But are they becoming too efficient?

A few days ago I “was in the area” (meaning – same postcode), and remembered I needed a converter for my iphone. I walked in, and was  immediately greeted by a friendly chap, who knew exactly what I wanted, and where it was (upstairs, on that wall *pointing in the general direction*).

I came downstairs, having found my converter, now looking for another friendly face with a handheld checkout device I can just pay and go… easy to find, cause as I was looking around, this lovely girl walks up to me. But instead of offering to check me out (as in, pay for the goods – nothing else!), she asked me if I have an iPhone! Of course I have! (I’m an addict, remember?).

I pull it out of my pocket, and she shows me there’s an app (of course there was!) which makes the whole shopping experience a lot quicker and more efficient. The App is called Apple Store (Linked). The app is using geo-location technology to suggest the store you’re in, opens up the camera app, has a built in barcode scanner, enabling you to scan any product in the shop. To use the app, you log in using your Apple ID (which already has your credit card information) – Scan and Go!

From a customer’s perspective, it’s very convenient. If I’m busy and know what I want, I can just walk it, grab, scan and go. What I’m raising here is a concern I have on the future work force. On the one hand, the trend of quick and automatic check out will reduce the need for unskilled workers, manning these checkouts. Less jobs (as we currently see them) will be available for the less educated workforce. If this is the trend, will that increase the level or the need for higher education? Who will absorb that cost? Our government? Us?

It is easier at this stage for technology companies like Apple to come up with these solutions for self check outs. Our major grocery retailers already have invested $Millions in automatic check out lanes, reducing the need for checkout staff (only at supervision level). I’m not sure what the future hold for the smaller businesses, but there are some RFID initiatives which will completely replace the need for barcode and scanners, and provide integrated solution for retailers, which will make our shopping experience very different to what we’ve grown accustomed to.

As consumers, we have different expectations from service providers, and we get disappointed with what we perceive as poor customer service, because we’ve grown to expect a certain level of service. From some service providers (like doctors, lawyers, accountants – generally speaking) we expect to wait in the waiting room, until they are willing to see us, regardless of the appointment time. From others (like Telcos for example) we expect to have intermittent service quality, and poor customer service experience even if we complain. If we get the level of service we expect – everyone’s (sort of) happy. This is what is called “expectation management”. When things go according to what we expect – good or bad – we don’t really think too much of it. When our expectations aren’t met is when things happen. If we expect reasonable amount of service, and don’t get it – we feel disappointed, angry, and have the urge to do something: complain, tell everyone we know, plan our sweet revenge… These are all natural feelings to have, and business owners need to come to grips with it, and try their hardest to manage the expectations of their customers. At the very least! Actually, what businesses and business owners should do, is to exceed  their customers expectations, but this is quite challenging…

But this is really business text book stuff. What happen in the real world, is that we know all of that, and still miss. We continue to run our businesses to the best of our ability, trying to pacify everyone, from customers to creditors, from team members to our superiors… In many cases we realise we can’t make everyone happy all the time, and we provide feedback mechanisms, like website forms. The question is -what do we do with them?

I once read a book called “a complaint as a gift” – it’s a straight forward concept: when a customer complains, it gives us the opportunity to fix things, and make the experience better for our customers. In many cases, it also makes our staff feel better about what they do, as now they increase the chances of getting a compliment, rather than a complaint. But I had too many examples of companies who receive complaints (via the mechanisms they provide) yet not paying enough attention to the feedback. They may reach out to the customer to pacify her, but not do much to change the experience for others, future customers.

About  a month ago, it was a quiet time at the office. Coming to year-end, it was time to plan for the new year. As a company, we are very customer centric, but we know what we don’t know, and I sought the help of the world-leading expert on Customer Service – John R. DiJulius III, from Cleveland Ohio. It was a personal recommendation from someone I really respect, so my research ended on this website: http://www.thedijuliusgroup.com/. After reading the credentials, I knew I’ve found what I’m looking for – a World Class Expert on Customer Service. I went to the product page, with credit card in hand, ready to purchase!

To my horror, I wasn’t able to buy! The website didn’t cater for international customers (a website doesn’t know state or country borders, and is available worldwide!). Having a Kindle account, I didn’t even have the option of downloading a digital copy of the books (which are available on Amazon.com). What’s going on?? Why won’t you let me buy from you, Mr. Customer Service man?

I chose the first customer approach in this case, and used the Contact Us form on the website, and wrote the following note:

Attn: John himself.

Within a few hours (there’s a bit of a time difference between Sydney and Cleveland!) I received an email from John himself, apologising for my inconvenience and asking for my home address to send me some sort of compensation. That was nice.

What was better, is that the next day, John’s Chief Marketing Officer, wrote me an apologetic email, with the same request for my shipping address. This time, he had forwarded me the note John DiJulius sent him:

We need to fix both of these ASAP!

This filled me up with excitement and hope: my little website form comment made a real difference in their business (or has the potential to). Being late December, and knowing the level of undertaking it will be to add international and digital commerce to a website, I know it make take a few more weeks before we can see the change. In the mean time, I have received a parcel in the mail containing the two books, a bonus DVD, and a personal note.

Not only I’m not disgruntled anymore, I’m now an advocate of John R. DiJulius III, and his approach to customer service!

What can we learn from this experience? These are my takeaways:

1. Nothing is perfect. There’s always room for improvement.
2. We need to provide mechanism for feedback, so we can get better…
3. We need to understand the core of the issue, and not only pacify the complainer (which has to be immediate, and wholeheartedly thankful!), but make sure we act to fix the problem. Going even one step further, is to make sure the person who complained, can see the impact he had on the business, and keep them updated on the resolution of the problem.
4. Always strive to keep on top of customer’s expectations. Keep up with technology, “World is Flat” concept, and cater for different types of purchases. Money is money. If a customer wants to pay -LET THEM!

Your thoughts?

Until today, there was no such option. You could look up new connections (even that is tricky, but possible – Go to Profile> View Profile> Connections – new connections will come up on top) , but couldn’t see “lost connections”.

Last week Linkedin allowed people to follow other people, thought leaders, without connecting to them. Much like Twitter. I think it’s not a bad idea, especially when following real thought leaders, but these people are not part of your network, and mostly unreachable.  To be honest I much prefer to only have people I know in my network, yet I decided to follow some industry influencers, just out of interest…

As a result of this new feature, Linkedin has introduced another sub-navigation (submenu) item, under Profile, named Following:

When you click on that Following link, LinkedIn will calculate your connections and the people you’re following. You’ll noticed, that other than Barack Obama, Richard Branson or the Delay Lama there are people you’re following, who you KNOW have been in your network, either accepted your invitation or you accepted theirs, yet either the number 2, 3 or Group appears next to their name, which means they are no longer connected to you.

Unless you check this list of Following, You’ll never know they’ve left, because you’re still following their updates (they have disconnected from you, so they aren’t following you, only you following them). If you want to make sure these people are NOT connected to you, just tick the box: Hide your…. connections.

So, do you think it is important to know who left your network, or not??

Tell me why, in the comments below..

@vodafone_au what’s with your 3G network? Down again?? — Raz Chorev (@RazChorev) September 27, 2012

Six (6) hours later, Vodafone has responded. Note: I contacted them via their own registered twitter handle (albeit not their primary, since they have registered one without the underscore.) Their response was polite, and willing to help:

@razchorev I can have a look can you let me know where you are located? You can check out your network status here: bit.ly/LMGTQL ^GP — Vodafone Help AU (@VodafoneAU_Help) September 27, 2012

I responded immediately:

@vodafoneau_help I asked you DIRECTLY over 6 hours ago! what’s the point of using @radian6 for real-time engagement if you’re not engaging?! — Raz Chorev (@RazChorev) September 27, 2012

This time I got really frustrated. This became a Twitter chat around Vodafone Service with another disgruntled Vodafone customer  @LaneBurdett. Lane and I chatted on the 27th of September. (If you click on (@LaneBurdett) you’ll see the entire conversation). Vodafone has responded the next day.  Nice. #sarcasm. The 28th of September was a Friday, leading to October’s Long weekend. Tuesday morning (October 2nd)  I receive this:

@razchorev Hi Raz, I understand your frustration, but due to demand at times, we can’t always reply in real-time, unfortunately. ^BM — Vodafone Australia (@VodafoneAU) October 1, 2012

You’ll notice it says October 1, 2012, but this is US time. Not Australia. This is what I see when timezone settings are correct:

TweetDeck screenshot

BTW, this is how I know they are using Radian6. Not rocket science or Black Magic here…

What does this all mean? My take on this incident is that Vodafone has invested in technology, and allocated resources to respond to brand mentions on Twitter, and probably on their Facebook pages. I’m not sure whether it’s run internally or by an outsourced PR/Advertising agency? But that’s not the point. My point here is that Vodafone has the technology and people, but that’s not enough. There’s something missing from the company’s engagement in Social Media.

Learnings:

1. Socia Media is 24/7. It doesn’t stop on weekends, public holidays, or after hours. If you’re involved with Social Media in your business, you’d need to take this into consideration.

2. Social Media isn’t free. Technology (Radian6 in this case) is the starting point. Then you have to hire people to work with the technology 24/7. That’s not cheap.

3. People and Technology is a good start. Then you would need to have good processes and governance, coupled with good company-wide training. Once this is in place…

LinkedIn has introduced another layer of endorsements. If you are aware, there is an option to display your special skills and specialties on your profile (which you can drag and drop to the top of your profile, to make them more prominent). Now, based on your own choice of skills, your connections can endorse these skills, with a simple click of a button. Now it is not only you claiming to have these special talents. Other people, who know you and have had professional dealings with you, can vouch for these skills. This is, as you can imagine,  a lot more powerful than just blowing your own trumpet, isn’t it?

From now on, you’ll begin to notice these updates on your LinkedIn home page

Antoine has been endorsed by…

Or something more generic, pointing out that a few of your connections have been endorsed, where you can hover over the thumbnail to see who they are:

A few of your connections have their skills endorsed

This will let you know that a particular connection has been endorsed, and will give you an opportunity to endorse others.

Once you’ve clicked on the Endorse Connections link at the bottom of the update, you’ll see a choice of 4 other connections with one of their self-proclaimed skill. You can chose to endorse that particular skill, or remove that connection from the suggestion box. Removing the connection will replace them with another connection, or the same connection with another skill.

Endorse your connections’ skills

You can endorse all 4, ask to see more (another 4 options will appear), or close.

Another option is now to go a specific connection’s profile, view their entire list of skills, and endorse the ones you honestly believe in.

Skills and endorsements

Endorsing gets really easy, with just a click of a button:

Remember, if you vouch for someone’s skill as a click on Linkedin, it actually mean that you endorse this person and his/her skill IRL (in real life). Think before you do, as this decision of endorsement will reflect on you, not just on the person endorsed. It will also be visible (FOREVER) to both of your networks.

Many confuse Engagement platforms with Monitoring platforms, and services. In the following paragraph I’ll shed some light on Social Media Monitoring for the enterprise. This is quite a simplified view – you are more than welcome to add your comments and views below:

Why – There are many reasons to monitor social media conversations. Since there are already active conversations happening on Social Channels, it is important for the corporation to monitor these conversations. It is not necessary to participate in every conversation, however it is important to monitor what is being said & by whom.  

In general, listening to social media conversation can be used to identify sales opportunities, customer sentiment toward your brands, products, services and staff, identify influencers, and monitor the competition.

What – So we have established the need to monitor social media, but what should we monitor? Social media seems infinite, so where should we start?

It’s absolutely paramount that we monitor what people say about us, as a company, our products and services, our staff (key executives] and our competitors (products , services, and key staff).  Monitoring the competition is important for benchmarking, and measuring ongoing position in the marketplace, amongst other KPI’s.

It is also advisable to monitor what our own people are saying. Our own staff are talking using social channels already. It may appear as if I’m advocating “Big Brother” like behaviour, but there is tremendous value in our own people’s opinions and views. Especially if an Enterprise Social Network is implemented.

How – There are two options, when it comes to monitoring of social media. You have the option of buying a licence of one of the leading (or specific) social media monitoring tools, such as Radian6 or Sysomos (there are two many to list here, but these two are currently the leaders in the monitoring space). This option comes not only with the financial commitment to buying the licences, but also you’d need the staff to do the ongoing monitoring, analysis and reporting.

The other option, is to use Social BI providers, who will monitor analyse and report to you as per your instructions. These service providers is likely to have an agency account with the above-mentioned market leading software providers, and a team of Business Analysts to make sense of the data, and create meaningful insights to your business.

When – As long as the internet is in operation. The internet never sleeps, so your monitoring and listening strategy should take this into account.

Who –  There are two parts to this:

Part 1 – Who should you listen to – Consumers by demographic and behaviour; Competitors; Influencers; Brand Advocates; ex-customers; Employees; Suppliers; Associations; Publications and journalists (relating to the industry), and anyone else who can have an impact, or you value their option.

Part 2 – Who should do the listening – Listening professionals:

Mature, experienced and responsible community mangers, who are able to respond in real time should the need arise. These community managers are awarded the key and trusted with the most delicate business treasure – the brand. They should be selected as such.

Experienced Business Analysts (employees or service providers), who are dedicated to monitor the variety of channels and platforms, providing quantative as well as qualitative insights and recommendations. These people and their contribution can save or sink a company, based on their analysis.

In conclusion, social media monitoring is a complex business, which needs to have a concise strategy, a clear action plan, and dedicated resources. It isn’t enough just to decide on some of the W’s above. You need them ALL.

When Mark Zuckerberg created thefacebook at his dormitory room at Harvard University, 8 years ago, he wasn’t building a company. He was building a tool, allowing people to interact with their peers. There was no financial model, no revenue streams – it was a game.

Facebook became a little more than a game, when traditional  business people got involved, and based on their decades of experience in traditional advertising and media, found Facebook to be a gold mine – Millions of users = Millions of eyeballs to display advertising to.  Because that wasn’t the intention initially, it flopped almost as fast as it grew. The main flaw in that line of thinking, is very simple: Facebook users go to facebook to interact with their friends and socialise. Commercial messaging are overlooked and ignored, as this isn’t the natural place for them to be (as we grown accustomed to).

Moreover, almost half of Facebook users are accessing Facebook via a mobile device. The mobile apps aren’t configured to display advertising. Almost half of Facebook users (at time of writing) – 425 Million users – are accessing Facebook exclusively via mobile. No advertising is served to them. HALF!

Without going into the discussion about the future of advertising as an industry, this infographic tries to paint the picture, explaining the volatility of the social media space.

 
Created by: www.OnlineGraduatePrograms.com

It is absolutely crucial to understand the position of Social Media within the organisation, and the impact it has on the various business functions. As Social Media is a communication tool, its’ uses vary and affect pretty much everyone in the organization:

PR/Corporate Communications; Marketing; Internal Communications; Legal; IT; Sales; Customer Service; Human Resources; Product Management/ Development

When setting up the internal team and leader, it is paramount to have a leader with a broad understanding of the various business functions and units, their focus and business objectives. Then, representatives from these business areas should form the Social Business Council, in order to facilitate the implementation of the social media strategy.

There should be two approaches within the that council, and people representing these approaches – the one saying:

“this is what I’d like to share with our community” and the other saying:

“this shouldn’t be shared, or restricted to (a certain) community”

In every congregation of people, including business entities, there are the early adopters, supporting new initiatives, and the dinosaurs (or more conservative people). When setting up a Social Media Council, I would recommend including both. The early adopters will evangelize the new programs anyway, but you’d rather let the dinosaurs have their say within the confined space of the council, than fight and convince senior level executives, to execute plans they don’t believe in.

Social Media Council members have to include people with vision, but just as important is to include people who will end up with the operational tasks.

The shortest route to any strategy disaster is to let the chiefs create it, and then dump it on the Indians for implementation. By including the “Indians” in the conversations, and really listen to their recommendations, you can almost guarantee choosing the most appropriate tools for the job, from the people who will end up using them.

Finally, the Social Media Council should articulate its’ successes, on the various fronts. They might not be the ones calculating their own ROI, however, as a new business unit they have a constant need to prove the value of their existence.

It isn’t difficult to articulate how direct connection formed on a social network lead to a large contract. Or how HR decreased recruitment-advertising costs by using a LinkedIn tool to source passive candidates. It’s also quite easy to monitor sentiment of brand conversations, and determine and show improvement levels of customer satisfaction, if these KPI’s are put in place at the beginning.

In the past few years, we’ve seen a lot of confusion within organizations , not sure who “owns” Social Media. The fact is, that as a communication tool, it’s not a matter of “ownership”, but it is rather a cross-functional tool, which impacts the organisation of every level. Having a competent leader, with a strong, cross-departmental supporting team, will determine the speed and quality of social media integration within the business.

There is an argument whether this should be a project-based approach, or a permanent resource allocation. Some people say that once Social Media is set up and running as integral part of  the business policies and processes, there’s no need to keep a team. I tend to agree with this, but haven’t made up my mind in regards to the team leader. What do you think?

*based on a Radian6 blogpost *image credit

All of the above has very little in common with a professional network space such as LinkedIn. On too many occasions I’ve come across twitter conversations, statements, Foursquare Checkins and just irrelevant comments which filled up my LinkedIn home page. I’ve used the LinkedIn update filters to the best of my ability, but some of them still came through. That was annoying, and took away from the LinkedIn experience I was anticipating.

To remove any doubt, you can still tick “Share on Twitter” box underneath the LinkedIn Status update box, and share your LinkedIn updates to your Twitter followers. What has changed, is that you can’t automatically link your tweets (including foursquare checkins) to appear as your LinkedIn  status. YAY!!

Tony Hollingsworth wrote an interesting post about the cross posting subject about 3 years ago. The concept still stands:

Be Selective with the content you’re sharing. Make sure  it matches the audience and the platform you’re sharing on.

Your thoughts?

I’d like to propose a toast, to Colgate-Palmolive Australia. Their recent TV campaign promotes human kindness directly, and the product /agency indirectly. Just the way it’s oughta be… Check it out:

What I also like about this campaign in particular is that Colgate has found a way to use Social Media for their Corporate Social Responsibility, by using their own Facebook Page, designed a simple yet impactful Welcome app, with a simple message – for every smiling kid’s photo we put up, they will donate $1 to a needy kid (I assume through the Smith Family), so they can smile as well.

Using their Smile For Change slogan, I found this approach to be the most appropriate use of Social Media for Corporate Social Responsibility.   I can’t see a lot of money being poured into this campaign, but there is certainly a lot of thinking..

Which other corporates you’ve seen using Social Media for Social Good?