Answering the Social Phone

Earlier today, Michael Arrington rang Comcast on the Social Phone. He did this by posting on twitter:

“Hey Comcast, the internet is really slow this morning, can you guys please give me a call?

He knows that Comcast is listening and answers their “Social Phone”

Is Social Media becoming a new customer support channel? Absolutely, it is.

Some companies have already jumped in and others are just beginning to recognize that the social phones are ringing. In time, I believe it will become a standard practice. Remember when customer support via email was first introduced? It was a harder transition that one might think, especially for larger companies.

There are major differences here, however. Adding email to the customer service mix was just another technology or mechanism by which companies could have private conversations with their customers. This is not the case with the Social Phone. These conversations are public, and that changes everything.

It also flips something else upside down: businesses now line up for customers instead of customers lining up for businesses. Rather than asking customers to do the searching, to find the businesses, to initiate contact, to get in line (or call center queues, etc.), it reverses everything and puts the onus on businesses to listen and respond to customers wherever they are. It is quite revolutionary when you think about it.

Companies who choose to jump in early will benefit the most. Right now, this practice is remarkable. It gets noticed and gets talked about. It represents an opportunity to delight customers with remarkable service. Michael Arrington asked Comcast,

“is this kind of customer service really scalable? i wish it was. you could double my bill and I’d be very happy.”

Meet your customers at their point of need.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. How fast do you think this adoption will happen? What are the major issues that companies are likely to encounter as they wade in?

April 14th, 2008 - Posted in Social Media | | 6 Comments

Un-Marketing

Brian Solis wrote a great post today that every marketer should read. He articulates a very important change that is taking place, “Now, we’re entering an entirely new paradigm for cultivating relationships with customers as well as the people who may one day become customers.” I completely agree.

Please check out the full article, “Will The Real Social Media Expert Please Stand Up?”

In it, Brian describes a change that is taking place from traditional marketing where we speak through relatively impersonal top down messages to one where we have real conversations with people.

He says:

“We’re starting to figure out that we need to humanize our story. We’re realizing that we would never speak to our friends and family through messages, so why should we speak “at” the very people we want to reach and befriend. We’re opening our ears and our minds to acknowledge that we can no longer push our thoughts at people in order to earn resonance; we have to listen, talk, listen, assess, and contribute value.”

And,

“Instead of top down communications and focusing on the influence and control of messages and perception, we’re learning that those influential groups of people are now our peers and therefore require respect, honesty, and support in order for us to earn their trust – and hopefully their business and enthusiasm along the way.”

 

So how does a marketer go about this? Brian also provides very practical advice including:

“Observe the online communities where your company and brands (or those of your competitors) are actively discussed and figure out how to participate in those conversations as if you were approaching someone in real life whom you greatly respect. Perhaps the most valuable piece of advice I can share is to pay attention to the culture of each community and how people communicate and interact with each other. This will reveal how best to embrace the opportunity and reach out to people though a through a new form of “un” marketing.

And,

“- Start by participating as a person, not as a marketer.

- Talk like a person, not as a sales person or message factory.

- Be helpful and bring value to the conversation.

During this entire process, you’re contributing to the personality and the perception of the brand you represent.”

This advice is right on the bull’s-eye and exactly the type of marketing that I believe in. At what point did we forget that it has always been about people and relationships, about adding value? I’m glad this movement is under way.

April 9th, 2008 - Posted in Online Listening, Influence, Conversation, Social Media | | 1 Comments