What's the point of this conversation?
07/22/09 06:41 AM Filed in: Social
Media
There are some companies who benefit by talking with customers. Trek bikes, for example, can answer questions about their new product line and help you determine which one is right for you. Dell can help people chose the right computer and ensure that people don’t buy more computer power than they need but while these two companies provide a great add on service that enhances the brand I would argue that a lot more companies are clueless when it comes social media and the rationale for implementing a program.
Social media is a great channel to hear what consumers are saying about your brand but that does not necessarily mean that you need to talk with everyone. If you arrived at a party do you believe that you would need to talk to everyone there? Over the past 3-4 months I have seen a tea company use Twitter to tell people that they are reviewing a new video (like I care), a soda company giving me a recipe for a float (no thanks) and an Internet service provider to tell me that they are having a special promotion which doesn’t apply to me. This is not social media it is SPAM and what I called a dead conversation.
I believe that the days of increasing market share and profitability are gone. Consumers are not spending us out of this recession and are not ever going back to their free spending ways. This means that companies are going to have to engage consumers but it also means that you have to know the right time to leave the conversation and go where you can get someone to both listen and become a customer. It means that you need concrete objectives and a plan to measure your social media program against those objectives and please stop with terms like “social engagement”. Starbucks and Microsoft rate high on the social engagement scale but the last time I looked both brands were in trouble and losing customers and market share to competitors. Burger King has launched a new viral video program via their website like that is going to make me want a Whopper !
The reality of social media is that nobody, and I mean nobody, knows where the channel is going. It is driven by users and attempts by marketers to reach more people have not gone well. As I told one client recently after he informed me that Coke has more than 350,000 followers on Facebook “and that would translate to sales how..? Forrester, who puts out more worthless reports than any other research company, continues to pile on the BS with their social media reports and predictions but frankly save your money and resources for something that provides a hell of lot better ROI.
It could be that the days of big chunks of market share are gone and companies have to rely more on getting the most out of each existing customer but that also means knowing when to say hello and when to say “catch you later”.....