The Herculean Effort to Stop Ignoring Customers

<div style="margin: 0px 1px; padding-top: 1px; background-color: #c3d9ff; font-size: 1px !important; line-height: 0px !important;"> </div> <div style="margin: 0px 2px; padding-top: 1px; background-color: #c3d9ff; font-size: 1px !important; line-height: 0px !important;"> </div> <div style="font-family:sans-serif;overflow:auto;width:100%;margin: 0px 10px"><h2 style="margin: 0.25em 0 0 0"><div><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheBuzzBin/~3/QnjzvrpNKzg/">The Herculean Effort to Stop Ignoring Customers</a></div></h2> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.5em">via <a href="http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/">The Buzz Bin</a> by Geoff Livingston on 6/30/09</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5em"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Note: this is somewhat of a guest post by <a href="http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/blog/">Geoff Livingston</a>. I saved it to my <a href="http://scottmonty.posterous.com">Posterous</a> page with the intent of bookmarking it; evidently, it resulted in a posting to my blog here. Full credit goes to Geoff.</span></div> <p><img src="http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/3658269481-f5fc101e5f.jpg" border="0" height="333" alt="3658269481_f5fc101e5f.jpg" align="left" width="222" />If social is but a channel, then the real issue for companies lies in embracing feedback from their most important stakeholders: Their customers.<br />That was the focus of the Forrester Customer Experience Forum last week in New York City (photos here).</p> <p>Organizations struggle with corporate barriers to moving towards their customers. Controlling the experience has long been the domain of various departments from product marketing to customer service. Giving stakeholders a voice in that process — via phones, email, mail, participation and yes, social media — has been the antithesis of many corporate cultures for decades. Yet according to Forrester, by failing to embrace their customers and bulwarking their experience, companies are denying themselves serious benefits:</p> <ul> <li>14.4% of customers would purchase more</li> <li>15.8% of customers would be less likely to switch brands</li> <li>16.6% of customers would refer the brand more often </li><li> </li></ul> <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/3658399205-c8dfb76fbd.jpg" border="0" height="225" alt="3658399205_c8dfb76fbd.jpg" width="420" /></div> <p>Yet in spite of these beneficial numbers, progress seems daunting. During the Chief Customer Officer panel (yes, this is apparently a title), two panelists indicated they were making progress, meeting with company executives as often as once a month or more… Once a month? That’s it?</p> <p>But for every ten companies haltingly talking to and listening to their customers, there is <a href="http://www.virginamerica.com/va/home.do">a Virgin America</a>. The entire company seems to be built around creating the ultimate, enjoyable (gulp) airline experience. As CEO David Cush went through his session, you couldn’t help but smile and admire the audacious brilliance of Richard Branson as he turns the American airline industry on its ear. This is how companies should be built. </p> <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/3658369185-7da05b2df0.jpg" border="0" height="225" alt="3658369185_7da05b2df0.jpg" width="420" /></div> <p><strong>Barriers to Adoption</strong></p> <p>We’ve discussed this before here on the Buzz Bin. There are serious cultural barriers to adopting social media, and in general, customer feedback (<a href="http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/2009/04/09/livingston-is-gone/">find a link to a white paper here</a>). <a href="http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2009/04/silos-culture-inside-the-walls-of-nonprofits-prevent-effective-social-media-use.html">Siloed corporate structures</a> prevent companies from listening to and embracing their customers.</p> <p>Forrester outlined a five stage process that organizations need to go through to foster the evolutionary change towards a customer-centric organization:</p> <p><strong>1) Interest</strong> - Discuss that there may be a problem with customer interaction and that the company may need to research its stakeholders</p> <p><strong>2) Invest</strong> - Upon realizing that there is a lack of understanding about customer needs, get the company to invest in a “voice of the customer” program</p> <p><strong>3) Commit</strong> - This is where getting C-Suite buy-in is absolutely necessary for success. The company must commit to responding to customer feedback.</p> <p><strong>4) Engage</strong> - Take the feedback from customers, and apply it across the line. Change the experience.</p> <p><strong>5) Embed</strong> - Make the customer experience feedback loop and product innovation part of the actual cultural lifeblood of the organization.</p> <p>According to Forrester, most American companies are either in stage one or two of the five stages. I think part of the failure to adapt has to do with the tendency to use old ways to affect change. Consider the siloesque idea of a customer department or initiative, rather than realizing customer centric behavior affects a company across the line.</p> <div style="text-align:center"><img src="http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/6a00d8341bfa9853ef011570913acd970c-500wi.gif" border="0" height="334" alt="6a00d8341bfa9853ef011570913acd970c-500wi.gif" width="420" /></div> <p>Consider how David Armano and the team at Dachis are starting to address the challenges of cultural barriers to customer interaction (pictured above). They see <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2009/06/sbd-1.html">multiple nodes touching hubs</a> throughout an organization. Similarly, <a href="http://www.altimetergroup.com/">Charlene Li</a>’s latest research is focusing on how companies embrace their customers to become socialprises. </p> <p>The challenge to becoming a customer-centric organization is not as easy as simply listening. It involves reinventing many an organization’s actual structure and workflow. Cultural barriers to success cannot be underestimated.</p> <p><strong>The Social Backlash</strong></p> <p>Throughout the conference there was a very clear and present resistance to social media hype. Every single discussion around our new media certainly recognized its value as a great way to converse with customers. Every successful company featured at the Forum had some kind of social component, even if it was just listening to feedback.</p> <p>But more and more, you heard executives rejecting social media as a panacea for customer ills and feedback. In fact, there were discussions about the viability of Twitter in the long term as a scaleable tool, and whether it really could supplant news organizations for information.</p> <p>While companies recognize social media for its value as a toolset, they don’t see it as the cure all for an actual experience, and don’t see it as the alpha and omega for customer contact points. Instead it is one of several ways customers discuss their experiences from calls, web site chats, email, etc. There was a huge <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2009/06/sbd.html">emphasis on multichannel integration</a> of customer voices throughout the conference.</p> <p>This <a href="http://mediabullseye.com/mb/2009/06/the-misanthrope-edition.html">backlash seems to me be a result of overhype</a>. A smart communicator can see this. Customers don’t touch a company<a href="http://www.pr-squared.com/index.php/2009/06/social-media-the-end-of-mediation"> in one, singular channel</a>. They have many touches from ads, news, web sites (standard and mobile) and packaging all the way through to the actual product experience. To think that social media is it for a company is a horrific error. And the implication of the current hype cycle would only have companies communicating in 140 character sound bytes. Thus the very natural backlash.</p> <p><strong>Related Buzz Bin Posts</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/2009/04/01/the-cultural-challenge-to-integration/">Cultural Challenge to Integration</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/2009/04/06/moving-from-siloes-to-hives/">Moving from Siloes to Hives</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/2009/04/06/examining-siloed-processes/">Examining Siloed Processes</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/2009/04/10/there-is-no-social-media-department/">There Is No Social Media Department</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/2008/07/07/the-socialprise/">The Socialprise: A White Paper</a></li> </ul> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheBuzzBin/~4/QnjzvrpNKzg" height="1" width="1" /></div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com/">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://scottmonty.posterous.com/the-herculean-effort-to-stop-ignoring-custome">The Full Monty</a> </p>

The Herculean Effort to Stop Ignoring Customers

The Herculean Effort to Stop Ignoring Customers via The Buzz Bin by Geoff Livingston on 6/30/09 Note: this is somewhat of a guest post...

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Are Your Priorities Screwed Up?

<a href="http://s279246823.onlinehome.us/images/RockStar.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://s279246823.onlinehome.us/images/RockStar.jpg" style="float: left; height: 191px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 240px;" /></a>The recent news of Michael Jackson's death has a lot of people rattled. When an icon of that stature passes, it's natural for a whole generation of people to reflect on nostalgic times, pine for what could have been, and think about lessons for our own lives.<br /> <br /> In this case, I couldn't help but be struck by a similarity between Michael Jackson's status and that of some so-called social media "rock stars."<br /> <br /> I've always been a little hesitant to anyone self assigning expert or "rock star" status. To me, experts are deemed so by others, after an individual has put in plenty of hard work and dedication. And the whole "rock star" thing boggles my mind. There seems to be a cult of weblebrities - people who are Internet famous - where social media types celebrate each other with more and more fervor. My question is: <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">why?</span></span><br /> <br /> The reason I tied it in with Michael Jackson is because I read <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-shmuley-boteach/the-tragic-end-of-michael_b_221341.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">a recent column written by the Rabbi Shmuley Boteach</span></a>, who was MJ's spiritual advisor for a time. He makes a very profound yet simple observation about what fueled Jackson's passion for fame:<br /> <blockquote> "He needed the throngs, he thrived on the adulation of the crowds...In many ways his tragedy was to mistake attention for love...Money [or fame] is not a currency by which we can purchase self-esteem and being recognized on the streets will never replace being loved unconditionally by family and true friends."</blockquote> <br /> The strange thing is, I see a lot of this behavior in some social media types. And it's kind of sad, really. It's like they're busily trying to replace something that's missing in real life. To understand the absurdity of it, I'll give you an example of an exchange I witnessed: <br /> <div> Person 1: "You've never heard of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">[insert name of social media "rock star" of your choice here]</span>??" (I'm leaving the name out to protect the innocent)</div> <div> Person 2: <span style="font-style: italic;">"When my mother has heard of him, then you know he's famous."</span><br /> <br /> But let's not kid ourselves. Using social media as part of your marketing mix is far more than recruiting some uber-connected individual who can bring attention to your brand. It starts with <a href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/starting-a-social-media-strategy/">crafting a strategy</a> and understanding what your business objectives are. And it means <a href="http://christine-major.com/2009/06/28/social-crm-rocks/">never, ever taking your eye off the customer</a> and doing what matters - <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">providing value to them</span></span>. After all, isn't that what you're in business for?<br /> <br /> A poignant reminder from Seth Godin (as interviewed by Debbie Weil) on that very topic here:<br /> <br /> <center> <object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OujgPgNCLvk&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OujgPgNCLvk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center> <br /> (Facebook readers, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OujgPgNCLvk">click through for the video</a>)<br /> <br /> <span style="font-style: italic;">Photo source: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/13547802@N05/3385570844/">ovaratli (Flickr)</a></span><br /> <div> <i><br /></i></div> </div>

Are Your Priorities Screwed Up?

The recent news of Michael Jackson's death has a lot of people rattled. When an icon of that stature passes, it's natural for a whol...

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What Matters in Most Word-of-Mouth Marketing?

We all know that people trust people like themselves the most, and that "real" friends are more influential than online contacts. But how does this shake out, exactly?<div><br /></div><div>According to a recent Mintel study <a href="http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007144">cited by eMarketer</a>, people who bought a product based on a</div><div> recommendation did so based on this breakdown:</div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><img src="http://s279246823.onlinehome.us/images/productreco.gif" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 324px; height: 171px;" border="0" alt="" /></div><div><br /></div><div>And while you'll see that bloggers make up only 5% of the recommendation source, for those of</div><div> you who have resources tied up in blogger relations programs, this is not some sky-is-falling panic to get you to halt your efforts. On the contrary, how many friends, relatives, spouses/partners do you know that have a blog or a social network presence? They're still likely to talk about it with others, both online and off.</div><div><br /></div><div>But if you're going to be effective at tapping into word of mouth marketing (WOMM to some), you at least need to take into account the other acronym: <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/06/wiifm.html"><b>WIIFM</b></a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What's important to them?</b></div><div>I recently shared <a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2007/03/be-ball-danny.html">a link to an old post</a> in which I quoted that master orator, Cicero:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><blockquote>If you wish to persuade me, you must think my thoughts, feel my feelings and speak my words.</blockquote></span></div><div>No matter what your word of mouth tactics consist of, your content needs to resonate with the people you're trying to reach (and consequently, with their contacts). According to that same study, here are the top three things that matter when it comes to product recommendation:</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://s279246823.onlinehome.us/images/productreason.gif" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 324px; height: 151px;" border="0" alt="" /><br /></div><div>It's not terribly surprising that people are currently focused on price, is it? We're always looking for a bargain. And, consistent with human nature, we want the best quality at the same time too. :-)</div><div><br /></div><div>You would think that a clever marketer would simply drop prices and compete based on offering the lowest prices around. <a href="http://www.walmart.com/">Some have</a>. Others have simply <a href="http://consumerist.com/382041/breyers-ice-cream-shrinks-to-15-quarts">shrunk their product size and left prices intact</a>. But those tactics can only last for so long - prices can't drop to zero (or only the largest companies have the scale & leverage) and packaging can't shrink ad infinitum - and in my opinion, it develops into a spiral of decreasing expectations from your customer. It's untenable.</div><div><br /></div><div>But let's stop and think about price for a moment and recast it in another marketing term - pricing's close cousin <b>value</b>. Recently, Seth Godin <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/05/two-halves-of-the-value-fraction.html">wrote about the value equation</a>:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Value = Benefit / Price</b></div><div><br /></div><div>What if companies focused on increasing value to the customer by <i>increasing benefit</i> instead of <i>decreasing price</i>? Indeed, if you're providing consistently high benefit, you might even be able to hold the value level high and modestly increase prices.</div><div><br /></div><div>And <b><i>that </i></b>would be something worth talking about.</div><div><br /></div></div>

What Matters in Most Word-of-Mouth Marketing?

We all know that people trust people like themselves the most, and that "real" friends are more influential than online contacts. ...

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I've Been on a Calendar, But I've Rarely Been On Time

<div style="text-align: left;">#hotmen And to prove it, I'm late with this blog post.</div><div><br /></div><div>A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the never predictable, always thoughtful <a href="http://www.davemadethat.com/">Dave Delaney</a> with a scheme that I can only describe as <strike>hairbrained</strike> inspired. I've known Dave to go to bat for individuals before, raising money for good causes. Many were local businesses or colleagues, but Dave's passion always rang true and led him to success.</div><div><br /></div><div>So that's where the latest idea came in. Dave decided to plant his tongue firmly in his cheek and ask a number of us (18, to be exact), to pose for the <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/hottest_men_on_twitter_calendar-158269448237852909">Hottest Men on Twitter Calendar</a>. No lie.</div><div><img src="http://rlv.zcache.com/hottest_men_on_twitter_calendar-p15826944823785290926tav_325.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 0px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 325px; height: 325px;" border="0" alt="" /></div><div>But if it were all about just seeing (cough) hot guys, we wouldn't sell a single copy. Well, that's not entirely true - Jason Falls would buy one so he could hang <a href="http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/2009/06/16/its-for-a-good-cause/">Mr. April</a> in his office. </div><div><br /></div><div>But there had to be a hook. Dave's angle: 40% of the proceeds of the calendar (the net after production costs) will go to <b><a href="http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/viewChallenge.html?id=21994">DonorsChoose.org</a></b>, where teachers post projects and how much they cost, and you can choose what to fund. It's a <i>great</i> cause.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, if you're in the market for 18 months worth of photos, including a <a href="http://www.cc-chapman.com/2009/06/12/the-hottest-men-of-twitter/">hot & sweaty new media consultant</a>, a <a href="http://sassholes.blogspot.com/2009/06/keeping-twitter-stream-safe-and-raising.html">buff and bronzed mobile marketer</a>, a <a href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/">fearless community leader</a>, a <a href="http://www.commoncraft.com/">voice-over guy like no other</a>, a <a href="http://baratunde.com/blog/">humorist extraordinaire</a>, a <a href="http://www.keithburtis.com/">woodcrafter-cum-social media marketer</a>, a <a href="http://www.bobgoyetche.com/?p=398">podcaster across borders</a>, and possibly <a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/">the bravest geek I know</a> - then this is the purchase for you. Even the <i><a href="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/06/new_trend_hotte.php"><b>Village Voice</b></a></i> is taking notice. Oh. Wait.</div><div><br /></div><div>"But I have absolutely no interest in this kind of thing," I hear you saying. Fine. Don't make me <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsmonty/3634918376/">pull a <i>National Lampoon</i></a>. Do it for the children, for I believe the children are our future. Here's what you can do:</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Please <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/hottest_men_on_twitter_calendar-158269448237852909"><b>purchase the calendar by clicking here</b></a>. </div><div>2. And share the link around, using the hashtag: <b>#hotmen</b>.</div><div><br /></div><div>And just for fun, vote for your favorite "hot" man on Twitter. I haven't got any favorites, but I hear there's an October surprise. (<i>Not-so-subtle hint</i>: I'll reward you with many fine blog posts).</div><div><br /><center><script src="http://twtpoll.com/js/badge.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br /><script src="http://twtpoll.com/badge/?twt=6n9kji" type="text/javascript"></script></center></div><div><br /><br />Thanks for joining in the fun here. Let's work together so we can help raise enough money to give these deserving teachers and children some resources they need.</div>

I've Been on a Calendar, But I've Rarely Been On Time

#hotmen And to prove it, I'm late with this blog post. A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the never predictable, always thoughtful Dave...

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The Microphone Is Always On

<a href="http://s279246823.onlinehome.us/images/mic-cam.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://s279246823.onlinehome.us/images/mic-cam.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 137px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 240px;" /></a>Andy Warhol once noted "<i>In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.</i>" Now that we're constantly publishing, sharing, microsharing, updating, vlogging... (I could go on), it seems to me that in the future, everyone will have 15 minutes of privacy.<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://www.scottmonty.com/2008/10/personal-branding-and-your-career.html">I've noted before</a></b> that it's extremely important to live your life in a way that reflects positively of you, because you never know who's capturing what image, sound file or video. Put more bluntly - if you'll allow me to turn another phrase - whatever happens in Vegas stays on Google. Every action counts. <br /> <div> <br /></div> <div> Want proof?<br /> <span id="fullpost"><br />One need look no further than <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCbrEbEyheM">Michael Richards</a>, who was caught via cellphone video making a racist rant at a comedy club. It's still the #1 search result on YouTube for "Michael Richards." And President Ronald Reagan made a famous gaffe during a microphone check, unaware that he was being broadcast live:<br /></span><br /> <center> <span id="fullpost"><object height="364" width="445"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Zv13ZnkpWos&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Zv13ZnkpWos&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object></span></center> <span id="fullpost"><br /><br />How does that apply online or in social media? Every tweet you make, every blog post you write, every video you record - it all adds up to showing the world who you are. And since content is easily discoverable by Google, the content you (or your company) produce needs to reflect what you want it to. For example, just the other day, I was told that I was the subject of someone's presentation, and they showed my Twitter feed up on a big screen. If I were careless about what I wrote, my stream might have been embarrassing. Luckily, that's not the case.<br /><br />Since you never get a second chance to make a first impression, every single piece of copy, every minute of video, every utterance you make can become a decision point for someone. It may be a potential customer, a prospective employer, maybe even a family member. Make your actions count.<br /><br />Have you run into a situation where you you either gave someone an impression you didn't intend to, or you discovered something about someone that made you think twice about them? I'd be interested in hearing from you.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24139907@N06/2418632504/">iNafih</a></span></span></div>

The Microphone Is Always On

Andy Warhol once noted " In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. " Now that we're constantly publishing, sharin...

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