation of positive experiences that we can assure the materialization of other important business drivers such as sales, referrals, acquisition and retention costs, etc. More importantly, we can ensure relevance. Everything begins with understanding what it is that customers want and mapping these findings to what executives are driving toward. In the process, you may in fact find that a gap exists. But discovering the gap is what you’re supposed to do when the future is uncertain. It is what you do with this new found awareness that defines your place in the hearts, minds, and wallets of customers and prospects.

Ignorance is bliss until it’s not. After all, if ignorance is bliss, then awareness must be awakening.

Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google+ | BrianSolisTV
___

The End of Business as Usual: Rewire the way you work to succeed in the consumer revolution

Pre-order now at Amazon | Barnes and Noble | 800CEOREAD.
___

ENGAGE!: The complete guide for businesses to build and measure success on the social web

___

Click here for your favorite infographics…now in 22 x 28 poster format!

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