This will be the only WOMMA Word published this week. We hope everyone has a fantastic New Year!
Updates from December, 2010
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Holiday Break
Pat McCarthy
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Pharma: Can Kicked Down Road
Pat McCarthy
The FDA recently released a document that left many marketers frustrated. No guidelines for Christmas this year. But the document did give several insights into what the FDA will be focusing on in 2011 and beyond.
1. Safety First - The FDA clearly stated that their mission is to ensure consumers receive accurate information and aren’t exposed to unsafe products. There weren’t many specifics on how media will be monitored to ensure this.
2. Do as I Say, Not as I Do - The FDA will expand their use of social media to disseminate their messaging.
3. Focus on Misleading - No matter what the medium, misleading information is a very serious matter for the FDA.
Read more about the document at Fresh Influence
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1-800-Social-Care
Pat McCarthy
Call centers bring to mind long waits and scripted service. It’s no wonder that consumers are taking their voices to social web. The public forum demands quicker and more personalized service because the whole world can see the interaction.
Going forward, your customer service staff needs to know how to address customer needs in the social web. Your company needs a well thought out policy that uses real world data to ensure your employees have clear guidance.
Key Takeaway: Your customers are using social, so you have to. Simple as that. Create policies and guidelines. Train your staff. And measure results for further optimization.
Read more about the development of customer care at Sign On San Diego
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OpenID Best Practices
Pat McCarthy
2010 brought a lot of developments in OpenID usage. Gigya (WOMMA member) recently released a whitepaper that offers some useful tips on making your site more open.
1. Offer Multiple Options - Some prefer logging in with Facebook. Others lean toward Twitter, Linkedin, Yahoo!, etc. Don’t restrict your user. Offer them all.
2. Explain Yourself - Show the user what data you are using from their login and why. This openness will build trust.
3. Use The Data - Although it may go without saying, use the data. Have your site address users by name and input their profile picture automatically.
For more tips on OpenID, download the whitepaper here
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Event WOM: 1 Facebook Share = $2.52
Pat McCarthy
A recent 12 week study released by Eventbrite showed the precise value of social media shares. The company facilitates the sale of event tickets and includes sharing functions for Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and email.
The Results?
1. One share on Facebook is worth $2.52
2. For Twitter, it’s $0.43
3. On Linkedin, it’s $0.90
4. An email was worth $2.34
Data like this helps show how users look for certain types of information. Based on this, information about events is overwhelmingly sought out on Facebook and email.
Read more about the study at Jeff Bullas’ blog
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Marketing to College Students: More Search, Less Social
Pat McCarthy
A recent study found some interesting affronts to common beliefs about how college students use the web. Social platforms don’t hold as much sway as many might believe. Their purpose is, understandably, to serve as a socializing tool. When a college student needs information about a company or product, they use a search engine.
Key Takeaway: Ranking at the top of the search results is critical. Being one of the first few search results still matters a lot considering most companies and products are independently reviewed on 3rd-party sites.
Read more about the findings at Converseon’s blog
Converseon is a governing member of WOMMA.
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3 Brands that Mastered Active Listening
Pat McCarthy
Ben & Jerry’s
They entered total emersion after dropping their email customer support system in favor of social communication. But the little touches show the true development of their listening. Recently BL Ochman received a handwritten letter after an exchange that started with her tweeting about buying ice cream to prepare for oral surgery recovery. That’s a “never gonna forget” experience that started with listening.
Children’s Hospitals
Arik Hanson, author of the cited article, was so impressed with his customer experience at a Children’s Hospital that he told them. They not only heard him, but invited him to check out their Minneapolis hospital. First they heard him, then they made the effort to build the relationship.
Sonos
This wireless speaker and music system brand listens for anyone looking for a new music system. Usually they simply offer to help. If the person responds, the interaction moves toward more help and information. For high end products that may only be purchased once every 10 years, this listening strategy finds people who are in the critical buying phase.
Read more about how these companies listen at Communications Conversations
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Customer Experience in 2011
Pat McCarthy
The cited article has some great tidbits from a handful of customer experience experts. Below are a couple of my favorites:
“I have to say, a key trend is that people are starting to link the service profit chain in a meaningful way, recognizing the connection between employee satisfaction and loyalty, customer satisfaction and loyalty, and profit. The best are measuring internal satisfaction as a leading indicator of external satisfaction.”
“I would tell them to be aware of giant killers in customer experience. There are several larger companies that have ignored what smaller, more nimble competitors are doing to create memorable experiences for their customers. This differentiator can create more loyalty, word of mouth awareness, and recommendations.”
Read them all at Marketing Profs
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Members in the Spotlight
Pat McCarthy
WOMMA is Proud to Welcome our Newest Member:
BzzAgent, the leading social marketing company, announced a 20% increase in staff, as well as the hiring of three senior executives. Strong demand for BzzAgent’s social marketing services, alongside a profitable 2010, prompted growth in every part of the company. Executive hires include Stephen Royal as CFO, Ben Cesare as SVP of Sales, and Chip Terry as VP/GM of Product Strategy. More Here.
Social marketing innovator Sam Decker today unveiled Mass Relevance, a new company that helps consumer brands effectively use real-time social content to drive engagement on television, web, and mobile. Founded by Decker, a former Dell executive and founding CMO of Bazaarvoice, and joined by co-founders Brian Dainton and Eric Falcao, Mass Relevance is aimed at content and marketing executives who want to activate engaging experiences via real-time conversations, commentary and insights culled from millions of social activities taking place every moment around the globe. The company uniquely combines a cutting-edge social syndication technology that can instantly aggregate, curate and deliver the best content for any context with an enterprise SaaS infrastructure to meet the needs of the Fortune 500.
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Social Business Training - It’s Time
Pat McCarthy
We saw a lot of companies getting their feet wet with social training for their staff this year. Those that have delayed often point to unclear best practices to achieve their goals. Delay no more! John Bell laid out some great guidelines based off of Ogilvy’s very advanced training program.
1. Deliver experiential training that goes beyond knowledge and information - A presentation outlining the systems and best practices will only take your staff so far. Simulate business problems and have your staff work through them. Experience is better than theory.
2. Add scale via an always-on, on-demand system - Your employees are busy. Getting 20 of them in a room to learn is difficult. Make training easily accessible and on-demand. It’s more efficient and the most motivated will stand out through their participation and advancement.
3. Design everything around an accredited “belt system” - Goals add a sense of accomplishment for your employees coupled with the advantages of clear tracking for management. Ogilvy and Edelman do this.
Read more about how Ogilvy trains social employees at The Digital Influence Mapping Project