As I think about disruptive technology, itās clear that as an industry, we often get stuck in conversations about products, services, and features. In social media for example, we are enamored with Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and the like. At the same time, we tend to confuse emerging with disruptive technologies and overly invest in rising stars such as Instagram, Quora and to some extent Google+ before we understand the impact they have on our world and the impact we can…
The State of Social Marketing 2012
The following report is brought to you by the Pivot Conference taking place in New York on October 15-16, 2012. You can download a full copy of the report for free by clicking here. At the end of 2011, Social marketing stands at a profound crossroads. Some organizations are finally embracing the importance of social networks and, as a result, increasing investments in creative engagement, marketing, and service programs. Others see the future value, but lag behind in execution. At…
How to Make Customer Service Matter Again Part 2
Part 13 in a series introducing my new book, The End of Business as Usualā¦this series serves as the bookās prequel. These days, customer service seems to be a contradiction of words and intentions. Year after year, customers are appealing for attention, efficiency and a communicated sense of being appreciated. After all, what is the value of customer acquisition if retention itself isn’t valued? Now with social networks becoming the preferred channel of communication among connected consumers, businesses are losing…
How to Make Customer Service Matter Again Part 1
Part 12 in a series introducing my new book, The End of Business as Usualā¦this series serves as the bookās prequel. Over the years, customer service has been something of a paradox within the organization. The name itself inspires dedication to helping people. And while that is the intention of customer service professionals worldwide, customer service as a line item in business accounting has often placed it in the hands of outsourced organizations, under-qualified personnel, or in the hands of…
I think we need some time apart, it’s not me, it’s you
Part 5 in a series introducing my new book, The End of Business as Usualā¦this is not content from the book, this series serves as its prequel. What do people want? If you don’t know, why not ask them? Seems like a common sense question to ask. However, when it comes to customer engagement and relations, common sense appears to be an uncommon virtue. The good news is that asking customers what they need is now easier than ever before….
We are the 5th P: People
Part 4 in a series introducing my new book, The End of Business as Usualā¦ It seems that adding the word “social” to any category escalates its importance. From the Social Customer to Social Commerce and from Social Business to Social CRM, the common thread that weaves everything together is people. It is people after all that are responsible for placing the social in social media. Everything else is just technology. So why is it that businesses still approach social…
Social Media Customer Service is a Failure!
Part three in a series introducing The End of Business as Usualā¦Written by Frank Eliason (@frankeliason) Certainly not a statement you would expect to hear from the person formerly known as @ComcastCares, but I think it is an important perspective to consider if we are to build stronger relationships with customers. As I look around I see many interesting aspects of social media from large and small businesses. and I am very excited to see companies trying new things to…
Be careful what you ask for, you might just measure it
New media marketing is creating an undercurrent that is shifting the very foundation of business. Without a full understanding of what’s possible, a clear view to the future or an idea of the strength or extent of the market undertow, executives cautiously embrace emerging social and mobile channels based on guidance of internal champions and external pressure from competitors and customers alike. But, leaders can only lead when their vision is focused and direction is defined. The ability to execute…
The Rise of the Connected Customer and the New Era of Relevance
It’s not a widely kept secret, but customers do indeed keep companies in business. While businesses have long invested in improving customer relationships, the time has come to think beyond efficiencies and automation and examine new opportunities to rethink customer experiences overall. Why? Customers are more connected than ever before. The role they play has exploded beyond transactions and is now influencing the transactions of others as well as contributing to the brand experience at levels never before seen. It’s…
@ is the Universal Sign of Engagement
For decades, companies were very good at pushing messages into markets and talking at people rather than with them. Now companies are embracing the idea of two-way interaction. Monitoring conversations is becoming standard procedure as small and enterprise businesses alike make substantial investments in tools such as Radian6, Sprial16 and Brandtology. And, not only are companies monitoring conversations, they’re adopting social media management systems (SMMS) such as Seesmic and CoTweet to operationalize conversations and platforms such as Objective Marketer, PeopleBrowsr…
