By Brian Solis, industry-leading blogger at BrianSolis.comand principal of research firm Altimeter Group, Author of the highly acclaimed books on social businessThe End of Businessas Usual and
Part 8 in a series introducing my new book,The End of Business as Usual …this series serves asthe book’s prequel.
Social media says so much and so very little at the same time. First, social media implies that mediais just that, social. But when you study many of the best practices or test the advice dispensedthrough popular “top 10″ posts, you find that at the heart of notable social media successes is simplybrilliant creativity and desirable incentives, not necessary authentic or genuine value or engagement. With every Tweet or Like to win campaign, hilarious viral video, and user-generatedpromotional series, businesses make social media more of an oxymoron than a movement totransform two-way conversations into improved customer relationships.According to an annual IBM study, getting closer to customers is the overwhelming top priority for
CEOs. And, social media is lauded as the great facilitator for engagement and renewed businessrelevance. What we tend to forget however, is that social networks are merely platforms for peopletoconnectwith friends, family and peers. Businesses are not the primary beneficiary of connections,but they can certainly benefit once they realize that a Like or follow does not equate to anopt-in for
marketing communiqué.If CEOs are placing increasing importance on customer relationships, why is it that we are lessaligned with the “R” in socialCRM and closer in alignment to the “M,” where M stands for marketing
and not management. That’s because of where social media lives within the organization today.In IBM’s recent “From Social Media to Social CRM” report, it was revealed that social media isalready siloed within marketing, marketing communication, or public relations, accounting for 52%,45%, and 42% ownership respectively. When we think about the primary function of each of those
functions, it’s clear to see why the premise of many of today’s top social media best practices aremarketing driven rather than market driven.The difference between a social brand and a social business is internal connectedness,preparedness, and collaborative approach to customer and employee engagement.
A Social Media and Social CRM Strategy are Different
As good friend Paul Greenberg noted in his book CRM at the Speed of Light, “The underlyingprinciple for Social CRM’s success is very different from its predecessor….traditional CRM is basedon an internal operational approach to manage customer relationships effectively. But Social CRM isbased on the ability of a company to meet the personal agendas of [its] customers while, at thesame time, meeting the objectives of [its] own business plan. It is aimed at customer engagementrather than customer management.”At stake here is relevance among the growing base of a more connected consumer landscape.Engaging consumers from a marketing-driven approach may work for the short term, butengagement requires a holistic approach. Consumers see one brand, one company, one experienceand not a series of disconnected silos experimenting in social media without a common vision,mission, or process. While businesses are building an infrastructure to support social media,governance, policies, and strategies are only as strong as the experiences they’re designed tocreate, the problems they’re intended to solve, and the ability to adapt to and lead consumer experiences because you can see what others don’t.
IBM studied how businesses view their foundation for social media and found that many times, theprevailing corporate culture impeded innovation and collaboration, not just with consumers, but alsowithin. And for any change agent, that will come as no surprise. Whether they know it or not, changeagents are becoming hybrid cultural anthropologists and politicians learning how to adapt the culturewhile rallying internal champions to bring about real change.Here you can see the number of businesses that have defined KPIs, flexible business models,established policies, adaptive approaches to incorporating social media into business strategies, anddefined governance. The blue shades on the left equates to those that strongly agree while towardthe right, companies start to show that they’re not where they would like to be. According to the IBMreport, only 38% are confident in the support of their company in innovation and creativity. Just 30%can comfortably say that they have strong executive sponsorship for social media. And, a measly27% say they share insights across functions.Once you see these numbers, it’s clear that businesses are on the right path, but we’re really just atthe beginning. More importantly, one could argue that the direction of the path is questionable. Eventhough the businesses on the far left are established and confident, they might be operating withouta holistic strategy that spans across lines of business, products, functions or across the globe.And what of a centralized or holistic approach, defined by a common goal and reinforced through notonly governance, but compliance?The effects of connected consumerism require nothing less thaninternal transformation and in many ways, a new outlook.
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Are You Building a Social Brand or a Social Business?
While businesses are building an infrastructure to support social media, governance, policies, and strategies are only as strong as the experiences they’re designed to create, the problems they’re intended to solve, and the ability to adapt to and lead consumer experiences because you can see what others don’t.
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