As I was at the beach this summer, I caught this gorgeous picture of the moon reflecting on the water!
It got me thinking about how social reflects your company’s culture and for you personally, your personal brand. Social really reveals all the parts of your culture — good , bad, and neutral.
The moon’s shine above in the picture is ampliflied by the water, just as your company’s cultural elements are amplified by social.
One of my favorite quotes is:
“Social doesn’t transform your culture. It reveals your culture.”
This fact is why i advise my clients to do a cultural assessment before starting down the social path.
Here’s a quick tidbit of that assessment. And I’ll leave you with this question. What does social reveal about your culture?!
This week so far I have been asked a dozen times to define engagement. Here’s what I came up with …..
When you look closely, you see that engagement isn’t mostly resulting in better marketing. People are not clamoring for more of that. What’s happening instead is that marketing is being replaced by engagement, by useful assets, by value. In exchange for their data – who they are, what they’re looking for, even where they are standing or driving at this moment – they expect some kind of benefit in return… whether as customers, or patients, or students, or citizens.
Engagement.]Your emotional connection with your client or employee, usually created by exceptional experiences that are integrated, interactive, and identifying. A Social Business connects people to expertise. It connects individuals whether customers, partners, or employeesas networks of people to generate new sources of innovation, foster creativity, and establish greater reach and exposure to new business opportunities. It establishes a foundational level of trust across these business networks and thus a willingness to openly share information, developing a deeper sense of loyalty among customers and employees. It empowers these networks with the collaborative, gaming, and analytical tools needed to engage each other and creatively solve business challenges.
Engaged Clients.Clients who are attentive, interested, and active in their support for your brand, product, or company. The depth of their conversations online showcases their knowledge and care. They recommend and passionately advocate on your behalf in the blogosphere.
Engaged Employees. Those who know the company’s values and are empowered to leverage those values with their partners and clients. They know their role and understand how to reach out to the right expert. These new social employees are about commitment and success.
Today we continue our series on the top 5 Trends in Social Business today. As a reminder, our trends so far have been:
1) Information sharing is the new black. Therefore trust and expertise location are essential elements of all businesses.
2) Knowing how to reach a client set of 1 is as important as segmentation and demographics. Social makes this possible. There are “averages.” But the rapid emergence of Big Data, social networks, mobility, location-based tracking is generating a thousand clues about the individual human being. This will bring about the death of the “average” and usher in the era of “you” – the unique consumer, citizen, patient, student.
3) Innovation is a cultural norm for high performers. Decisions will be based not on “gut instinct,” but on predictive analytics and social analytics.
4) Social networks are the new production line.
In 1959, the legendary management guru Peter Drucker coined the term “knowledge worker,” defined as someone who does “non-routine” work… seeks and makes sense of information (he estimated 38% of the worker’s time)… and renders judgment – creating what we now call intellectual capital.
Now consider what that means today. What’s happened to information since 1959? Well, there’s that exponential increase in volume, speed and variety of data that I mentioned. Now think about what tools are available. In 1959 – files, spreadsheets, tabulators. Today, we have advanced analytics… heading toward systems, like IBM’s Watson, that aren’t programmed… they learn.
We also have billions of mobile devices, which are rapidly becoming the world’s primary interface to the Internet. In one study in China, 90 percent of users said they have their mobile device within arm’s reach 100 percent of the time.
Finally, and most importantly, knowledge workers today have 24-hour access to something else: each other.
In a world where value is shifting rapidly from things to knowledge, knowledge workers are the new means of production. And it follows that the social network is the new production line.
This is important. In a social enterprise, your value is established not by how much knowledge you amass, but by how much knowledge you impart to others. We are in early days of this shift. But some pioneers are changing how they actually create value.
Consider the Mexican cement maker CEMEX. The company wanted to create its first-ever global brand of concrete. It would have to accommodate multiple different specifications for concrete in different countries. To develop this, they didn’t build a new lab or production process… they built a social network. It was called Shift, and it connected their product development staff in 50 countries. It grew to more than 400 active communities. They wound up launching the new global brand in a third of the time it used to take them to launch a new product within Mexico.
Now, this new way of operating is spreading across the enterprise. CEMEX is working with IBM Research to deepen the expertise functionality in Shift – to dynamically build heatmaps of recommended experts, materials and activities, so that any CEMEX employee knows how to become an “expert” in a given topic of interest. The first group to make use of the tool was the Alternative Fuels community. The long-term objective is an enterprise expertise model where information is analyzed automatically, content is organized in relevant topics and personalized action plans are created – and where rewards are shaped by who contributes the most and best ideas.
Remember, this is a cement company.
Note: This may have begun as an attempt to enhance connectivity and sharing. But it is taking a crucial next step to the actual creation of expertise… and the actual creation of experts.
Cemex is an example of the social dimension of the Smarter Enterprise. Could every organization follow its example? Could every company hire, compensate, evaluate and promote on the basis of how well one shares and catalyzes knowledge? I believe most can, and will. And we are working aggressively to do this at IBM.
For example, today, every IBMer has a social network page – as well as access to thousands of internal information sources, blogs, communities, wikis and universal instant messaging.
We are now working toward a future – a near-future – in which all IBMers will be rated by their peers and profession, based on how good they are at sharing their knowledge… how good they are at making it useful, consumable… how well they contribute to the community and to our clients’ needs and experience. Five stars? Here’s your bonus. Two stars? You have work to do.
On September 9, I’ll be talking with senior airline executives from around the world at the IBM Airline Summit in Prague, Czech Republic. The theme of the summit is “Smarter travelers expect smarter airlines: Delivering an exceptional customer experience while optimizing operations.”
Today’s travelers really do expect more from airlines than ever before. Yes, we expect smooth operations, a pleasant flight and good value.
But more and more we expect personalized customer service while we are shopping for a trip and during each step of the journey, delivered consistently through all the devices we use.
The NEW Socially Connected Airlines.
Today, meeting those expectations depends on using the latest social business tools to help the airline workforce keep the planes on schedule and to create exceptional customer experiences.
I recently read a related article in Business Travel News that might interest you by Paul Campion, an IBM colleague in the UK.
The SUMMIT. A Breakthrough Event!
At the summit, airline executives will share their own experiences and hear speakers from other airlines, industry analysts, a leading international airport, Coca-Cola marketing, Netflix, and from IBM.
We’ll be launching some exciting new social business research sponsored by IBM with PhoCusWright – “Social media in travel: mayhem, myths, mobile and money.” The study will provide clear quantitative insights around what travel companies need to manage, mobilize, and monetize their social strategy.
Of course, the Summit won’t be all work and no play. I hear that we’ll take a tram ride and walking tour through Prague’s beautiful old town. Then we’ll share a meal in one of the city’s great restaurants. I’m looking forward to it. Watch this space for my blog post after the event.
•Today, over 2.4 billion people are online. 45% are in Asia.
•Experts predict that there will be more than 2.1 billion smartphones by 2015
•Twitter claims to have over 140 million active users.
And, with that connectedness comes power.
•70% of online consumers trust peer recommendations and trust what their peers say more than what businesses claim
•And the trend is not unique to consumers. 77% of business buyers check with their peers before buying
This is Generation C: Connected and in control!!!
Here is how today’s customer behaves.
We know this – we all behave like this. We interact with many different channels and devices in order to make decisions and interact with the companies that we do business with.
And when we interact through all of these different channels, we expect that the business is thinking about experience – not just in a single channel at a point in time but holistically as we interact across the channels to complete whatever it is we are trying to do. We EXPECT that a site will be relevant if we get to the site from a banner ad or search term. We EXPECT that the profile we set up online is the same profile for the mobile application. And, we get a little annoyed when we have to repeat all of our information to the customer service representative after already entering it all through the phone keypad.
However, the reality is that, most companies are extremely siloed. They often have different technology and data that is driving the customer experience. But, even worse, they often have entirely different objectives and are measured in inconsistent, or even competitive, ways.
In four years between 2008 and 2012, the percentage of brands that were rated as having “excellent” customer experience plummeted from 11 to 3 percent.
Being able to use social and omni channel is the solution! More on this next week!!!
Yes, both of my daughters love their bikinis on the beach! But as we went wave riding, they learned quickly that that little bikini is no match for the big wave!
The same is true in social! Sometimes the wave is too big for just company spokespeople and with 70% of online consumers trust peer recommendations #1, you will need more than just the “bikini” squad. You need a brand advocate.
A brand advocate is a person who is passionate about your brand and references you as a matter of course. They could be an influencer or a client or an employee. Determining your brand advocates is about listening and selecting based on common interests, knowledge, and other key elements critical for your business.
In addition to seeking out your advocates, it is important to determine your best friends, or your tippers. These are those people who influence your brand online and those whom others listen to about your products.
These key influencers have a set of characteristics. Typically, they are people who have strong relationships, and are an expert or authority in a subject. Sometimes influencers are those who get attention, taking an atypical view, or are just loud. I was recently at a virtual conference and heard a speaker talk about an influencer as someone who is honest, trustworthy, and knowledgeable. They have a consistent opinion that is objective and not influenced by someone paying them! These items drive a level of social trust and that trust persuades another person to take action.
Finally, developing social trust is about showcasing care and value. Listen and change where needed. Always be honest, and demonstrate value-add to your clients and the industry.
These are the top elements of your plan to build your brand advocates:
[lb] Determination of your friends or brand advocates today: A friend is a client, a potential client, or an influencer who recommends your brand, company, or product because they like it so much, they feel compelled to discuss it. Determining those who are your friends or brand advocates is important to your overall social trust plan.
[lb] Determination of your “best friends” or tippers: These are people who influence the rest of the clients and potential clients online and offline, usually about 5% to 10% of your product’s or category’s population. These tippers are important people for your overall strategy and your company will pay extra attention to them.
[lb] Brand advocacy strategy: A brand advocacy strategy is a plan to determine those actions your company can take to build brand advocates, or people who are passionate about your brand and reference you as a normal course of business. Part of this strategy could be in the content that you share, your shared vision of a point of view in the market, or even support of a common cause that is outside the primary goal of making profit[md]for example, making the planet a better place.
[lb] Content activation plan: This is a plan to create content, distribute content, promote content, and measure its success. This content activation plan is usually determined in the Social Business Digital Council. The goal of the content is to showcase your company’s subject matter expertise or point of view (POV). It is critical when starting a community, and for guarding your reputation.
[lb] Determination of key methods to establish social trust in your space: Based on your company’s goals, a trust plan is formed to create and protect trust through online experiences and dialogues with a company, product, or brand.
With this brand army, you can ride the wave with confidence!!!
Here is the sunset I saw on my vacation. Stop what you are doing!
The same is true in Social! If your company is using social without a social governance policy — stop whatever you are doing and create one!
The Social Business guidelines for your company should be based on your values. Consider following best practices from my book Get Bold.
1. Guidelines should be written by your employees in a social group setting. Those guidelines developed in a participatory fashion will last.
2. Guidelines should state why the guidelines exist; for example, to innovate in a responsible way.
3. Guidelines should be short and to the point.
4. Guidelines should state your position on open dialogue what’s fair game and what’s not (confidential information).
5. Guidelines should state consequences.
6. Guidelines should encourage transparency.
7. Guidelines should state privacy and rights of your company’s partners and clients.
8. Guidelines should guide in adding value and learning from mistakes.
9. Guidelines should discuss time spent in social media.
10. Guidelines should encourage your company’s goals in social techniques.
On http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php you can find a collection of company social guidelines. Read through them and define your guidelines in sync with your culture and goals. For example, in sync with its corporate culture, Zappos’s Social Media Policy is “be real and use your best judgment.” This Social Policy showcases Zappos’s trust in their employees! Intel’s Social Media Guidelines have a few best practices as well. Examples include “be transparent” and “if it gives you pause, pause.” I also love their advice that “perception is reality and it’s a conversation.” I think the key is defining these with a collaborative group of digital citizens throughout your company.
For large global organizations, corporate culture sometimes needs to make way for local culture. For example, at IBM we have a very open-minded culture supported by our senior leadership team. We have sponsorship from the very top of IBM supporting our movement into end-user-generated content to become a Social Business. However, we do understand that there are also cultural differences across the globe. As such, we make sure to understand these cultural differences and embrace them. With IBM operating in more than 170 countries, our team reviews privacy acts around the globe to ensure that we keep the interest of the employees at the center of focus.
Now, find a sunset and ensure your company has a policy!
Happy Monday! Social Business Trends are shaking the world and today’s Social Coffee Break is about our third trend.
Innovation must be part of a corporation’s culture. Things are moving so fast those who can change and adapt will be most competitive. In today’s Social world, innovation is accelerated through social. See how ideation (crowdsourcing) and predictive capability (analytics) accelerate innovation in corporations!
The IBM Tech Trends report is based on a survey of more than 1,200 professionals who make technology decisions for their organizations (22 percent IT managers, 53 percent IT practitioners, and 25 percent business professionals). Our respondents come from 16 different industries and 13 countries, spanning both major and growth markets.
I was surprised that mobile is the largest gap, followed by Cloud. While there is a gap in Social, of the Big 4, it is the best one.
Ahhhhh! I love the summer and what better summer fun, that being in the ocean. I love riding the waves .. and you quickly that another wave is always coming! There is always the next one —that provides continuous action. So your plan of attack is ride the one, and for the best, combine their power!
The same is true in Business. Make sure you are taking into account the consolidated effect!
Did you know that less than one-third of marketers have integrated social media and mobile marketing with other campaign? The State of Marketing 2013, IBM’s Global Survey of Marketers
Since 68% of social networking is done on a mobile device, the lack of combining the trends that come on top of one another is a non competitive view!
How might you accomplish this integration? Combine location, customer identity, and customer interactions to personalize mobile apps
It seems that customers in banking, retail, travel, and media and communications are prioritizing their mobile strategies and many have deployed or will soon deploy mobile applications. Amex’s mobile app presents personalized offers based on a variety of things, including location – In addition to a customer’s purchase history, aka “spend graph”, and current location, Amex allows users to further personalize offers based on in-app thumbs up or thumbs down ratings, which informs the future deals that surface. Learn from existing customer data and from real-time feedback from users.
BUT, it is important to recognize that “context” is more than “location” – e.g., an unhappy customer is an unhappy customer anywhere (still wouldn’t want to target them even if they’re near a store that they dislike)
