Customers   do   not   want   a   relationship   with   your   business;   they   want   the   benefits   a  relationship  can  offer   to   them.   I  have  been  stating  this   for  a  couple  years,  as  many  people   I  know   have   also   stated   and   written   about.   You   may   or   may   not   agree   with   this,   as   it   has  seemed   like   a   bit   of   a   political   debate,   without   some   really   solid   data   to   back-­‐up   either  perspective.   IBM   recently   published   the   result   of   2010   study,   which   revealed   some  interesting  data  points.  I  will  be  cautious,  as  data  can  be  interpreted  differently  from  person  to  person,  but  this  study  is  grounded  in  primary  research,  published  by  the  IBM  Institute  for  Business  Value  and  my  analysis  of  the  report  suggests  that  it  is  worth  considering.    

 

Consumers  were  asked  what  they  do  when  then  interact  with  businesses  or  brands  via  social  media.   I   am   not   sure  which   is  more   surprising   to  me   that   being   part   of   a   community   and  feeling  connected  are  near  the  bottom,  or  that  purchase  and  discount  are  at  the  top.  To  back  

up   a   little   bit,   results  also   published   in   the  same  report  found  that  only   23%   of  consumers,   who   go   to  social   media   sites,   go  to   interact   with  

brands.  They  go  to   interact  with  family  and  friends  (70%).  Another   interesting  point   is  that  while  23%  are  interested  in  interacting  with  brands  22%  actually  go  to  write  a  blog,  that  is  a  finding  which  I  am  going  to  need  to  think  on  for  a  bit.  Finally,  

The  Perception  Gap  in  Social  Author:  Mitch  Lieberman  March  20th  2011  

“Just  over  half  of  consumers  surveyed  say  they  do  not  engage  with  brands  via  social  media  at  all  (55  percent).”  

The  Business  Side  Gap  

The   business   perspective   is   more   interesting,   and   frankly   more   valuable   to   anyone   who  happens  across  this  post.    The  simple  reason  is  that  a  business  needs  to  care  about  what  the  customers   are   saying   and   doing,   not   what   they   ‘think’   is   right   or   worse,   portrayed   by  someone  else  who  told  them  the   ‘right’   thing  to  do.  OK  businesses,   take  a   look  at  the   listing  your  peers  gave  when  asked  the  why  they  thought  customers  were  following  their  companies  on   social   sites.   The   data   clearly   states   that   businesses   believe   much   more   strongly   that  consumers  interact  with  them  to  feel  part  of  the  community  –  guess  what,  they  really  don’t.  The  consumer  wants  something  more.  

The   gap   is   pretty  wide,  almost  as  wide  as   the   current   NFL  players   versus  owners.   But,   in   this  case   it   is   not   a  matter   of  compromise   and  working   to   get   both  sides  to  see  the  other  perspective.  The  only  real  opinion  that  matters  is  what  your  customers  think,  correct?  

What  about  Advocacy?  

I  am  not  sure  about  you,  but  I  have  seen  a  lot  of  Senior  Executives  talk  about  “getting  closer”  to  their  customers,  partners,  ecosystem,  prospects    (IBM  2010  Global  CEO  Study  –  88%  want  to  get  closer  to  the  customer).  In  order  to  answer  the  war  cry  from  the  C-­‐suite,  marketers  and  executives  (from  this  survey)  believe   the  answer   is  social  media  engagement.  However,   the  data  from  the  consumer  side  suggests  otherwise  –  or  best  it  is  inconclusive.    The  issue  seems  to  be  that  you  (company)  are  already  close  to  your  advocates;  64%  of  stated  that  passion  for  a  brand  needs  to  exists  prior  to  interacting  with  that  brand.  

The   answer   to   the  riddle   seems   to   be   to  encourage   consumers  to   share   their  experiences   with  friends   and   family.  Make   that   easy   and  you  now  have  a  better  chance  of  encouraging  those   at   the   tipping  point   to   become  

advocates  for  your  brand.  I  am  not  going  to  go  retro  and  start  defining  Social  CRM,  been  there,  done  that!   I  am  going  to  suggest   that  you  need  to  start   thinking   like  a  customer,  outside-­‐in,  not  inside  out.  It  is  not  about  control  of  the  conversation,  it  is  about  mutually  beneficial  value,  a   fair   exchange.   Social   media   is   part   of   something   we   call   the   customer   engagement  continuum,  aka  consistency  of  interactions  and  touch  points  independent  of  the  channel  used.  A   friend  shared  a   term  with  me  early   this  week,  which  seems  to   fit   “Reverse  Logistics”  –   to  me,  it  fits  here  because  the  perspective  that  matters  is  the  customers.  

“Businesses  hoping  to  foster  closer  customer  connections  through  social  media  conversations  may  be  mistakenly  projecting  their  own  desires  for  intimacy  onto  customers’  motivations  for  interacting.  Interactions  with  businesses  are  not  the  same  as  interactions  with  friends.”  

“In  other  words,  consumers  who  engage  already  have  an  affinity  for  that  brand  or  company,  and  mere  participation  via  social  media  may  not  necessarily  result  in  increased  loyalty  or  spending.  But  a  recommendation  from  a  friend  or  family  member  could  make  a  difference.”  

About  Sword  Ciboodle    Sword  Ciboodle  is  an  award  winning,  multi-­‐channel  customer  engagement  platform,  designed  for  the  21st  century  organization  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  21st  century  customer.  From  telephone  to  email  and  community  through  self-­‐service,  our  customer  experience  fabric  enables  you  to  create  a  consistent,  efficient  and  differentiated  service  experience.    The  customer  experience  fabric  for  many  global  brands,  Sears,  Bally  Total  Fitness,  and  Vistaprint  all   leverage  our  platform  to  construct  a  genuinely  social  and  customer  centric  business.  

 

www.sword-­‐ciboodle.com  

info@sword-­‐ciboodle.com  

 

About  Sword  Ciboodle    Sword  Ciboodle  is  an  award  winning,  multi-­‐channel  customer  engagement  platform,  designed  for  the  21st  century  organization  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  21st  century  customer.  From  telephone  to  email  and  community  through  self-­‐service,  our  customer  experience  fabric  enables  you  to  create  a  consistent,  efficient  and  differentiated  service  experience.    The  customer  experience  fabric  for  many  global  brands,  Sears,  Bally  Total  Fitness,  and  Vistaprint  all   leverage  our  platform  to  construct  a  genuinely  social  and  customer  centric  business.