Beatrice and her friends don’t agree on much – at least when it comes to sharing and social skills. In fact, her more socially engaged friends have a very clear (video) message: “That’s not how it works. That’s not how ANY of this works.”
Beatrice isn’t alone. Like Beatrice, many companies don’t know how to socially engage their customers in ways that actually matter. Creating meaningful, memorable, measurable and, ultimately, profitable social experiences for customers isn’t (and shouldn’t be) as easy as sharing a recent company event picture on Instagram or posting status updates about your latest promotion on Facebook. There’s a lot more to it, but becoming more socially engaged with your customers doesn’t have to be difficult.
Here are four strategies for success:
1. Identify the relationships that matter – all of them. Many organizations don’t see their customers clearly. Often it’s an issue of balance. It can be too much focus on obtaining new customers at the expense of existing customers. Or it’s the inability to translate the excellent customer experiences created for existing customers into similar experiences for potential customers. Companies also forget about their extended network of customers: licensed franchisees, dealers, distributors, etc. How you engage them is just as important (sometimes more important) as how you engage your target customers. They aren’t only your customers, they are also the promoters – and protectors – of your brand. Many companies forget to include these business partners in the creation, facilitation, measurement and improvement of the overall customer experience.
2. Build your customer experience(s) from the inside out. Earlier, I deliberately left out one critical group of people and relationships. That’s because they truly are your most important customers. Creating a consistently positive customer experience begins with your most valuable relationships: the ones you create with your employees.
Our lives are touched and shaped by customer experiences every day. Our interactions on-line, in-person, on the phone or through mobile applications involve “moments of truths” that ultimately determine the quality of those experiences as well as the outcomes. We’ve all found ourselves immersed somewhere in the customer experience continuum: exceptional, good (but not great), boringly mundane, surprisingly bad and horribly ugly. Why not start there? Engage your employees in candid discussions about their experiences before you ask them to “walk in the shoes” of the customers they serve.
There’s a lot of talk about employee engagement, but it tends to be overlooked as a critical element in creating a consistently positive customer experience. Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends 2014 research shows that 78% of business leaders rate retention and engagement urgent or important. When I talk with business leaders they consistently identify talent acquisition, development and retention as core business issues, not simply from an HR perspective, but from a customer perspective. They understand that creating consistently positive and profitable external customer experiences begins with creating the right kinds of employee experiences over and over again.
Learn more about building your customer experiences from the inside out in my recent presentation: Creating a Positive Customer Experience: An Introduction to Moments That Matter.
3. Create customer experiences that are perfectly “blended” for them. Ask, listen and learn from your customers. Determine what “blend” of high-touch, on-line and on-demand experiences your customers want, need and prefer. The Ritz Carlton and State Farm are two best practice examples. They emphasize the personal touch while also offering multiple and alternative experiences through their websites, social media platforms and phone applications. Discover’s “It” card highlights a similar concept: the customer experience is tailored to what you need, when you need it and how you get it because Discover “really” knows you.
4. Strategically manage, monitor and measure social engagement. Social media has become one of the primary ways in which companies try to connect with customers and employees. Unfortunately, many have jumped on the social media ‘bandwagon’ only to fall off. Why? Because the lure of social media i, literally, “social.” Like a good mixer or party, social media is enjoyable and fun, but rarely planned with a specific objective or outcome in mind. Many companies have a “Field of Dreams” approach to creating engagement through social media: build it and they will come. Bad news: they won’t come unless they have a reason to and they certainly won’t come back if they’re not engaged.
Social engagement requires a clear strategy, measurement and constant attention. Dr. Frank Cespedes, in his recent article Avoid These 4 Common Social Media Measurement Traps, points out that companies often leave the ROI behind: “It’s now common to say that social media is really about awareness, not sales or calculating the returns of customer response. But, it’s wrong, a circular argument, and smart companies should not follow this flawed business logic.”
Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and Target are among the most successful in the social media space because their presence on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms are an extension of their brand and, more importantly, a continuation of the customer experience, whether it’s enjoying a new latte, introducing new product swag or claiming an in-store or on-line reward. The bottom line? Social media is an investment in time, research, strategy and yes, money. Ask yourself: should we be doing this? The answer, surprisingly, may be no – at least not yet.
Beatrice and her friends brilliantly remind us that we are – at our core – social creatures and our purchasing decisions and buying behavior have become an integral part of our social DNA.
Next time you run into a “Beatrice,” a “Brad” or someone like them, resist the urge to say “That’s not how any of this works.” Instead, show them this article and maybe they’ll understand a little more about how this works…at least some of it.
*Video courtesy of Esurance.
Until next time,
Connect, Collaborate and Create!™
Ryan
connectcollaboratecreate.com 