May 8th, 2009 by Arie
Original Article by David Nelles
All beginning is hard. The dialog with customers in user generated communication channels will be more than just a free will thing to do in the future, but utmost it will become the obligation of companies. After companies have been quite detached in the last decades from their customers in regard to the communications, and now they bring consumers and suppliers back together on the same level. The imbalance of power between brands and consumers has shifted in favor of the consumer. Through social media consumers are able to talk eye to eye with companies and brands. Thus, communication with consumers in digital area requires the long forgotten abilities such as dialog capability, authenticity, and transparency. The shift of media usage will put tremendous pressures upon companies to re-adopt these abilities. The classical work of the communication collides often with the new media. Thereby, five fundamental mistakes stand out the most in regard to the social media handling:
Not being true to self. Authentic dialog also means that brands i.e. companies are communicating themselves and hence, the communication must be transparent. Transparency begins there, where users i.e. consumers can recognize with whom they actually talk to. The temptation for brands to be actively engaged in a hidden way through social media is quite alluring, but over time this could actually endanger the brand image and dialog with users. Sony, Walmart and Vichy were example from the past for such failed and fake maneuver way into social media. Only a transparent dialog with target groups will help in countering this kind of risk.
Not listening to users. Even, when it somehow hurts, it won’t be often enough said: All beginning of the company’s efforts in the area of social media must be to listen first. Social media strategies are dialog solutions and not monolog strategies. Hence, the start of each dialogs lies in listening. If one foregoes a social media monitoring, then one can hardly find the right target group. Furthermore, one cannot determine which topics the potential customers in social media are actually interested on. Who is deaf and actively engaged as brands in the area of user generated media will harvest only on disappointment – that for certain.
Not finding the right words. Marketers are often having trouble speaking the language of social media. Real dialog is more than just a press release, advertising statements or tight- lipped PR statement. A good social media strategy is definitely not just another one-way channel for press releases and brand messages. Social media marketing means: Humanize your brand. Particularly, this applies in addressing the target group. The dialog must have a real added value for users, and for them this begins with a real authentic dialog.
Focusing solely on sales. This is in my honest opinion one of the cardinal mistakes. Social media marketing is not online marketing. Measuring the success of social media marketing strategies with metrics of classical online marketing is surely not the right objective. Social media can’t be reduced simply into relation between clicks and sales. Social media marketing is the building of consumer engagement and brand image. Such metrics might not lead to a direct or clear classified buying decision, but they do show quite significant influence for buying decisions in the future. Another reason, why sales and social media only contingently fit each other: What happen with party guests, who try to involve other guests in sales conversation? Yes – They won’t be invited to the next party. The same thing applies for brands, which in their social media efforts only try to get users to buy the products. Such brands won’t have the long lasting success in social media, since no one would want to listen anymore.
Micro instead of macro approach. Big companies have obviously problems in handling social media as one whole communication process and hence, online sales department might be in charged for a group page in facebook, or company communication in charged for a corporate blog and a brand with its own twitter stream. Multiple closed communication ways within the company is the result out of such strategies. This kind of approach would only lead to confusion and the target group would not perceive the company as one unit. It’s quite decisive for user to have a voice or at least to be able to communicate with other voices. Social media must exist outward as one uniformly communication string. Hence, the various activities should be coordinated and structured on top of one another.
The listed cases, which often occur by inappropriate application of social media, are certainly not the only rocky obstacles for professional’s communicators. Nevertheless, the cases do show how companies and brands still need to get use to the direct contact with their target group. This kind of contact needs not only a different way of thinking but also a mid-term structural change in the communication processes within the company. Hence, structures of the classical communication work require a change management as to keep in touch with target group in the future.
March 4th, 2009 by Arie
Original Article by David Nelles
We’ve talked a lot about varying possibilities of dialogs between users and brands by ways of blogs, Twitter streams or branded community in big social networks. Hence, the importance of direct and authentic dialog was often mentioned in regard to building brand reputation and brand awareness. After all, all these platforms have one thing in common; the buying decisions take place at those platforms, but sales are mainly to be found elsewhere. Yet, how does the dialog work between consumers and brands in social shopping platforms such as Amazon or in other product review portals such as Dooyoo or HolidayCheck? Is it necessary for companies to be engaged actively in those platforms? The answer is easy: Yes, even here marketing execs should be active. Product recommendations and buying decisions in Amazon&Co occur in a pretty concrete and concentrated way. Hence, it is highly recommendable for companies in the area of B2C to use these platforms as potential communication channels for a concrete and direct dialog with users. Furthermore, company’s communication execs should take notice of important rules in regard to the communication between users and brands in these surroundings. On his blog post, Todd Defren summarizes quite reasonable rules of communication for product review platforms:
Rule #1: Take notice, what is actually allowed and what is not. Before companies do actively engage in this area, they should at first read and understand each of product review platform’s Terms of Use.
Rule #2: Listen to consumers. Just like each activity in social media, the dialog begins on these platforms with continuous monitoring of the relevant channels. It’s about getting a general view and afterwards to communicate more efficiently with the product reviewers.
Rule #3: Always play with open cards. Companies should always act in an open manner, meaning they should never pretend to be “just another user”. Users of these platforms wish for an open communication with the person in charge of the brands. If companies take this rule to heart, a sustainable dialog between users and companies would be accomplished.
Rule #4: Willingness for a real user dialog. Even if a negative or positive customer feedback exists: a dialog must take place. Therefore, companies should engage courteously and effectively to all comments made by users – be it good or bad comments.
Rule #5: Handling negative feedback in a constructive way. Companies should be cooperative in handling critical feedback. They should show that they do listen to consumers and thus, try to provide the best solutions. If the critics are too personal and false, companies must not react too defensive and ignorant, instead they should comment in a short and prompt way but not getting too deep into discussion.
Rule #6: The best defense is not offence. If company’s communicator rates a comment as harming the company’s business; it is advisable not to force the hosting platform to remove it. Such action would rather lead to higher waves of attention and it won’t do any good for marketers to be on the bad side with hosting platform. Furthermore, it would only leave bad impression on potential brand evangelists.
Rule #7: Rewarding positive feedback with a thank you. Communication in this area does not only mean to respond only to negative comments, but also to the positive feedbacks. By responding to positive comments, marketers could bind consumers/users more strongly to brands. By means of positive communication between users and brands, an important step is certainly achieved in establishing continuous brands relation.
Review platforms and social shopping platforms do belong for certain to a very important element of a social media marketing strategy. In social media platforms marketers are so closed on sales process then elsewhere. Hence, it is quite essential to offer users in those platforms the possibility of an authentic direct dialog with respected brands. Thereby, company’s execs must pay head to be open and direct in their communications and they should respond to negative critics constructively, or in a deescalated way.
December 2nd, 2008 by Nils Maier
Today, I stumbled upon a posting at The Strategy Web Blog. Among others, Martin is mentioning in his article the six effects for companies, who are participating in digital conversations using social media. Those effects are:
The multiplier effect:
Social media opens access to (potential) customers as well as partners and it manifolds information acceptance and allocation for brand’s and company’s communications.
The globalization effect:
Breaking the geographic, mental and psychological distance to customers, hence, establish credible contacts to target group.
The Networking effect:
Networking between companies, customers, interested party and partners can lead to new markets – see Cluetrain manifesto “Markets are conversation”.
The quality improvement and protection effect:
The improvement of products, quality and services should not only come from internal vision of the companies but rather from the market and consumers. This way, a product development strategy would not fail on the market.
The sales funnel effect:
People buy something from other people: networking between people – through word of mouth – leads become infinite numbers of potential customers.
The “humanization” effect:
Over decades companies came across customers like an impenetrable construction, they functioned in such fix structures with little regards of humanly gestures. This art of behavior changes since social media trend surfaces: customers begin to take notice of humans behind the work and actions of companies.
The multiplier effect is one of the most crucial effects in the utilization of social media for companies. This effect in particular is one of the reasons, why companies in Germany are still having such problems in adopting social media. The communication platforms of social media can spread the news about companies and their products virally – faster, plus with wider coverage than any classical media.
Even when the following example was not coming from the world of brands’ and company’s communications, the twitter activities concerning terror attacks in Mumbai as well as the latest earthquake in Indonesia, showed how fast news travels and multiplies in social media. This multiplier effect can be a blessing and even a curse at the same time. However, marketing and communication executives should be aware of the fact, that even with or without their participation in social media, their products and companies are subjected to conversations.
Another new component Martin mentioned, the humanization effect (also explained by Brian Solis in his Social Media Manifesto) sounds actually quite plausible. This do apply in dialogs with the customers, since they are now no longer subjected to faceless anonym Call Center agent but rather to a twitter or social network profile with picture and name in it. This is the case for the U.S customers of cable entertainment, Comcast. With Frank Eliason in twitter, Comcast customers can relate more easily to the brand. Ultimately, social media does make a product / company more human and less of a black box.
I can’t agree more in terms of the effects, which have impacts on products development and sales. But I would likely put Word of Mouth into networking effect, since conversations between consumers are the crucial part, which then lead to purchase decisions. In the realm of social media, being pro consumers and actively engage in sales processes, is the ideal.
December 1st, 2008 by Nils Maier
Companies might surely have their reasons not to adopt social media. Based on Patricia Skinner, here are some of the reasons:
• Company needs no publicity
• Company has something disastrous to hide
• Company fears the customers
• The company’s target group is exclusively customers, who are younger than 10 years old or over 100
• Company has already too many customers
• Company is on the verge of insolvency
If those reasons apply, then marketing and communication executives should definitely avoid social media. However, companies should definitely adopt to social media, if:
• Company wants sustainable sales figures
• Company wants to use one the most efficient of marketing types – Word of Mouth Marketing
• Company wants to participate in changes of media communications with respect to their customers and target market
• Company wants to convince brands evangelist and influencers with their products
• Company wants to draw more attention to their products in specific target group
• Company wants to improve their product development through digital dialogs with target group and hence, acquires long lasting brands reputation
