November 28th, 2008 by Nils Maier
From failures one learned – writes the influential marketing blog in reference to companies utilizing social media and it sure does fit. Crisis in brand communications can lead to new approaches in daily basis for improvement of brand communications. Dell and Comcast are two shining examples of how powerful social media as relevant communication channel can be for their brands reputation. Comcast, as well as Dell had to experience it first based, what it meant to be in social media communication crisis. From clips of Dell flaming laptop to sleeping Comcast technician on the couch circulating in YouTube, both brands finally saw the long lasting imminent threat for their brands reputation through these social media activities of users and consumers. Ultimately, they recognized the need to change and now both brands actively embrace the social media tools. In short, lessons well learned by both brands.
Unfortunately in Germany, reputation management in social media is yet to be managed accordingly by vast majority of PR executives. This was my assessment taken from my experience in PRofile 08. The conference focused on ways of PR in social media and it also emphasized on the existing lack of interests in social media due to the absence of invited PR execs and companies spokesperson. In particular, Mrs. Annete Kahre (Melitta Kaffee spokesperson), from my point of view, she might have misunderstood what social media is actually all about, it is more than just about monitoring blogs. At the end of the day social media is more about marketing. Firstly, blog is only one part of the consumer generated media and secondly, social media is more about marketing and communication tools.
As we mentioned countless times, PR and marketing in consumer generated media are about two way conversations. Users of social media platforms should not just be consumers and target group for the marketing department, but utmost, they are the key influencers (opinion leaders) in reputation and issues. Let me make a hypothetical assumption using Melitta as an example. How communication crisis, like the ones Comcasts and Dell experienced, would affect Melitta’s performance and communication’s strategy?
Mrs. Kahre would likely noticed, that her classic press clipping would not suffice, to actually register the development of issues in all relevant communication platforms. Furthermore, she would also experience, that news travels fast like wildfire in social media and how it could provide wide coverage about damaged brand reputation. At last, she would likely realized, aside keeping close contact with classical media (Print, TV) how truly important social media platforms are and keeping close contact to user generated media has become inevitable.
Such crisis would be like a Wake Up call for Melitta. Therefore, each opinion of bloggers or posters must be taken seriously and it should be monitored. It’s not only about classical media spreading the bad news but it could have been the consumers themselves. Hence, consumer’s journalism has become the relevant communication channel.
With all said, I got the impression that lots of PR agencies and company’s communicators are lacking in knowledge about social media. But this should have actually compelled PR execs to deal with it for their own good before it’s too late.
In the end, I do share the same point of view of Brian Solis: Engage or Die.
Unfortunately, the majority of communicators in Germany would likely be actively aware, after damages are done and not before.
August 4th, 2008 by Nils Maier
Everyone knows the trouble caused by telephone or cable companies. Either you wait half a lifetime on hold on diverse telephone hotlines, be hopping mad about voice-operated service menus (Advice: Just start to sing and you will immediately be able to speak with a human conversational partner) or you wait far too long. Sometimes you also wait in vain for the technicians to arrive in order for them to clear your way into multi media communication at the long awaited date of your account activation. All too often, the telecommunication companies give their customers reason for not making too friendly statements about their offers and customer service. Not only German but also American customers could write a book about these problems. However, in case of the USA, there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. What it is, exactly, that a telecommunication company understands by innovative complaint management, a posting by Michael Arrington illustrated earlier this year. The CEO of Techcrunch was astonished at the fast reply he received from the Comcast customer service after he had made some rather harsh statements about the communication giant on twitter. Indeed, Arrington does not seem to be the only one profiting from this social media complaint management. Social media monitoring has become an integral part of the CRM of Comcast. At this, Comcast does not only observe discussions about their products on the internet but also participates actively in these discussions. According to the responsible departments at Comcast, they actively contacted 1000 users during the last 5 months and tried to eliminate the cause of the complaints as fast as possible. An adequate example is depicted in a current NYT article. In his weblog, a student from Washington complains about the commercials shown in the program guide of Comcast cable’s program. 4 hours later he received an e-mail from Comcast which confirmed that his feedback would be considered when designing future services. This type of CRM solely has advantages for the company. The cable giant is thus able to react directly to criticism and, consequently, potential crises or reputation damages can be nipped in the bud. It is obvious that this social media strategy does not solely have advantages for the CRM. Certainly, such strategies have special relevance for the company communication and marketing departments. The market penetration of the internet of about 80% in the USA impressively emphasizes the relevance of this kind of strategy. Therefore, the steps taken by Comcast to observe and interact in user generated communication channels appear to be extremely logical. Comcast surely is far from being the only company which uses monitoring in the field of CRM. Comcast is one step ahead, though. For the cable giant, listening to customer dialogues on the internet is just one side of the coin. The other is the direct approach of critical aspects by CRM managers. Concerning the advantages of this dialogue, the responsible CRM manager of Comcast states:
“When you’re having a two-way conversation, you really get to clear the air,”
This step taken by Comcast will prove successful in future. After all, the use of online communication channels is no longer a temporary phenomenon. On the contrary, these channels increasingly become an integral part of the communication between consumers, clients and companies. With regard to this CRM strategy, Brian Solis says:
Conversations are taking place with or without you online each and every day. Now for the first time, companies have a direct connection to those public voices that are challenging your messages and mission to shape perception and/or learn from the experience to fix the very things that fueled the conversation in the first place. If you don’t respond, someone else will, most likely in the form of competition seizing the opportunity to convert your dispirited customers into new prospects.
Whether you want to believe it or not: In Germany there is also an increasing number of discussions about products, brands and services within user generated media. Observing the current growth rate one can state that it will not take long until the internet use in Germany will rise from 60% to 80%. The increasing success of online communities, weblogs and social networks in Germany is yet another indicator for the fact that the social media have become an integral and company relevant institution of communication in Germany, too. Gone are the days for providers in B2C when such social media strategies could be financed from fossil budgets. Thus, it is time for every company to get prepared for a direct dialogue with its customers within the social media.
