Marketing in The 'Social Age'

Marketing in the 'Social Age'
A Collection of Blog Postings from digitalnaiv.com

by
Stefan Pfeiffer
Copyright Stefan Pfeiffer (Darmstadt, Germany)
Portions Copyright (c) 2011 theWebayst!com
All rights reserved. Except for the se in any
revie!" the reprodction or tili#ation of this
!ork in !hole or in part in any form by any
electronic" mechanical or other means is
forbidden !ithot the express permission of the
athor.
Any trademarks" service marks" prodct names
or named featres are assmed to be the
property of their respective o!ners" and are
sed only for reference. $here is no implied
endorsement if !e se one of these terms.
%elease&'ersion (.( & )ne *+(,
*
Contents
Introduction..........................................6
10 Ingredients for a Successful System of
Engagement in Marketing........................
!"! Marketing #eeds $ura%le Systems of
Engagement........................................1&
Cstomers %each -ecisions Before 'endors .no!....................(/
0Social Proof Makes or Breaks a Byer1s -ecision1....................(2
Sppliers" $ake 3ote......................................................*(
'our (ustomers Arent Mindless (licking
Machines............................................")
Big -ata -riven Marketing4 Boon or Bane for Cstomers5...........*6
7se a Scalpel 8nstead of a Sledgehammer.............................*,
(ant you get it into your *ead+ Email and
Social Media re,resent t-o entirely different
Marketing .ools/..................................."6
Marketing0 1ea2e Social and Earned Media to
others in the 3rgani4ation......................)0
"0156s *ottest Social 7o%0 .he (hief (ontent
6
3fficer 8............................................))
9ros,ects 'ou 1ose 1ocking 'our (ontent
!ehind a :orm ; Social Media .oday..........)6
*o- the customer e<,erience sets you a,art
in the age of social %usiness0 9art 1 = .he
2alue of kno-ing your customer...............)
in the age of social %usiness0 9art " = .he
2alue of community...............................5)
>hat makes a ?ood >e%site+ My
9ersonal 9references.............................5&
A $ay in the 1ife of an I!M Marketer0 Manage
E2ents and 9ro@ects -ith Su,,liers in I!M
Smart (loud........................................A"
A $ay in the 1ife of an I!M Marketer0 3n my
Social >e% E<,erience and the 2alue of
(ustomer (ommunities..........................A6
,
A $ay in the 1ife of an I!M Marketer0 .he
9o-er of SelfBSer2ice and S,ecial
Interest (ommunities.............................60
9
Introduction
his is the second eBook born ot of a felt pain" that a lot of my
original content is disappearing in the flood and overload of
information. $he first one !as on :Social Bsiness; and Collaboration. $his
one covers my profession4 Marketing.
$
8 am a child of the Email Age" sed to email ne!sletters" to direct mail and
onsite events. $hen the <eb and this Social media=thing came along
dramatically changing the !orld of Marketing" in B*C and B*C. And 8 am not
simply talking abot sing >acebook or $!itter. <e marketers do se these
channels" nfortnately often !rong not nderstanding that !e have to
change from the !orld of Mass Marketing and pre=!ritten Marketing
messages to a Person=*=Person real=time commnication delivering content
and vale to or cstomers.
-on1t get me !rong. $here is still a need for :traditional; otbond
Marketing" for email ne!sletters" for !eb sites !ith Marketing messages"
for -irect Mail and Advertising" all the nice elements of the Marketing Mix"
the o!ned and paid part of or Marketing. Bt the social side of the
Marketing hose" !hat is called earned media is over=shining paid and
o!ned media. Cstomers rely more and more on !ord=of=moth. $hey trst
their peers and not the nice" glossy !eb sites and messages.
$hey even ?ite often make their bying @preAdecisions based on earned
media even before they talk to s. <e need to mch better integrate or
tactics" personali#e" !hat !e deliver to or cstomers" deliver relevant and
interesting content and !e need to be !illing to engage !ith or cstomers
in (4( commnication or commnication in a small grop.
B
$his means that !e as Marketers have to change or behavior" need to
become more Sellers and 8nflencers. And it means that Sales has to
change" too" and become Brand advocates" listeners and commnicators ot
there in the social space" in relevant commnities" on $!itter and !herever
their potential byer is hanging arond online.
And !e have to change or metrics the sooner the better. Being measred
on generating ne! leads !as al!ays ?estionable and is no longer valid @at
least in B*BA in the 'Social Age'. $he potential byers and decision makers
are already bet!een 9+ to C9 D throgh the decision process before they
even talk to or sellers. $hey are better informed than ever" reley on their
peers" on recommendations in the open !eb in their relevant commnities.
So !here did !e generate a lead in the Byer1s )orney5 Eo! did generate
the lead throgh !hich tactic. A complex B*B sale is a mlti tochpoint
process more and more bilt on :8nbond Marketing; than :Ftbond
Marketing;" bt !e still measre or get measred on old behavior. %oared
enogh" Gion.
$his eBook is a selection of my English langage postings arond Marketing
and related topics. 8n particlar arond Marketing 8 have pblished a lot of
crated blog entries" !hich are more or less a reference to an interesting
piece of information" a ?ote" an infographic or a video" Marleting=relevant
information !orth to share and comment. $he longer self=created posting
represent my o!n deeper thoghts on Marketing.
C
8 hope yo do enHoy the reading and 8 am happy to get any feedback and
comments.
-armstadt" Iermany" May *+(,
Stefan Pfeiffer
Email4 pfeifferB6Jgmail.com
$!itter4 Jdigitalnaiv
/
10 Ingredients for a Successful System of
Engagement in Marketing
To be published soon on DigitalNaiv.com. This posting is an
outcome of a presentation I gave at DNUG in May 20!.
8t is no longer possible to ignore the fact that there has been a dramatic
change in the !ay people by prodcts today de to the 8nternet" the social
!eb and the !ide range of mobile devices !ith !hich everyone is al!ays
connected. Cstomers can se the 8nternet not Hst to get information
abot prodcts" bt also to see !hat other people say abot a prodct or a
service" both the positive and the negative opinions. 8t is tre that
cstomers have al!ays listened to the recommendations of friends and
ac?aintances4 this restarant is good" that holiday hotel is great.
Bt !hile in the past" cstomers got sch recommendations by talking to
other people" today they are passed on throgh the social !eb on
$ripAdvisor" >acebook or in other net!orks and channels.
Cstomers today are in a mch better position to get better and more in=
depth information before they by a prodct. And that is !hat they do" not
Hst as consmers. According to Ioogle and CEB" arond B+D of the
traditional sales process in B*B sales has simply disappeared. Analysts sch
as >orrester think that byers have completed 2+D of their decision=making
process before they even get in toch !ith the vendor. And then it is often
only a matter of negotiating the price.
$his shold make people involved in sales and marketing think long and
hard and overhal their strategies. $he trend clearly seems to be moving
2
a!ay from traditional mass marketing to a more targeted" personali#ed and
personal cstomer approach. 8nstead of reaching ot to cstomers sing the
old megaphone approach !ith promotional letters" mass emails" telesales
and" more recently" trite promotional messages via >acebook and $!itter"
marketers no! have to stop and think abot ho! to best approach their
cstomers in ftre.
$he latest research sho!s that cstomers are tired of receiving dll"
irrelevant promotional messages addressed to everyone and no one in
particlar. <hat1s more" data protection reglations are getting tighter. 8n
Iermany a company may only send e=mails and e=mail ne!sletters to
cstomers !ho actively register for them. And many mailings are picked p
by the SPAM filter or are manally pt in the trash can @either the digital or
the real one in the case of letters sent by postA. $here are more restrictions
on calls from telemarketing agencies too. Iermany has become a contry
!here the cstomer has to explicitly :opt=in.;
Get me make one thing clear4 8 am not opposed to traditional marketing and
certainly believe that mailings" e=mail ne!sletters and" !here applicable"
$' commercials and print ads and :real; events still have their place and
can make sense. $hey are still part of a sond marketing mix. Bt this
marketing mix has to be adapted to the demands of the *(
st
centry. <e
are moving a!ay from the mass=marketing approach" to!ards direct
engagement !ith cstomers. Ieoffrey Moore has coined the term :systems
of engagement; for systems that directly affect people and give them
added vale. $he Ierman !ord :engagement; also has a positive
association" meaning commitment" in this case to the cstomer" and this is
!here !e need to head in marketing. Fther people talk in terms of
(+
:otbond; and :inbond; marketing.
Marketers no! need to focs on delivering the right information and
incentives to the cstomer at the right time and the right point in their
decision=making process. And that is definitely easier said than done.
Eo!ever" a range of srveys and stdies are available that analy#e !hich
information and contacts the byer ses at !hat point. $ext(++ recently
srveyed arond ("2++ people on ho! they make their B*B technology
decisions. $he reslts !ere pt into a matrix sho!ing !hich mechanisms
and information are sed the most and have the most inflence at !hich
point in the decision=making process.
Eere are my (+ ingredients for creating an attractive :system of
engagement;4
(1) Integrate your companys owned, paid, earned and social channels
$he concept of paid" o!ned" earned and social channels is no longer ne!.
Ko have yor o!n sorces of information L the classic one here is yor o!n
!ebsite L yo pay for advertisements or advertorials" yo hope to earn
positive feedback on prodcts" and social channels are having an ever
increasing impact on decisions. $he trick is to make sre that all these
aspects of marketing fit together so that" ideally" they complement each
other. Every marketing campaign today shold inclde a checklist of !hat
to do" !hen" and in !hich area" in order for it to be sccessfl. $his shold
go !ithot saying bt" in my experience" it doesn1t.
(2) Make your website THE ocus o content, interaction and engagement
A fe! years ago" the ?estion of !hether companies actally still need to
((
have their o!n !ebsite !as hotly debated. Srely it cold all Hst be pt on
>acebook. $hat1s hokm thogh4 yo cannot and shold not rely on an
external platform. A company needs to have its o!n !ebsite that it actally
o!ns. Ff corse" this !ebsite !ill not be the same as it !as ten years ago.
8t1s no longer abot having a high=gloss brochre online bt a platform
!here cstomers can find all the information they need !ithot filling ot
endless registration forms for a do!nload. $he !ebsite mst be
continosly analy#ed and optimi#ed. 8t is no longer acceptable for several
months to pass before a relanch proHect is completed and a ne! !ebsite is
rolled ot. And" of corse" it shold be really easy for cstomers to get in
toch !ith the company.
(!) "ontent is king # supply your customers with content that is o interest to
them
:Content marketing; is a term that every marketer shold be familiar !ith
by no!. $hat said" it1s srprising ho! little high=?ality content is actally
provided most of the time. Bt !hite papers" reference reports and videos
are Hst not as easy to prodce as mass mailings. Ff corse" these types of
content shold not Hst be fond on the company1s o!n !ebsite" bt also
else!here in order to attract more attention. More and more external pages
try to combine independent" editorial articles !ith high=?ality content and
the expert kno!ledge of vendors" presented in many different forms
inclding videos" srveys and live chats. $he focs here is on content and
expertise and not bland advertising.
($) Tell interesting real%lie stories
$he expression :he1s telling tales; has a distinctly negative connotation"
(*
bt actally" nothing !orks like a good story. And they certainly don1t have
to be made p. $re=to=life stories are an excellent !ay of relating content
in an entertaining and athentic manner and an art !hich is nfortnately
not very !idespread in the 8$ indstry. Encorage Cstomers" partners and
yor staff to tell their stories of ho! they solved a particlar problem and
the advantages it broght them. 8deally this kind of concept !ill then go
viral" become internali#ed by the entire system and be sed and distribted
via !ebsites" commnities and social channels.
(&) 'er your customers the most personali(ed e)perience possible and
understand your customers
$he call for marketing to take a more personali#ed and personal approach
has been arond for some time. Bt :personali#ed; does not Hst mean
addressing the recipient by name" it1s abot addressing their particlar
needs and interests. $his may be difficlt to do if yo don1t have a fll
cstomer profile. >or example" yo may have the report on the visit to a
trade sho! bt yo don1t kno! exactly !hat they have researched on the
!ebsite and !hat other information they already have. $hat1s !hy more
and more of the marketing clod=giants like 8BM" Adobe or Fracle are
ac?iring soltions that provides personali#ed cstomer engagements in
highly scalable environments via the varios channels. $hese soltions
gather Big -ata" often analy#ed in real time" !hich is then sed by
marketing atomation tools to spply cstomers !ith the content relevant
to then.
(*) +nderstand and track your social business network
Bsiness net!orks have al!ays played a maHor role" in the offline !orld"
(6
too. $he social !eb has dramatically increased the po!er of bsiness
net!orks" making it extremely important for companies to nderstand the
social net!orks and relationships relevant to their company and their
cstomers. Bsiness partners" competitors" inflencers" cstomers"
prospective cstomers" organi#ations and associations" yor o!n company
and cstomers are all interacting !ith one another. >rom a marketing
perspective" this means that yo shold keep track of the online options
available and identify the most relevant sites and commnities in !hich yo
need to featre.
(,) -ind out who has most inluence on your customers
8n the analysis of the net!ork mentioned above" another important aspect
is to identify the top inflencers of a particlar sector or indstry. $hese
are no longer only Hornalists" traditional consltants and analysts. Many
other people and grops have become more inflential throgh the social
!eb. 8ncreasingly" inflencers are other cstomers" bloggers and active
commnity managers. A company needs to identify these people and
establish a relationship !ith them. $hat1s !hy 8 prefer to talk abot
:inflencer relations; rather than :inflencer marketing;. <hat makes
these inflencers so important5
(.) +nderstand the inluence (and the risks) o recommendations
<here cstomers are concerned" negative recommendations have at least
as mch impact as positive ones on prchasing decisions. According to
3ielsen" C2D of people in the 7S trst the recommendations of personal
ac?aintances and arond 9+D trst revie!s that are placed online. Based
on its srvey" $ext(++ says that recommendations from the prospective
(,
byer1s direct area of inflence can make or break a prchasing decision.
So companies need to provide the inflencers !ith the right key
information. $his is !hy clever companies treat inflencers !ith the same
attention and care as they do Hornalists and analysts. Ff corse" this also
opens p room for abse" !ith companies trying to by themselves
recommendations or dbios cstomers threatening companies !ith bad
online revie!s.
(/) Encourage your customers to be acti0e
8t may be stating the obvios" bt it can1t be repeated often enogh4
nothing beats a satisfied cstomer. Cstomer satisfaction srveys and
initiatives topped the agenda of every vendor for a long time. 81m not sre
this is still the case. So it1s time to refocs4 Cstomers !ho are satisfied are
generally happy to tell other prospective byers abot their positive
experience. And" according to the $ext(++ srvey" they often do so on their
o!n initiative" !ithot the company even being a!are of it. 8n my opinion"
ser grops are among the most effective mltipliers. Sre" they can pt
pressre on a company if they are not happy" bt if they are" then they are
the best mltipliers. So here1s the rle4 satisfy yor cstomers first" and
then approach them abot reference reports and ?otes and integrate them
in commnities. Satisfied cstomers are the best extended sales arm of
yor company.
(12) 3cti0ate your employees by making sure they are all 4social5
Bt top of the list" even before yor cstomers" are yor o!n employees4
yo shold make sre they are yor company1s active and positive advo=
cates. $hat sonds normal. And it certainly sed to be normal" bt accor=
(9
ding to employee @non=Asatisfaction srveys" that1s no longer the case.
Satisfied" motivated staff are key to the sccess of every company. 8f yo
then motivate and re!ard them for actively being a brand ambassador ot
in the big !ide !orld" then yo !ill increase the reach and credibility of
yor company enormosly. $he sales staff shold be integrated in social
channels sch as Ginked8n or Ming" and the technical staff need to blog and
be involved in commnities. %N- staff shold apply feedback from csto=
mers to prodct development. E% staff can identify the mch talked abot
:high potentials.; And so on. Ff corse not everyone is e?ally sited to
being a brand ambassador in the same !ay bt" in principle" they can all
contribte.
Marketing in the *(
st
centry" the :social era;" has definitely not got any
easier. $he traditional channels and measres are still relevant" bt the
digital and social channels need to be added to the marketing portfolio. $he
8nternet and the social !eb have radically changed the sales process. Pro=
spective byers get their information from the !eb" not by visiting trade
sho!s or events as they did in the past. And they don1t Hst get informaL
tion" they also get opinions. $his makes it essential for companies to be
active on the !eb. By active 8 mean listening on the one hand" and being
visible and present on the other" providing valable information from their
o!n experts" in commnities or throgh positive cstomer statements. $he
one thing to remember is that the relation to the cstomer is paramont.
$he companies that florish are the ones that listen to their cstomers
properly" online and offline" that take care of them and are dedicated to
them.
(B
!"! Marketing #eeds $ura%le Systems of
Engagement
"irst published on May# $# 20! on %M&'I() * (e*published
May# 2+# 20!
nyone looking to sell 8$ technology bsiness=to=bsiness @B*BA has it
pretty hard these days. -ecision=making processes have become more
complex and more people have a say.
A
A recent $ext(++ stdy reported @registration re?iredA that on average" six
people @in Iermany" sevenA !ith very different fnctions are involved !ith
prchasing decisions. $!o=thirds of the companies srveyed said that once
the decision had been made" the prchase still had to be signed off by the
board. At the information gathering stage" decision=makers se nmeros
offline and online channels to do their research. $his stage no! lasts longer
and more resorces go into preparing and Hstifying decisions.
$he stdy" !hich srveyed ("2++ people from arond the !orld" asked
?estions abot the inflences that affect B*B decision=makers as they
consider prchasing 8$ soltions.
-ring the research stage" people tend to rely mainly on the sppliers1
!ebsites" on 8$ maga#ines" online searches" and discssions !ith colleages
and consltants. $he final decision appears to be inflenced by t!o key
factors4 (. the price" or rather the cost=saving potential @the stdy fond
this played a maHor role in all stages of the processA and *. advice and
opinions from ac?aintances" as !ell as ser revie!s and recommendations.
$he stdy identified for key inflences on the decision=making process4
(C
-ecision=makers O !ho are they and !hat are their needs5
8nflencers O <ho do decision=makers trst the most5 <ho are the
people that carry the most !eight and have the best reptation in the
field5
Channels O <here do decision=makers get their information5
Content O <hat do decision=makers !ant to see" read or hear5 <hat
kind of information do they !ant and vale5
8f technology companies !ant to scceed" they mst take all of these
aspects into accont and integrate them into their marketing and
commnication strategies. $he days of :simple; marketing are over. $ech
companies need to adopt a mixed approach that combines corporate
presence @o!ned mediaA !ith paid presence @paid mediaA" social channels
and targeted recommendations @earned mediaA. $he end reslt shold allo!
potential cstomers to access a range of high ?ality information abot the
company and its technology.
7nlike in previos years" technical content alone !ill no longer sffice. 8$
decision=makers are increasingly being Hoined by those !ith :bsiness
focsed; roles. Since these non=technical players are involved in the
decision=making process" they !ant access to information that is relevant to
them.
%ustomers (each Decisions ,efore -endors
.no/
Another point !orth noting4 a stdy condcted by CEB in collaboration !ith
Ioogle sho!ed B*B byers have on average completed 9C percent of their
(/
decision=making process before they reach ot to the spplier. >orrester
reports that" depending on the market and the complexity of the prodcts
in ?estion" bsinesses might !ell have completed bet!een BB percent to
2+ percent of the process before contacting the spplier.
Potential byers se information sorces in different !ays dring the
different stages of the decision=making process. At the information
gathering stage" a company1s !ebsite plays a bigger role than it does in the
stages !here the decision is actally made. At that point" the focs shifts to
recommendations" revie!s and discssions !ith other cstomers @on and
offlineA.
Marketing strategies shold provide the information and modes of contact
that byers are looking for at every step of the decision=making process.
Companies mst adopt an approach that combines paid" o!ned and earned
media over the entire prchase process.
Companies mst also be carefl not to nderestimate the effect that
relationships can have on bsiness dealings. 8n particlar" those in the B*B
sector can have an enormos impact on decision=making processes. $hese
relationships are no longer limited to the traditional" personal variety. 8n
many cases" today1s relationships begin on the 8nternet. A company1s online
reptation" visible in online commnities" is fast ac?iring the kind of
inflence that :real; relationships long possessed.
0&ocial 1roof Ma2es or ,rea2s a ,uyer3s
Decision3
Social media and net!orks are having an enormos impact on marketing.
(2
Marketing efforts need to !in over :inflencers; and ensre that they have
a reglar spply of high=?ality information. 8n the past" inflencers !ere
mostly Hornalists and analysts" bt thanks to the 8nternet" the grop no!
also incldes bloggers and independent advisors !ho kno! the social media
ropes. Social net!orks also give sppliers the opportnity to send in their
o!n experts !ho can se the ropes to form opinions and increase the
company1s inflence.
By creating links bet!een cstomers" and bet!een cstomers" sppliers and
partners" online activities create transparent and easy to find semi=pblic
or pblic discssions. $his means that marketing and sales need to start
!orking more closely together. Marketing experts can se social media to
speak to cstomers and potential cstomers. Sales experts shold be
connected to their cstomers via social media so that they can keep an eye
on !hat their contacts and their bsinesses are :getting p to.;
$his is also an opportnity to encorage cstomers to give positive revie!s
of and information abot sppliers and their prodcts. 8deally" !hen sales
and marketing start !orking more closely" they !ill develop a closer
relationship !ith the cstomer" !ho then becomes a kind of advocate for
the spplier. <e cannot nderestimate the vale of having advocates like
these.
$he stdy offered encoraging findings on this point4 seven ot of (+ byers
share positive experiences in social channels. Seven ot of (+ also said they
!old provide information pon re?est. Srprisingly" sers are more likely
to share positive experiences than negative. $here is one exception4
Iermans are comparatively more likely to leave negative messages in online
*+
forms.
&uppliers# Ta2e Note
Sppliers !old do !ell to take particlarly good note of some of the stdy
findings. >or instance" respondents said that they didn1t !ant sales
activities to be one=off events. B*B cstomers !ant their sppliers to
maintain long=term relationships !ith them. %elationships sholdn1t end
once the prodct has been sold and installed" or once the !arranty has
expired. More than anything" cstomers !ant to hear abot ho! others
flfilled similar re?irements to theirs.
$he stdy provides a good overvie! for marketing professionals @among
othersA !orking in the B*B technology sector. 8t breaks do!n the marketing
and sales processes and highlights the key aspects in each of the different
stages. $he stdy calls on companies to open their minds to ne! sales
processes and to the demands of the social media age. 8t encorages them
to combine traditional and digital channels and fill them !ith smart"
relevant content. 8t is also a call for a system of engagement O
!ith emphasis on the !ord :engagement.;
Companies need to engage !ith inflencers" opinion leaders and analysts.
More than anything" they need to engage !ith and commit to their
cstomers in a !ay that incorporates social media and all its tools. 8f they
do that" they1ll have loyal cstomers and healthy sales figres.
*(

**
'our (ustomers Arent Mindless (licking
Machines
4riginally published on %M&/ire on "ebruary 25 6 (e*published on
"ebruary 27# 20!
atability O the theme of CeB8$ *+(, tradesho! taking place March
(+=(, in Eanover" Iermany O is something of a mixed bag. Fn one
hand" !e have 8BM <atson evalating medical data in order to enable
physicians to provide better treatment to patients. Fn the other" !e have
commnications companies tili#ing big data to simply contine blanket
advertising by other means.
-
,ig Data Driven Mar2eting8 ,oon or ,ane for
%ustomers9
$here has been a lot of talk recently abot !hat big data cold mean for
marketing" and analysts have observed that next=generation marketers need
to be able to evalate data accrately and consistently so that their
bsiness can target cstomers as directly as possible. Eo!ever" it is
important to avoid treating cstomers" in the !ords of Innar Sohn" like
:mindless clicking machines.;
$here is certainly something in that. >ar too many companies spam existing
and potential cstomers !ith ads that are more or less irrelevant instead of
providing them !ith content they need or !ant and initiating a meaningfl
dialoge !ith them. Bt if !e1re being honest" the lines are blrred here L
!hen is content sefl and !hen is it spam5 Am 8 a mindless clicking
*6
machine if Ama#on sggests prodcts to me on the basis of my previos
prchases or clicks" or is that Hst good service5
<hatever the case" Ama#on is generating 6+ percent more trnover than it
did in the past thanks to personali#ed recommendations. $here1s no dobt
that 81m annoyed by the contless nsolicited email advertisements 8
receive. Eo!ever" it is also clear that creating content that is informative"
entertaining and genine is mch more challenging" mch more resorce
intensive and therefore mch more expensive. 8f :money talks; and the end
of the next ?arter is approaching" this is not likely to be a top priority.
Use a &calpel Instead of a &ledgehammer
My colleage Marie <allace smmed it p nicely a little !hile ago !hen she
said4 :C1mon gys" let1s get serios abot privacyP; Marie" an exceptional
thinker in the field of analytics" called on s to finally take data protection
and the private sphere seriosly. She correctly noted that totally
anonymi#ing data !as Hst as conterprodctive as complete disclosre"
and that a scalpel" not a sledgehammer" !as the tool re?ired for data
protection.
$he name of the game has to be transparency" and bsinesses have to be
open abot !hat they do !ith ser1s information in order to !in their
trst. $o retrn to the <atson example above" patients are more likely to
volnteer their medical information if they kno! it cold help to provide
better treatment to other patients in the ftre. Eo!ever" there are also
plenty of other scenarios !here cstomers !old definitely not !ant their
information to be analy#ed and evalated.
*,
8t is also clear that analytics is here to stay. Predictive analytics in
particlar offers enormos potential for good" and !e mst do all !e can to
harness that" especially here in Iermany !here !e have a tendency to see
the negative side of things first. Marie calls on developers to make data
privacy their top priority !hen designing analytics soltions" even if this
makes proHects far more complex. 8 !holeheartedly agree !ith her and
!old like to see !hat she has devised for data scientists and 8$ architects
!orking in marketing.
<e marketers need to make protecting cstomer data or nmber one
priority. -ata protection is not Hst abot safegarding or cstomers1
privacy. Above all" it is abot respecting or cstomers and people in
general.
*9
(ant you get it into your *ead+ Email and
Social Media re,resent t-o entirely
different Marketing .ools/
1ublished on on :anuary 27# 20!
This week I found myself buried in emails. A study by ExactTarget predicts
that in 201 marketers will send out e!en more emails" while #c$insey writes
%email rocks& and recommends we all stick with marketing !ia email. 'ocial
media" it says" doesn(t get anywhere near the con!ersion rates of email. The
sobering graph below demonstrates this all too clearly.

)uch* There I(!e been" preaching the social business gospel all this time" and
then this* +ut let(s ,ust take a step back here. I think there might be a
fundamental misunderstanding going on. 'ocial media and email are
completely different marketing tools in so many different ways" and it seems
to me that many marketers and e!en many so-called experts ha!e failed to
*B
understand this.
)h and" by the way" not all social media is created e.ually. There are ma,or
differences between social networks" Twitter" communities and blogs. +ut the
one thing they ha!e in common is that they are not really / or not at all / the
appropriate tools for outbound marketing. That is the strength of email" which
is the most direct way of reaching a potential customer" similar to a phone call
from a call center or a sales rep. It might be a %cold& email 0like a %cold& call1"
or it might be a %warm& contact between a company and a customer who
already know each other. As #c$insey correctly points out" some of this is
conducted !ery messily and emails work much better as marketing tools if
they are properly personali2ed" really reflect customers( needs" and skillfully
use the data a!ailable on each customer for targeted communications. )n top
of that" companies need to learn to continually e!aluate the success of their
email campaigns.
+ut what about social media3 If I look at my own beha!ior" I ha!e to confirm
what #c$insey says. E!ery now and again I order a bottle of wine from
!arious online shops. I ha!e ne!er ordered one on the basis of an ad on
4acebook or Twitter. I ha!e" howe!er" responded to the occasional ad I
recei!ed by email. 0Although I should point out that 56 percent of the emails
end up in the trash for being boring" impersonal" or ,ust plain platitudinous.1
7owe!er" now comes the %but8& as regards social media9 I ha!e ordered lots
of wines because I read a re!iew online" primarily on a blog. :sually these
re!iews come from people that I regard as relati!ely independent" competent
and elo.uent. I then order a wine from the shops they recommend and if I like
it" I order more.
;ithout wanting to suggest I am absolutely representati!e of e!eryone else" I
*C
would say that this is precisely the gist of the matter. 'ocial channels rarely
lead to direct con!ersions and sales" but the recommendations of experts and
well-written blogs can indirectly lead to a sale !ia word of mouth. ;ine lo!ers
will then either follow a link in the re!iew or search for a recommended wine
in a search engine. In the case of direct links" the operator of the online shop
can determine this is what triggered the purchase" but clearly not in the case
of an Internet search. 'ome bloggers and some online wine shops also use
discount codes that allow them to track where a customer has come from"
and some online shops publish newsletters where they cite experts and make
reference to re!iews.
;hat can we learn from this 0other than that I like wine13 email newsletters
and emails remain a !aluable means of customer con!ersion" but they could
be impro!ed by offering more rele!ant and targeted content. 'ocial channels
play a secondary role in customer con!ersion" influencing purchasing
decisions indirectly !ia !ideo commentary" product re!iews and community
discussions. This is precisely how social channels should be understood and
used. It is also the reason why they are !itally important and becoming e!er
more so. They are the place where opinion / that %word of mouth& factor / is
formed" and that is why they should not be neglected in either +2< or +2+
communications in the social age.
To be successful in social media" it is not enough to maintain corporate
Twitter" 4acebook and =oogle> channels or to inundate customers with
marketing emails. +usinesses en,oy far greater success if their experts are
!isible and approachable" ideally on the platforms and in the communities
where potential and existing customers are acti!e. It is also crucial that
experts network with %influencers"& opinion formers in their field" and maintain
regular contact and exchange with them on rele!ant issues. To achie!e this"
*/
businesses ha!e to allow their experts the time to keep up a presence on
these platforms and engage in dialogue with %influencers.& This is not
something they can fit in between other ,obs" and should also not be !iewed
as an optional leisure-time acti!ity. Instead" it should be considered an
integral part of work in the social age.
It is crucial that marketing departments and particularly marketing executi!es
finally understand the correct significance of social media.
'ocial media does not replace" but rather complements email.
'ocial media is an essential tool for forming opinions" dominating %word
of mouth& acti!ity and earning recommendations.
The success of social media cannot be measured using con!entional
success criteria 0con!ersion" etc.1. At best" .uantitati!e criteria like the
number of followers or fans pro!ide helpful metrics.
'uccessfully utili2ing social media does not mean sending out
marketing updates !ia corporate Twitter or 4acebook channels" thus
creating a new form of %social spam& alongside email spam.
+usiness will be successful in social media if their employees are
a!ailable and acti!e where their existing and potential customers are.
email newsletters should be more personal and pro!ide existing and
potential customers with rele!ant content.
'ocial media" email" 'E) and a company website all form part of the
marketing mix" and businesses should be engaged in all of these areas.
*2
Marketing0 1ea2e Social and Earned Media to
others in the 3rgani4ation
1ublished on on :anuary +# 20!
A very interesting and provocative posting from Agie %ay on the role of
Marketing in Social Media4
ut in "015C it is time for change. In the same -ay Marketing ceded
control of cor,orate -e%sites as the rest of the organi4ation
matured digitallyC it is no- time for Marketing to lea2e most
as,ects of social and earned media to others in the organi4ation. .hat
means that ,rimary res,onsi%ility for social accountsC daily ,osting and
organic content must shift out of marketing and to other de,artmentsC
if this has not already occurred.
!
ia E<,erience0 .he !log0 .hree Deasons the Marketing $e,artment
>ill ?i2e E, 3n Earned Media in "015. 2
$here is a lot of trth in the posting. Marketing and or Marketing Metrix is
not ready for Earned and Social Media. <e are sed to demonstrate sccess
throgh click=throgh=rates" site impressions @not talking here abot
measrement of ne! created opportnities" pipeline and pipeline
movementA and no! nmber of follo!ers and fans. <e are sed to Mass
Marketing" to high" impressive nmbers. $he higher" the better. Since a fe!
years !e !ere dreaming of 0Earned Media1" reaching people organically
throgh 0Social Channels1. And !hat a srprise4 Social 3et!orks like
>acebook are changing the rles and sddenly !ant cash" if !e !ant to
reach people. 7nbelievable. And let s not forget another important
aspect4 People got tired of getting Marketing messages and promotions on
Social Channels. Social SPAM. So is 0Earned Media1 dead5 3o" bt most
people !ant different information than the one" Marketing is typically
6+
providing4
rands certainly ha2e a ,lace in social mediaC %ut the time has
come to focus not on -hat your marketing de,artment -ants %ut
on -hat your customers -ant0 $ealsC informationC educationC
customer ser2iceC coBcreation and social functionality. In this listC the
Marketing $e,artment is %est aligned to furnish @ust one ty,e of
contentF,romotions. .he remainder of the content and ser2ices are
%etter left to 9u%lic DelationsC (ustomer (areC 9roduct Management and
$e2elo,ment and (hannel Management.
!
ia E<,erience0 .he !log0 .hree Deasons the Marketing $e,artment
>ill ?i2e E, 3n Earned Media in "015. 2
And here 8 totally agree !ith %ay. Get s change perception" that only
Marketing is in charge of Social Media. Get s focs on !hat the cstomer
!ants and let s broaden the approach. 8n a 0Social Bsiness1 all
departments and people" !ho need to be in toch !ith the cstomers" need
to be in Social Media" at the places" !here their cstomers and potential
cstomers are. At this places !e need to provide the content" or
cstomers !ant" and L even more important L !e need to be open to start a
dialog !ith or cstomers. And ?ite often it is going to be a (4( dialog. Fr
it is going to be a transparent dialog" !here others are 0co=reading1 and
perhaps become part of the conversation. 3e! rles in the 0Social Era1" !e
as marketers need to get sed to them L and need to embrace them.
%ay states" that Enterprise P% needs to be one of the driving forces in Social
Media" becase P% is sed to 0earn1 media. 8 do partially agree. 8n the last
decade P% sed to talk to Hornalists. 8n the 0Social Era1 P% needs to talk to
bloggers" to 0inflencers1. Shold !e call that 8nflencer Marketing5 8 !old
prefer 8nflencer %elationship. 8f !e !ant to market to inflencer" !e !ill
be seen as people !ho Hst !ant to hard sell. 8 believe" !e need to invest in
trstfl and athentic relationships" provide content and a real dialog"
6(
!hich is valable for the inflencer. $hen !e !ill earn mch more. Bt let
me be clear4 8f yo !ant to have a real dialog !ith inflencers" yo need to
only to treat them like Hornalists" bt yo also need to provide them direct
access to the experts. And these experts are sally neither sitting in P%"
nor in Marketing. $hey are in Prodct -evelopment" Cstomer Care" E%" in
a lot of departments.
$o smmari#e4 Fr !orld has changed and is changing becase of the Social
Media %evoltion. $he old rles of Marketing are eroding" still there" not
yet finally gone" bt loosing grond. Shold Marketing step back and leave
important aspects like 0Earned Media1 and 08nflencer %elationship1 to
others in the enterprise5 3o" 8 definitely don1t believe this. 8 believe or
role as Marketers is to lead and orchestrate the change. 3ot throgh simply
sticking to old 0Ftbond Marketing1" bt to open the !hole Enterprise to
08nbond Marketing1 and to be the force leading the !ay to a 0Social
Bsiness1.
<orth to read4 Brian .otlyar from -achis Irop on Shold Marketers Iive
p on Earned Media5
6*
"0156s *ottest Social 7o%0 .he (hief (ontent
3fficer 8
Pblished on )anary B" *+(,
015 is finally the year content marketing matures and com,anies
%uild entire de,artments around social and content. .his ,ast
year had a huge im,act on the -ay com,anies look at content
creationC thought leadershi, and storytelling0 they re the skills to
look out for in "015 to add anyone to your social de,artment. ((3 s or
(hief (ontent 3fficers -ill lead the ,ack together -ith (ontent
Managers and (ontent (reators and really start deli2ering outstanding
D3I.
"
2 ia "0156s *ottest Social (areer ; Social Media .oday.
Iood times for finding a Hob on C=level in *+(,5 8t seems that a bnch of
ne! positions are nder consideration on C=Gevel. $he discssion last year
very often mentioned the Chief -igital Ffficer in charge of driving -igital
$ransformation in the Enterprise. Fthers are calling ot the Chief -ata
Ffficer taking care of Big -ata and Analytics. 3ot to forget the Chief
Compliance Ffficer managing the gro!ing nmber of compliance
reglations. And no! the 0Chief Content Ffficer1" *+(,Qs hottest social
career R Iys" 8 am not sre if the board is happy abot hiring all these C=
level people !ith the according salary. Bt if somebody is looking for a
Chief -igital Ffficer or a Chief Content Ffficer R
Fk" 8 !ill stop kidding" bt 8 believe there is an important message in the
posting of Sofie -e Bele4 <e do not have enogh people creating and
approving ?ality content in particlar in the social !orld. 8n the 0Social
Era1" !here people rely on recommendations and !hat they feel is ?ality
content" !e need to take the Hob of content creation mch more serios.
66
Potential byers are reading commnities" blogs" !hite papers" reports"
listening to podcast and !atching videos and they net!ork and collaborate
!ith their peers. $odays byers are mch better informed" before they get
in toch first time !ith yor seller. Perhaps they have even made a
preliminary decision.
<hat does this mean for yor Marketing4 8 am not talking abot hiring
another !riter or agency prodcing colorfl !eb sites and 0Blabla1=
marketing brochres. 8n my career in B*B Marketing selling complex
enterprise soft!are prodcts 8 have seen so many campaigns and texts
prodced by agencies" !hich !ere not to the point and needed a complete
re!rite by an expert nderstanding the topic. Kes" !e still need creative
campaigns" bt the !orld of selling and marketing is different in the 0Social
Era1.<e are moving from 0Ftbond Marketing1 to 08nbond Marketing1.
<hat do !e need5 Better" !hom do !e need5 8 am talking abot people
creating and crating ?ality content on a specific topic and maintaining
athentic relationships !ith readers" follo!ers and fans. Perhaps these are
even different people L and for sre it is not only one Chief -igital Ffficer ="
the ones !ith focs on content creation" cration and management" the
others !ith particlar strengths in commnication. $hose may be the ne!
kind of sellers in the 0Social Era1" the 0Social Sellers1. 8t is a fndamental
change. <e need a complete digital and social transformation of the
Enterprise p to becoming a 0Social Bsiness1.
6,
And one last thoght ot of a posting of Barry >eldman. Ee !rites abot the
mean!hile !ell kno!n statement 0Content is .ing1. <rong approach4
o -hos the king+ .he customer is the king. .he customer has needs.
'ou ser2e them -ith content. S
2 ia (ontent is 3nly Ging of a :airytale ; Social Media .oday.
$otally agree" $hink ot from the perspective of the cstomer. <hich
information" !hich content is he or she interested in" dear Chief -igital
FfficerP
69
9ros,ects 'ou 1ose 1ocking 'our (ontent
!ehind a :orm ; Social Media .oday
1ublished on ;ugust <# 20+
8nteresting posting by Agie %ay on SocialMedia$oday laying ot the !ell=
kno!n @MarketingA challenge4 <hen do yo give a!ay content for free and
!hen are yo collecting contact information to proof lead generation. >or
sre not a scientific poll" bt nevertheless the reslts are interesting 4
nly one in eight ,eo,le -ill automatically furnish their contact
information to access desired content.
Almost t-ice as many ,eo,le -ill automatically lea2e a site as
-ill furnish their contact information.
.he largest share of ,eo,le Hone in fourI may share their contact
informationC ,ro2ided they trust the firm. 8
3ne in fi2e -ill lea2e the site and seek the information else-here. I -ill
ty,ically do this myselfC and most of the time I am successful in finding
the content -ithout na2igating through the contact form.
>hile I didnt ask it e<,licitly in the ,ollC a significant num%er of ,eo,le
-ill sim,ly lieC com,leting the form -ith false information. H*o- much
2alue are marketers really getting from their forms if %ad records are
added to the data%ase+I
8 It is easy enough to measure the amount of in%ound traffic to a
landing ,age containing a form and com,are that to the num%er of
do-nloads or com,letion rate of the form. .he -ider the ga,C the more
the %rand should consider the disad2antages 2ersus the %enefits.It is
also im,ortant to remem%er that in the social age there are other -ays
to identify and %uild relationshi,s -ith ,eo,le -ho do-nload your
firms content. Many folks -ho find your information interesting -ill
share it. If you are listening on .-itter and to the larger social -e%C it is
,ossi%le to engage and kno- the ,eo,le -ho not only accessed your
content %ut found it 2alua%le enough to share.
3
ia 9ros,ects 'ou 1ose 1ocking 'our (ontent !ehind a :orm ; Social
Media .oday. 2
6B
<ell" Agie describes" that there are other !ays to connect to people
do!nloading content @!ithot having them fill ot extensive forms" and by
the !ay4 not only my company is famos for these forms RA. B7$4 $hese
!ays are mch more time consming. Fn top of simply having the contact
information by a form and try to contact the ne! lead" yo need to do
Social Media listing and bild a relationship throgh Social. 8t takes mch
longer. <ith a form yo immediately have the contact and it conts as
prospect. And gess !hat today1s marketers are measred on5 3mber of
leads" pipeline generated. $he !eekly dashboard looks mch better. Ireen
color is better than read color in yor spreadsheet.
8 strongly believe in Social and in providing ?ality content for free to bild
trsted relationships and farm the market. Bt 8 kno! !hat !e are
measred the latest ?arterly" most of the time monthly or !eekly4 Eo!
mch ne! pipeline did yo generate5 Eo! many ne! leads did yo
generate5 So it is not srprising to see extensive forms !hen trying to
do!nload content. >or a marketer it seems to be better to grab ( ot of /
potential leads and docment this lead instead of trying to bild a
relationship to the / R
<e still fail to convince or management on the vale of farming.
Management" Controlling !ants to harvest immediately" not to farm mid=
term. $hey !ant to demonstrate immediate %F8 and sccess. 8mmediately
collected leads seem to be more valable than visitors. And inflence still is
hard to be measred. Modern analytics is more and more capable to help4
Ko are able to :kno!; yor potential cstomer and provide him !ith the
:next valable information; based on the data yo collect on yor !ebsite.
Bt this again needs patience" more time ntil Marketing is able to
6C
demonstrate sccess. <e all kno! the more and more pcoming sensitivity
of or prospects on -ata Privacy" bt 8 strongly believe in %elationship and
8nflencer Marketing in the Social Age. $he challenge is ho! to proof @fastA
sccess and %F8. 8t is a Social age !e are living in. Bt it is also an age of
Sarterly %eslts. $his is the most important ?arter in the history R
6/
in the age of social %usiness0 9art 1 = .he
2alue of kno-ing your customer
Pblished on SmartBrief for Social Media" >ebrary" (" *+(6
stomer satisfaction is an aim that every company O !hether in the
B*C or B*B bsiness O has been prsing for years. Fr at least that1s
!hat they all claim. <hether companies actally do !hat it takes to satisfy
their cstomers is another ?estion altogether. Back in my days at >ile3et"
!e had cstomer satisfaction srveys condcted. Fr variable salaries !ere
partly linked to the index vale" so it !as in management1s o!n financial
interest to make sre cstomers !ere happy.
C
$he !ay 8 see it" cstomer satisfaction has become even more important in
the age of social bsiness" since social media channels have given cstomers
mch more po!er. 8n the past" complaints cold often be s!ept nder the
carpet. Bt no! it1s easy to make them pblic" so keeping cstomers happy
is becoming more important than ever. 8n English" a term has emerged that
goes beyond mere cstomer satisfaction. :Cstomer experience; is all
abot the consmer1s overall experience !ith a company and its prodcts
and services.
$hat natrally raises the ?estion of !hat a good cstomer experience
actally is. 81ve made a stab at ans!ering this" and 81m gratefl for any
comments and additions yo may have. >irst of all" cstomer experience
can obviosly vary from bsiness to bsiness. 8f 81m speaking to -etsche
$elekom abot my home phone line" that1s something very different to
62
!hether 8 O as a B*B cstomer O am satisfied !ith the introdction of ne!
bsiness soft!are. Bt despite the differences" there are srely lots of
similarities. So 81m going to take a general approach to the isse for no!.
3o matter !hether 81m a private or a corporate cstomer" the most
important thing is that the company knows me. 8t may sond banal" bt
personal and personali#ed service is and !ill al!ays be extremely
important. $hat means that the company needs to have a comprehensive
pictre of me as a cstomer O !hich isn1t al!ays as easy as it may sond.
Get1s take $elekom" for example. >or many years" its landline and cell
phone bsiness ran side by side. $he varios representatives and
organi#ations in charge of cstomer service did not necessarily kno!
!hether yo had a contract !ith another part of the company" or !hat
technical e?ipment yo sed. Bt" as the net!orks converged and as the
8nternet @the mother of all net!orksA boomed" that all had to change.
$oday" 8 expect my online accont to give me to access to all my
telecommnications information" and 8 expect the cstomer service
representative 8 call to also have access to it. $hat may sond obvios" bt
yo can1t take it for granted" especially in a B*B context" !here it can
actally be impossibly complicated.
$hat brings s to a second important isse4 Cstomers are increasingly sing
a variety of channels to contact the companies they do bsiness !ith. 8n the
past" people sed to go to the nearest bank branch. $hen A$Ms and
machines that cold carry ot everyday banking transactions became more
and more common. $oday" most people se online banking. And they are no
longer tied to their compter at home O they can se the services on their
smartphones and tablet PCs.
,+
Cstomers are interacting !ith companies via different screens O
compter" tablet" smartphone" $' O and they not only !ant to have their
personal and personali#ed information available on all of them" they also
!ant to have access to the same fnctions and featres. Providing them
!ith that is no mean feat. After all" sing online banking on a smartphone
!ill obviosly be different to sing it on a compter" simply de to the si#e
of the screens. $ablets are some!here in bet!een. $hen" depending on the
indstry" a bsiness has to decide !hether to offer an app or !hether it is
enogh to :Hst; find a sensible soltion that allo!s its site to react and
adapt to different screens. 8 !on1t go into the sbHect of voice control
here" bt it looks likely that !e !ill soon be able to se online services via
voice control as !ell as mose" toch screen and motion control.
Siri and friends are !aiting in the !ings. Ko often hear the term
:mltichannel; applied to the spport of varios end devices and screens 8
mentioned above" bt the term shold definitely cover mch more than
that. A coherent mltichannel experience !old certainly have to inclde
phone and O depending on the type of bsiness O face=to=face contact in
stores or at events. 8t makes yo feel good !hen a cstomer service
representative :kno!s; yo. Ff corse" that can take different forms. 8t
can mean actally kno!ing someone personally" or it might simply mean
that the person ans!ering yor call has access to the relevant information
in the C%M or call=center system.
Bt !hatever form it takes" :kno!ing; cstomers is certainly in the best
interests of any company. 8f 8 kno! !hat my cstomers have already
prchased" 8 kno! !hat other prodcts or services 8 might recommend or
sell to them. And 8 need to kno! !hat cstomers have boght and are sing
,(
in order to help efficiently !hen problems occr. $hose are t!o key aspects
of a good cstomer experience4 service" and cross= and pselling. 81ll start
!ith the latter. 8 still love that Ama#on recommends ne! prodcts to me
based on my previos prchases. 8t kno!s that 8 like !ine mysteries" so it
sho!s me titles that fit that bill. 8 find that information sefl and 8 see it
as added vale" not as annoying advertising. <hat 8 do find annoying is
!hen online shops !here 81ve boght !ine bombard me !ith marketing e=
mails" special offers and ne!sletters.
$he !ay 8 see it" personali#ed advertising that bilds on !hat the cstomer
already o!ns" identifies gaps and spots !ays to expand the relationship is
mch more effective than trying to ram something do!n people1s throat by
inndating them !ith spam mail and other in=yor=face methods. $hese
tactics prodce the opposite of a positive cstomer experience bt
nfortnately companies still resort to them far too often.
,*
in the age of social %usiness0 9art " = .he
2alue of community
Pblished on SmartBlog for Social Media on >ebrary ,th" *+(6
n >riday" 8 discssed the vale of cstomer kno!ledge. Bt ho! do
yo pt that kno!ledge to !ork5 <hat role does commnity play5 F
Get1s move on to the isse of cstomer service" or literally serving the
cstomer. $hat term covers a lot of terrain" so 81ll start !ith a fe!
examples from my o!n experience. 81ve been having troble !ith my phone
line recently" so 8 decided to try and find ot !hat the problem is. <hen my
o!n attempts at trobleshooting failed" 8 called the $elekom hotline. 8
don1t even !ant to get started on the voice=activated men" !hich made
me !ant to tear my hair ot. After the compter had finally come to terms
!ith my accent" 8 got a real hman being on the other end. $he service
representative identified the problem !ith some inpt from me @it seems
my ancient Emex ,+, 8S-3 nit has given p the ghostA and sggested a
soltion. 8 no! rn my 8S-3 throgh the existing A'M roter. 8t took a bit of
configring" bt it !as p and rnning very ?ickly. $hen the same $elekom
gy called on Monday to ask if the problem had been solved. So" take note4
8 felt 8 had received good service" so 8 !as a satisfied cstomer. Calling to
ask if the problem has been taken care of shold be standard for any
service center L no matter ho! annoying the cstomer might be.
Bt things don1t al!ays go so smoothly. Anyone !ho1s been sing a camera
for a !hile is probably familiar !ith the problem4 Ko accmlate piles of
,6
photographs O and in my case slides as !ell. <e recently decided to have
or slides digiti#ed to increase the chances of or actally looking at them
again. 8 did a search on Ioogle to find a company providing this kind of
service. $he one 8 chose !as among the top (+ links listed" is located
nearby @so Ioogle kno!s !here 8 liveA" and appeared to be fairly small" bt
capable. $he !ebsite advertised a trial offer O scanning five slides and
photos for free. 8 decided to take advantage of it" and 8 sent them my slides
before Christmas. <eeks !ent by and 8 didn1t hear anything. So 8 sent the
company t!o e=mails O no reply. 8 tried calling" bt no one ans!ered the
phone. 8 had practically !ritten off the pictres altogether" bt !hen 8
opened my mailbox today4 Go and behold" there !ere my photos" slides and
a mini C- !ith the scanned images. 3o cover letter or anything" bt at least
8 got them back. <ill 8 be sending my hndreds of pictres and slides to that
company to have them digiti#ed5 Eardly.
Cstomers today demand transparency and commnication. $he service
provider 8 Hst described obviosly hasn1t recogni#ed that fact" and many
others haven1t either. 8 like to be informed that a shipment has been sent
ot to me" and 8 definitely !ant to be informed if it1s going to be delayed
or if it hasn1t been possible to take care of a given service. 8n the age of
social bsiness" commnication shold create transparency and aim for
sstainability O the cstomer shold trly be king.
Ff corse service costs money" and in the crrent financial climate it is
fre?ently otsorced" voice=recognition systems are sed and call centers
are shifted to contries !here !ages are lo!er. Bt 8 still believe there are
many areas !here companies !ill have to give good service and that
cstomers !on1t make decisions based on price alone" bt !ill go to
,,
companies that offer them the best service. 8 also believe that bsinesses
need to think abot ne!" intelligent !ays of offering good service. 8 often
talk abot self=service commnities" and for me these are one of the
intelligent soltions that can create a positive cstomer experience.
Eelping cstomers to help themselves O that1s the basic idea. 8BM" Cisco
and other companies have set p cstomer commnities on their !ebsites.
$he commnities focs on specific prodcts and soltions" and allo!
cstomers to help each other ot by sharing their experiences" and offering
tips and tricks. $here are al!ays participants in these commnities !ho like
to sho! off their expert kno!ledge. $he hman animal can be a social
animal L so it makes sense for companies to set p and spport sch
commnities and to make their o!n experts and kno!ledge available in
them. $he 8BM and Cisco commnities have been instrmental in saving
costs and providing a service that cstomers feel is better. @>ll disclosre4
8 !ork for 8BM.A
Are there risks involved5 Ff corse. 8t1s more difficlt to conceal potential
problems becase members of the commnity can read abot them" and
that might mean other cstomers find ot abot them. $hings cold
sno!ball ?ickly. Pls" competitors might !ell read abot the problems.
Bt seriosly" in the (+ years that 81ve been spporting cstomer
commnities and grops" 81ve never seen any maHor problems like that. Fn
the contrary4 Cstomers feel they are getting added vale if they can
commnicate !ith others !ho have similar hobbies or interests. 8t1s not for
nothing that 8 participate in some of these commnities in my spare time. 8
think it1s fablos !hen someone !ho kno!s !hat they1re talking abot
recommends me a good" inexpensive !ine. And as a company" it1s great to
,9
be able to exchange ideas !ith people from other companies on the best
!ay to introdce a certain soft!are.
Bsinesses that spport these kinds of commnities are smart. 81s a great
!ay to stay in toch !ith cstomers and !hat1s on their minds. Some time
ago" !e asked or cstomer commnity !hat featres they1d like to see the
next version of or social soft!are 8BM Connections. By involving cstomers
directly in prodct development" !e rn a mch lo!er risk of developing a
prodct that doesn1t meet their needs. Cstomer and self=service
commnities are one of the pillars of ensring a good cstomer experience.
$hey are also one O possibly the O distingishing featre of a social
bsiness.
8n the age of social bsiness" a good cstomer experience is personal"
personali#ed" comprehensive" sstainable and transparent. 8t spports
mltiple channels and is coherent" commnicative" and active on social
net!orks. Eo!1s that for a list5 And 8 bet 8 still forgot something.
>hat do you think I should add+ >here do you agree -ith meC and -here
do you disagree+
,B
>hat makes a ?ood >e%site+ My
9ersonal 9references
1ublished on 4ctober 0# 202
t annoys me every time 81m ot some!here and se my iPhone to check
a !ebsite for some information 8 rgently need4 the page comes p
small and illegible on the screen. $hat Hst !on1t do in the mobile era !e
live in today. Companies need to set p their !ebsites so they !ork
properly on mobile devices. $his minor irritation got me thinking abot
!hat exactly makes a good !ebsite" in other !ords" the sort of !ebsite 8
like to se.
8
8 think that speed still tops the list. And speed does not al!ays mean the
band!idth that is available at the time. Ko can also improve speed
throgh sophisticated design and the technology on the site. -esign is
another important element for me. Sre" tastes differ" bt logical ser
navigation is definitely something yo can create obHectively to a large
extent.
8 like it !hen the information 81m searching for appears as if by magic. 81ve
al!ays liked the !ay Ama#on recommends books or articles. Fbviosly" the
site :taps into; my data" bying history" and the pages 8 visited and makes
recommendations based on this information. 81d like to see other !ebsites
do something similar. 8nformation L it doesn1t al!ays involve a prchase L
cold be cstomi#ed for me. 8 !ant sites to recogni#e me as a visitor or
cstomer. :Ei Stefan" yo1ll be interested in thisR; And if it really does
interest me" then 81ll be happy.
,C
Fbviosly" 8 !ant my data to be treated sensitively. Ama#on @and all other
!ebsitesA is !elcome to sggest things to me as described above. Fn the
other hand" there is no !ay 81d !ant my data or profile to be for!arded.
And it annoys me !hen sales techni?es are too aggressive" for example"
!hen 8 get irritating e=mails" e=ne!sletters or pop=ps.
8 can1t stand pop=ps and too mch advertising. $here is hardly anything
more irritating than pop=p !indo!s" mostly !ith some sort of promotion"
!hen yo enter a site. $his is !hy 8 have installed a pop=p and advertising
blocker. Ff corse" some of the sites 8 enHoy sing only provide their
services free of charge becase they sell advertising space. Bt there is
advertising and advertising. 8t1s one thing to maniplate people skillflly
and another to try to maniplate them by hitting over the head !ith a pop=
p hammerP
8 like seeing other cstomers1 opinions or ratings. Ff corse" there are the
sal cstomer statements" increasingly in the form of videos featring
intervie!s or ser reports. $hese are definitely sefl and provide
gidance. 8 find nfiltered statements more athentic" for example" !hen a
!ebsite has a link to a >acebook page" !here people really interact and yo
find more than Hst advertising. Another option is to connect cstomers in
online commnities or even to host yor o!n cstomer commnity on the
company1s !ebsite L of corse" yo also need to let people discss things
there.
$here are times !hen 8 definitely enHoy getting involved in a pblic
discssion on social net!orks like >acebook and $!itter. Eo!ever" there
are also certain bsiness topics !here 8 prefer to be in a commnity on the
,/
company1s !ebsite and to take part in a more protected dialoge. $hese
topics are often more sensitive and more of a bsiness natre" and this
shold be reflected in ho! the company deals !ith the information and
data. And in sch cases" 8 set great store on this information not being
o!ned by a hosting platform fnded by advertising.
People talk a lot abot dialoge on !ebsites. 8 am happy to get involved in
sch dialoge if there is a clear benefit for me. $here is definitely a benefit
!hen cstomers share their experiences. As 8 said above" 8 !old often like
my participation in a dialoge to be more confidential and secre than it is
on >acebook. 8 !old like it to take place in a trst!orthy and safe
commnity.
Access to contact persons and experts from a company is another important
benefit" regardless of !hether this involves spport and hotlines or inpt
for frther prodct development. At times it is good to have one=to=one
commnication !ith contact persons from a company. Eo!ever" it is often
sefl !hen other cstomers can also Hoin in the dialoge. 8t is helpfl to
kno! !hich prodct featres other cstomers !ant so that !e can !ork
together to persade the company to implement them. 8t is good to kno!
!hat experiences L the famos best practices L other people have had" and
to learn from them. 8 also like to be able to find ot ho! other people
solved a particlar problem. $hese are some of the isses that 8 !old like
to discss openly in a protected commnity. 8 find that it generates trst
!hen companies se social technologies on their !ebsite to allo! dialoge
bet!een them and their cstomers. $his dialoge shold be as open as
possible.
,2
8 am very active in social media channels and actively share information
!ith my $!itter follo!ers" >acebook friends" and fans. $his is !hy tight
integration of the social net!orks in a company1s !ebsite is important to
me. $his has varios dimensions" starting !ith the option to :like;
something and to recommend it via $!itter" IoogleT or >acebook and to
follo! a potential discssion on these channels @that is" the discssions on
these channels shold be integrated into the company1s !ebsiteA.
And last bt not least" 8 like things to be personal. Anonymos :glossy; sites
are nice" bt 8 feel that more trst is created !hen yo can see real people
from the company. $his is !hy 8 am a fan of commnities" as 8 said" and !hy
8 like it !hen yo don1t Hst get a nice glossy presentation" bt can also
read a blog on certain topics. 8t doesn1t al!ays have to be the CEF !ho
!rites it. 8n fact" !hen a blog is !ritten by a CEF" it is often official and no
different from one of those glossy brochres. A blog can and shold be
!ritten by an expert on a topic" by an identifiable athority !ho is
:socially; recogni#able and !illing to engage in dialoge.
<hen it comes to social media channels" 8 have one other special !ish. 8
hate having to fill ot interminable forms on !ebsites" for instance to be
able to do!nload a !hite paper. My o!n employer is certainly a specialist
in these types of forms and ?estionnairesR 8 have often given p on sch
sites and got the information 8 needed some!here else. Ff corse" 8 have
mixed feelings on this topic. 8 can nderstand that a company !ants to
kno! !ho is sing their !ebsite and !hat these sers potentially !ant to
by. $his is !hy companies natrally !ant as mch information as possible
so they can follo! p potential sales. Bt 8 believe that the time of asking
for this sort of data has come to an end. 8t is legitimate to ask !ho is
9+
do!nloading something. Bt in that case 81d ask companies to allo! ser
athentication via $!itter" >acebook or similar standards. 81d like them to
gather the data they !ant throgh analysis of srfing behavior and social
analytics and to try to condct a real dialoge.
So far" so good. 8 have no! come p !ith ten preferences. <hat have 8
forgotten5 81d be really pleased to hear yor ideas and sggestions on !hat
makes an exceptional !eb experience.
My to, ten -e% e<,erience ,riorities
(. Speed
*. Excellent design and ser prompts
6. Personali#ed information
,. -ata protection and clear opt=in&opt=ot options for receipt of frther
information
9. 8deal spport for mobile devices
B. Gimited advertising" no pop=ps" and no lengthy forms to fill ot" for
example !hen yo !ant to do!nload something
C. 8ntegration of social media channels for discssion and athentication
prposes
/. $he option to participate in protected discssions !ith other
cstomers and those interested in a topic
2. Access to and dialoge !ith experts @from the company or other
cstomersA
(+.Gogin and identification @!here necessaryA via existing social net!ork
acconts
9(
A $ay in the 1ife of an I!M Marketer0 Manage
E2ents and 9ro@ects -ith Su,,liers in I!M
Smart (loud
Pblished on May 2!# 202
Fn May *6 8 had the pleasre to open p the -achis Social Bsiness Smmit
in Berlin. -e to the fact that Matt Collins !old be presenting later the
8BM Social Bsiness vision !ith a lot of cstomer examples" 8 decided to go
do!n a different path and tell the adience ho! 8 am personally living
social as a Marketer !ithin 8BM. Fbviosly there is the external Social
Media=Stefan -igital3aiv L the name of my blog and $!itter accont L ot
there listening" commnicating and engaging throgh the pblic social
media channels. Bt this is only the so to say pblic face of the coin. Social
Media does not e?al Social Bsiness. 8t is part of it. As important is ho! 8
leverage social in my daily !ork.
8 sed -ion Einchcliffe0s graphic" !here commnities are sed in the 3ext
Ieneration Enterprise and mapped my personal se cases to it.
Fne of the most appealing se cases for me is !orking !ith my spply chain
and my partners. As a marketer 8 am obviosly organi#ing campaigns and
events. External sppliers are al!ays involved in these proHects" e.g. or P%
Agency $ext(++" or event agency" my partner in crime CPP" >reelancers"
Speakers etc. <hat are yo doing in these proHects5 Ko define Milestones"
yo are assigning and hopeflly tracking tasks" yo are sharing and
collaborating on files" yo !rite meeting mintes and mch more. Ff corse
yo need to share and track all this information. So typically files and info1s
9*
are send by Email" tasks are managed in extensive spreadsheets" !hich are
again being distribted by Email.
And !e all experience the disadvantages of Email for sharing and tracking
proHects" information and files. Big files are filling p yor inbox. Even more
important4 Ko never kno!" if yo do have the most recent version of a file.
Email is for sre not the tool for managing deadlines and tasks. And
spreadsheets5 Are spreadsheets !ith nmeros colmns and ro!s really the
ltimate ans!er to manage a proHect5 8 kno!" !e are living very mch ot
of spreadsheets bt 8 dobt that spreadsheets are the best soltion for
managing and collaborating on a proHect. F." some people might be sing
professional Ubig: ProHect Management soft!are to manage a campaign. 8
am not a friend of this. >or me it seems to be a real overkill.
A fe! years ago 8 changed the !ay ho! 8 manage proHects and in particlar
events a!ay from the Email centric approach to 8 !old call the the USocial
Bsiness: !ay. 8 am sing !ith my sppliers 8BM1s Smart Clod for Social
Bsiness. 8 am setting p a proHect commnity and activity in the clod"
invite the internal 8BMers to the proHect" inclde my external sppliers and
manage the !hole proHect collaboratively in this commnity $his starts !ith
the brainstorming and ideation on the proHect @<ho shold be speaking5
<ho is contacting the potential speaker5 <hat is the best location5 RA p to
managing and closing the proHect and event. Fbviosly files are shared and
versioned throgh the commnity" activities and tasks are tracked !ith
clear responsibility and deadlines.
7sally a proHect starts !ith a small team collaborating. More and more
people become members dring the lanch and in particlar for these ne!
96
members it is easy to get p to speed extremely fast and have all the
necessary information on the proHect and its stats throgh the commnity.
As important as bringing ne! team members into the proHect team is the
!hole ideation" discssion and collaboration process. $he development of
the event or campaign happens in a transparent and open !ay" ideas are
being added" discssed" declined. 3ot sre if this is already !isdom of the
cro!d" bt for sre it is in comparison to Email inspiring" more prodctive
and the more social !ay of managing proHects. <hen describing ho! 8 !ork
in a 8BM Smart Clod commnity !ith my sppliers 8 shold not forget to
mention the aspect of Social Commnications. Ff corse Fnline Meetings
and 8nstant Messaging are integrated part of managing proHects !ith my
partners in the clod. $he external partners can easily participate in Fnline
Meetings and !ithot local soft!are they are able to chat !ith me. So real=
time commnication and Fnline Meetings are important part of the !hole
Social setp and add enormos vale.
Ff corse 8 am sing the same social !ay of managing Marketing proHects
8BM=internally behind the fire!all. <hat 8 !ant to re=emphasi#e is the
external aspect 8 am describing. $here is a hge potential !ithin the
Enterprise. Bt there maybe as mch potential in collaborating the social
!ay !ith sppliers. >or sre it is improving my daily !ork. >or sre it is
improving ?ality and transparency of the proHect. And for sre it makes
life for or sppliers mch easier to !ork in an extended social enterprise.
Ff corse it still needs a lot of evangeli#ing" discssing" edcating to
convince people to move a!ay from their traditional Email centric !ay of
!orking to the social !ay. Bt 8 !ill contine preaching and convincing to
move all or proHects !ith external sppliers into the 8BM Smart Clod and
9,
create an extensive extended 8BM Marketing commnity for smarter" better
Marketing events and campaigns. $hink abot yor daily !ork and yor se
cases and benefits. <here does it make sense for yo to !ork in an
extended 3ext Ieneration Social Enterprise5
The presentation I gave at the Dachis Summit is available here on
Slideshare. I will continue mapping out my use cases in upcoming blog
entries hoping to inspire you to work social in your daily work, not only as
a marketer.
99
A $ay in the 1ife of an I!M Marketer0 3n my
Social >e% E<,erience and the 2alue of
(ustomer (ommunities
Pblished on May 27# 202
8 started my Horney throgh my Social Bsiness se cases describing" ho! 8
am !orking !ith sppliers and partners in a secre environment in the
clod to exchange information and !ork on proHects. Fbviosly Social
Soft!are is not only an opportnity to improve yor spply chain. As
important" if not more important is the opportnity to energi#e my
commnication and collaboration !ith cstomers and prospects.
Companies !eb presence tend to be designed as the sho!room of the
enterprise. Everything is fancy" colorfl" clean" perfect. Site often the
Share=bttons for $!itter" >acebook or IoogleT are mean!hile integrated
on the pages. Bt let s be honest <ho the R !ill t!eet a prodct
description beyond the employees of the company5 $here is no real vale=
add in it. Fk" there are exceptions. $he ne!est press release" the ne!est
case stdy may be interesting to share and distribte. Bt is there sally
real interaction happening !ith cstomers and prospects5 8 dobt it. And of
corse !e at 8BM have the same challenges and need to improve all or !eb
sites to become real interaction and commnication platforms. And this has
to happen in all Eropean langages R
Fbviosly this is not done from today to tomorro! throgh implementing
certain featres. 8t is a continos Horney !ith adding ne! featres and
fnctions to better reach or cstomers. <e are adding fnctions like Click=
9B
to=call or Click=to=chat to the !eb pages" so that a visitor can directly
commnicate !ith an 8BM representative" if he or she !ants to. 8s this 8BM
representative able to ans!er all yor detailed ?estions5 8 dobt it" bt
the rep is an entry channel into 8BM helping yo to find the right ans!er.
$his real=time commnication option is being complemented by making
experts visible on the related !eb pages. Fn the 7.8 Social Bsiness page
yo do find )on Mell and others being promoted as an expert on 8BM
Collaboration Soltions. )on most probably !ill not be available for direct
chats @becase he is a very bsy gy" !ho is ?ite often on the road and in
meetingsA" bt cstomers are able to leave him a message and ?estion and
)on !ill come back !ith an ans!er.
$hese are already t!o interaction options !e have added to or !eb pages
to enhance the ser and commnication experience. And depending on the
region and langage !e have added more social fnctions. $here is the
Social Bsiness 8nsights Blog on ibm.com" !here 8BM Champions" Bsiness
Partners" Experts and 8BM1ers are posting their stories and statements
arond Social Bsiness. $he blog is linked to prodct and soltion pages on
ibm.com" so that visitors have the opportnity to visit and read the blog.
Fbviosly all state=of=the=art options to t!eet or like blog entries are
available as a $!itter stream !ith the hashtag Vibmsocialbi# and links to
other Social Bsiness channel from the !orld!ide 8BMSocialBi# $!itter
accont p to or !orld!ide 8BM Social Bsiness Commnity.
7ser Commnities are today an extremely important instrment to have a
t!o=!ay=commnication and discssion !ith yor cstomers. 8n my previos
role as Marketing Gead for 8BM Collaboration Soltions in Iermany 8 !as
9C
@and 8 still amA leveraging the E7G7C=commnity. $his is the platform of the
Ierman 8BM Collaboration Soltions 7ser Irop rnning on the ne!est
release of 8BM Connections. 8t is being hosted by Soft!erk and holistic.net"
t!o Ierman Bsiness Partners.
$he discssions on E7G7C and the t!o blogs" !hich Stefan .reger and
myself have been cltivating" became an indispensable part of or
commnication an Marketing mix. Fr Ierman cstomers kno! in bet!een
that they !ill al!ays find the ne!est information in this commnity and in
or blogs very often even before they are on ibm.com" !here !e obviosly
rely on editorial processes. And of corse the blogs offer the opportnity to
post different kind of information1s from press and blog clippings p to
personal comments @!hich are made visible as personal statementsA. $he
click rates are impressive4 the 8BM Collaboration Soltions Iermany reached
6.B9+.C+C clicks as of today @May */" *+(*A. Ff corse E7G7C is not a one=
!ay=commnication vehicle for marketers. 8t is mch more. 8t is a real
commnity" !here !e as a vendor get and !ant feedback and !here lively
and of corse sometimes controversial discssions. And 8 kno! that even or
competitors are very active readers of the Commnity R 8t is a place" !here
yo can meet the experts" not only the 8BM experts bt the experts from
or cstomers and partners. 3ot a srprise that the Meet the Expert=blog
and commnity is highly sed.
Bt the sage of Social Soft!are in Iermany goes far beyond the core 8BM
Collaboration Soltions team. $he Ierman team arond Petra Baeerle did
set p the 8BM BleBlog" a grop blog" !here 8BM1ers like myself are posting
their vie!s in Ierman langage. $he Commnity" Blog and other fnctions
of 8BM Connections are available on ibm.com to be leveraged by 8BM1ers"
9/
cstomers and partners for their special interests and topics. 8 sed to rn
some commnities on ibm.com" e.g. arond or t!o 8BM Social )amCamps"
!hich took place *+(( and *+(+. $his po!er of Social is nbelievable
important to energi#e yor !eb site and it is the reason" !hy !e have most
recently extended fnctionality and integration of the 8BM Exceptional <eb
Experience Site to provide an even deeper and smoother integration
bet!een the traditional Portal and <CM !ith the social fnctions of 8BM
Connections. 8t is highly visible" that !e are crrently seeing a convergence
of the traditional !eb experience !ith a social and a mobile experience
into a ne! Cstomer experience. @And yo can learn more abot it at the
8BM Eropean <eb Experience Conference in Berlin" May (6=(9A.
And by the !ay4 8 do not agree at all !ith those" !ho predicted the end of
the corporate !eb site and recommended to move everything over to
>acebook. >acebook is a great place to be" even for most bsiness a mst
place to be present" bt for sre it shold not be a replacement of yor
Corporate !eb site. $here are several reasons for it4 Ko need to ensre
that yo o!n yor content. So the goal mst be to leverage >acebook @and
the other Social Media channelsA" bt the definite -rive=to=Gocation needs
to be an attractive" interactive Corporate <eb Site providing an exceptional
integrated experience" on the bro!ser and on mobile devices.
And if yo have any ?estions" feel free to get in toch !ith me.
This is my second posting based on a presentation I gave at the Dachis
Summit in Berlin on May 2, 2!"2.
92
A $ay in the 1ife of an I!M Marketer0 .he
9o-er of SelfBSer2ice and S,ecial
Interest (ommunities
1ublished on :une # 202
8 already shared my experience in !orking social !ith my spply chain and
partners to organi#e events and Marketing campaigns and !here 8 benefit
throgh Social Soft!are in my external relations !ith cstomers throgh
sage of commnities and more. Fbviosly 8 am not only sing Social
Soft!are externally. 8BM is mean!hile a real Social Bsiness and a lot of my
daily !ork is social. 8 am member and driving a lot of commnities" !here 8
am sharing information" !ork on proHects" track activities and mch more.
At the -achis Social Bsiness Smmit 8 !as talking abot t!o of my favorite
se cases beyond the daily proHect !ork @!hich has already been covered in
a !ay in the description of !orking !ith my spply chain. $he !ay of
collaborating internally on proHects is not differentA.
8 am an Apple=ser" becase 8 prefer the sability" the elegance and
performance of iFS mch over <indo!s. $o many blescreens and
extremely slo! startp times in my career R 8BM1ers are entitled to se and
bring their o!n devices @BKF-A inclding Mac" iPad and iPhone for their
!ork. 8$ provides basic access to the 8BM net!ork bt does not spport
Apple=devices throgh the 8$ Spport Center. Eonestly 8 !as strggling
?ite a !hile. Shold 8 really se my private Mac for !ork !ithot spport5
Fver a !eekend 8 gave it a try and did configre my Mac for the 8BM
net!ork. And it !ent very smooth.
B+
$he information and kno!ledge" ho! to do it" !as available in the 8BM
Social 8ntranet in <ikis and info pages. Bt even more important for me
became the 8BM Mac=commnity 8 Hoined. $his commnity @based on 8BM
ConnectionsA inclding sbcommnities covering e.g. the iPhone and iPad or
3otes on Mac is literally my lifeboat" !hen 8 have technical isses and
?estions. $hosands of 8BM1ers have Hoined this commnity to exchange
and retrieve information and kno!ledge" ho! to se the Apple=devices.
Mean!hile 8 am sing my Mac since years as premier bsiness compter
!ithin 8BM !ith only t!o interceptions dring the !hole time. And these
interceptions !ere cased to a bli##ard in the 7S interrpting my access to
the 'P3 Eost. All other ?estions or isses !ere resolved and ans!ered by
the Mac=commnity.
8t is an otstanding example" ho! a Special 8nterest Commnity is helping
and becomes a self service commnity providing highest ?ality content.
And it sho!s that people are !illing and able to help each other in sch a
commnity. <hat is their motivation5 Fbviosly rgent interest in and
dedication to a topic. Fn top people make themselves visible as experts in a
specific area" in this case experts for Mac" iPad or iPhone. >or 8BM it has a
nice side effect4 Prodct -evelopment L in particlar for 8BM Collaboration
Soltions L benefits from the commnity as a testbed for the prodcts and
does get inpt on ne! featres and fnctions. My personal reslt4 Since
over 6 years 8 live Microsoft=free and in this time frame all problems !ith
my Mac and iFS devices !ere resolved in a more than reasonable time
$his only one example of many USelf=Service N Special 8nterest
Commnities: !ithin 8BM and 8 am sre" yo are able to identify sch
commnities in yor Enterprise" too. 8 have seen a lot of examples !ith or
B(
cstomers. Another Special 8nterest Commnity" 8 am member off" is the
-igital 8BMer commnity. 8n this commnity 8BMers interested in social
technology and the social !ay of !orking have Hoined and share their
expertise. <e discss and develop best practises" ho! to be in Social Media
as an 8BMer" !hat the rles of engagement are and ho! to convince and
train other 8BMers abot the ne! !orld of Social Bsiness. <e share
essential bookmarks" interesting links" ask ?estions" get ans!ers" place
re?ests for help" share ne!s N annoncements" and provide insight. 8t is
inspiring place to collaborate and commnicate !ith for!ard thinkers
arond the !orld like Gis Sare# or %a!n Sha! on all topics arond Social
Bsiness.
$he members of this commnity are social soft!are=evangelists" !ho
energi#e and enable other 8BMers abot social net!orking and Social
Bsiness. 8t is again a Special 8nterest Commnity infsing Social more and
more into 8BM1s -3A. And obviosly the initiative is being spported by the
8BM Management seeing the bsiness vale of 8BM becoming a Social
Bsiness. 7se this as a best practise for yor company on its Horney to a
Social Bsiness. 8dentify the Social Media experts and geeks in yor
company" let them Hoin forces and share expertise in a commnity" let
them develop !ith yo Social Media Iidelines and then encorage them to
enable other parts of yor organi#ation. 8t is the viral !ay of getting the
social message and the Social <orkplace ot into yor company.
$here are obviosly a lot more se cases !ithin 8BM and 8 !as talking abot
them in Berlin4
the internal Social 3et!ork replacing the traditional Corporate
B*
-irectory" becoming the mch vale=generating and richer Corporate
-irectory"
the <iki=capabilities to share information and kno!ledge in a ne!
formed team and mch more.
<e have reached a point !here the vision of .no!ledge Management has
the chance to become mch more real=!orld than ever. Easier to se
technology is mean!hile available and L even more important L the cltre
has dramatically changed. People L in particlar the yonger shareaholics L
are sed to Social Media" $!itter and >acebook. $hey are no! mch more
!illing and sed to openly share information. 8s there scepticism5 Are some
people resistant to become social5 Sre. <e are on a Horney and it is or
obligation to edcate people" ho! to live social in the enterprise and
beyond in external social channels" !hile maintaining and protecting their
privacy @and their employers intellectal property and bsiness secretsA.
This is the last o# three postings based on a presentation I gave at the
Dachis Summit in Berlin on May 2, 2!"2. This presentation is mapping out,
how and where I am using Social So#tware and #unctionality in my $ob as
marketer at IBM. %ope#ully it inspires you to work more social in your daily
work, not only in Marketing.
B6
==== End of 'ersion (.+ of Marketing in the 'Social Age' ===
B,

Marketing in The 'Social Age'

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A Collection of Blog Postings from digitalnaiv.com

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