Enterprise Social Media

Novel Idea: Let’s ignore social media and our customers too

Posted on 17. Oct, 2008 by Michael Brito in Social Media

Social media; ahh … yes, quite the buzz word I often hear hundreds of times of day in meetings, conference calls, conferences, twitter, in my mind, etc.  And, even though I feel the need to repeat the voices in my head screaming “social media”, I try to refrain from saying it aloud too often.  Nonetheless, social media is not a fad, it’s not a trend and it’s not going away anytime soon. And, while the term itself may be new, the concept dates back to a time way before cavemen actually bought car insurance (I’m trying to be funny here).

Seriously though, social media is about community and people have been forming communities all throughout history in every civilization and every culture known to man.  It’s in our DNA to be social, to share, to take care of each other, to listen and to nurture relationships. So I wonder why some companies are still afraid to participate.  Maybe it’s budget issue, lack of resources, fear of losing control, whatever.

Even today, I get push back from some at Intel questioning the need for a consumer blog on Intel.com; and I completely understand the concern. It’s obviously more difficult to measure the ROI of a conversation than it is a search marketing campaign; especially for an ingredient brand like Intel. But what I try and emphasize is that a blog is just a tool of the entire social universe; and there needs to be a broader strategy associated with just “building another blog” because everyone else is doing it.

It could be a blog or maybe just a twitter account or even a Facebook page; but the fact of the matter is that companies, brands, products – whatever you want to call it – have to participate in some way.

Here’s why:

A study back in June showed that 55% of consumers want an ongoing conversation with brands. The study investigated how brands and consumers interact and how consumers want brands to engage them. And the results were quite phenomenal. In addition to the 55% wanting an ongoing interaction, 89% of respondents said they would feel more loyal to a brand if they were invited to take part in a feedback group.

A more recent study (you can download here) found that 85% of Americans using social media think companies should have an active presence in the social media universe. What’s even more interesting is that those users actually want interaction with these companies. Here are some other nuggets that might be useful.

Out of the 85% of people who want companies to be present in social media:

• 34% want companies to actively interact with them
• 51% want companies to interact with them as needed or by request. 
• 8% think companies should only be passively involved on social media
• 7% think companies should not be involved at all.

More on customer service via social media:

• 43% would like to see companies offering customer service through social media, 41% would like companies to solicit feedback
• 37% would like companies to provide new ways to interact with the brand via social media.

While valid, these are just two studies with a bunch of numbers and percentages.  I have experienced real situations in social media where, as a customer, I have been listened to and my problem was fixed, well … at least looked at by the president of a company (see Twitter / Geek Squad case study). And even though they couldn’t fix my laptop, I have used their services since then and more importantly, I have told others about my experience.

And this is not an isolated incident. I know of many people who have real experiences with brands who use social media to listen, fix problems, innovate, motivate and build relationships. 

Companies cannot and should not be introverted and walk through life with their heads down.  They need to seek out every opportunity and every touch point to interact with their customers, especially in this new channel that we call social media.

 

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