Posts Tagged ‘transparency’

Social Business Investment Should be 20% of Corporate Budgets

October 8th, 2010
What?? Are you crazy?
But when you consider social business is really about customer experience; you also realize that customer experience is really an crass-functional, organization wide responsibility. Social media has lowered the cost of communications, opened up the levels of transparency in business that we have never seen. Organizations cannot just assign it to marketing and go about their business. The impact is too large and too overwhelming.
We have seen a tremendous number of CIO and CMO’s tell us that they are struggling with the amount of information being generated in their organizations and they see it growing exponentially. VP’s of HR are seeing the way potential employees engage with organizations changing. Sales and partner organizations are trying to deal with the amount of noise and the speed of change. All of this has impact on our organizations and eventually, we believe, market valuations. Every function is trying to adapt to the speed of change and the amount of information now being readily available due to social media. Social business is not going to work if it is seen as a siloed functional initiative.
We have seen the similar evolution in other technologies; ERP and the Web where the evolution of the market, technologies, and business processes were silo-ed and eventually evolved into cohesive platforms. We are seeing the similar evolution in Social Business with the disruption being as impactful as many of the technologies disruptions that we have seen in the last few decades.
We are seeing at the project level where “social” projects are really 80% traditional and 20% social, but the sequencing, priority, and objectives look radically different.
If the customer experience is fundamentally going to change from the “over-automated” to a semi-automated, more personalized model, then your business systems and processes, even your people are going to have to adapt. 20% may be too little, but with a 3-5 year plan and systemic and consistent innovation; companies will be positioned to succeed.
The alternatives would be to look at the 62, all market leaders, of the Fortune 100 companies that got caught and replaced on the list of the Fortune’s biggest companies. They got caught flat-footed, or too invested in their business models to adapt to the web. Competitors caught them from behind and grew much faster. Many aren’t even around today.
This is why the SEC is so valuable. The exchange of ideas with other business drivers, the collaboration around why, what, and how… and a small enough pond to enable all of us to see the real “best in class” partners to help us deliver within our organizations.

“What?? Are you crazy?”  Ok, when you pick yourself off of the floor, consider the following….

How much do you spend on customer relationships? No just CRM, not just marketing, but all of the systems, processes, and people to support customers. If you are like most companies, you are spending probably 90% related to customers in some way. If the customer experience changes radically, 20% may not be enough.

But when you consider social business is really about customer experience; you also realize that customer experience is really an crass-functional, organization wide responsibility. Social media has lowered the cost of communications, opened up the levels of transparency in business that we have never seen. Organizations cannot just assign it to marketing and go about their business. The impact is too large and too overwhelming.

We have seen a tremendous number of CIO and CMO’s tell us that they are struggling with the amount of information being generated in their organizations and they see it growing exponentially. VP’s of HR are seeing the way potential employees engage with organizations changing. Sales and partner organizations are trying to deal with the amount of noise and the speed of change. All of this has impact on our organizations and eventually, we believe, market valuations. Every function is trying to adapt to the speed of change and the amount of information now being readily available due to social media. Social business is not going to work if it is seen as a siloed functional initiative.

We have seen the similar evolution in other technologies; ERP and the Web where the evolution of the market, technologies, and business processes were silo-ed and eventually evolved into cohesive platforms. We are seeing the similar evolution in Social Business with the disruption being as impactful as many of the technologies disruptions that we have seen in the last few decades.

We are even seeing it at the project level where “social” projects are really 80% traditional and 20% social, but the sequencing, priority, and objectives look radically different.

If the customer experience is fundamentally going to change from the “over-automated” to a semi-automated, more personalized model, then your business systems and processes; even your people are going to have to adapt. 20% may be too little, but with a 3-5 year plan and systemic and consistent innovation; companies will be positioned to succeed.

The alternatives would be to look at the 62 companies during 1989-99, all market leaders, of the Fortune 100 companies that got caught and replaced on the list of the Fortune’s biggest companies. They got caught flat-footed, or too invested in their business models to adapt to the web. Competitors caught them from behind and grew much faster. Many aren’t even around today.

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Posted in Archive 2010

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Is Your Best Customer an Educated Customer?

August 18th, 2010
Seemingly simple question, but one with huge implications in a socially-transparent world. I have worked for some folks over the years who were “nice guys” until they got in a room with a potential customer and turned into sharks. Their belief was that they needed to close the customer as soon as possible and with as much margin as possible.

Forget value-based pricing, it was “Caveat Emptor” or buyer-beware pricing. Their best customer was an uneducated client who didn’t understand the value of the offering. They preyed off of the buyers ignorance.

As any of us who run businesses know, it is a struggle to find the right balance between customer and company needs in a relationship. Customers do not really appreciate martyrdom when you cannot deliver at a ludicrously low price. Some buyers look for predatory deals on their own side as well. At the end of the day, win-lose negotiating means someone loses.

I have always believed in win-win relationships with customers. My belief is that you operate as if the client has all of the available information and you treat them respectfully as an educated buyer with all of the benefits in the negotiation and represent their interests even if they cannot. Integrity is not bought or sold, it is earned. Sometimes at great cost and sacrifice. And it is always constantly challenged.

I have also always believed that you can “win” with integrity and that eventually those who practice predatory business practices will be exposed.

Social media has the opportunity to profoundly impact market transparency. My sincere hope is that it will be easier for buyers to get a more “accurate” picture of the value of the offering and the integrity of the provider. Markets become more efficient with better information so I believe that the ability to check references, get self-educated, and validate product claims will make markets more efficient and reduce the ability for “bad actors” to operate.

I think those who believe in “an educated buyer” are already participating in social media for the right reasons. The “give to get” model of providing thought leadership and market education has helped many. Not sure yet that it is affecting market behavior on a macro-level, but I am always hopeful.

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Posted in Archive 2010

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