Celebrities on Twitter. Reviews are the new advertising. Social CRM.
These are the topics du jour for most expert marketers these days. But isn't a celebrity on Twitter just like the old-fashioned 'spokesperson'? Do reviews really count, or are companies just flooding Yelp with 'good' reviews of their own brand to ward off the negative comments? And what is Social CRM anyway? These days, CRM systems may not be fully integrated into marketing, so how does that work?
And what about the elusive and somewhat mis-understood role of the social influencer? Defining what that means, where they are, and how to engage these new arbiters of cool opens up a whole new playing field.
These are top-of-mind questions in most corporations I consult with these days. The ensuing conversations are robust and lively because senior executives are slowly realizing that social media issues affect the entire enterprise. And learning to think about them strategically, through the impact of real-time social channels, is challenging for most companies.
Because it turns out, attracting and retaining customers in this new globally connected world is not as easy as it first seemed. Yes, Facebook presents the possibility of a massive marketplace, some 700 million strong. And a viral video can garner millions of views. But coaxing that interest into a transaction remains the brass ring everyone's grabbing for.
The difference is that the always-connected consumer is now empowered to BE the network -- broadcasting their experience -- good or bad -- to their network in constant stream of messages via text, pictures, and video via platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Yelp and more. If their social footprint is widespread, their ability to light a viral fire that could make or break your brand's success is amplified.
I'm calling for a Tiger Team to develop a new Customer Experience Model -- a radical redesign of the old and tired Customer Relationship Management war-horse. It's time. The market -- and the customer -- is ready. Measuring 'overall customer satisfaction' in order to check a corporate box is just plain "2000-and-late."
One thought leader I follow closely is Social CRM guru Dr. Natalie Petouhoff. "Dr. Natalie" has a deep understanding of what needs reengineering in the current CRM and SCRM worlds. She offers these insights on her blog, "Leading-edge brands take the information from social media and transform their companies. Imagine really listening to the un-filtered social media gold handed to you by your customers and using that intelligence to create products that truly meet the customer's wishes."
This is echoed by Debbie DeGabrielle, CMO, Visible Technologies, who recently remarked, "As social media monitoring continues to evolve, we see increased demand for ever more sophisticated reporting, robust analytics and strategic benchmarking. We've moved beyond departmental implementations and rudimentary social listening programs, and as a consequence, the caliber of reporting and analytics is key to success." I can't wait to hear more from Visible at the upcoming Gravity Summit FutureM at the Harvard Faculty Club in September.
Whether it's a celebrity Tweeting your message, a slew of positive reviews, or solid social intelligence that informs your product development, all need to impact the bottom line. Success is now measured through the eyes of the customer. The new Customer Experience Model I'm calling for will articulate how to engage and delight the customer and turn that delight into measureable revenue support for the brands they like.
Now that's grabbing for the social media brass ring -- in real-time.
Beverly Macy is the CEO of Gravity Summit, Inc. and the Co-Author of The Power of Real-Time Social Media Marketing, published by Mc-Graw Hill in January, 2011. She also teaches Executive Global Marketing and Branding and Social Media Marketing for the UCLA Extension in Westwood, CA.
Follow her on Twitter @beverlymacy; @PowerRTM; @GravitySummit or email at
beverlymacy@gmail.com