5 Ways to Make Your Company REALLY Social

Organizations around the world continue to hear why it’s so important to “be social”. Many companies pat themselves on the back when their Facebook and Twitter account go live…dust their hands because they’re done right? Woah! Hold on, there’s a big difference between social media and a social company. A social company’s culture isn’t based on hierarchy, titles and rigid processes. Rather, it’s more fluid than that, and is willing to adapt to whatever today’s rapidly changing marketplace can throw at it. Just think, by the time you’re done reading this article, there could be new technologies released that will change our day-to-day routines (HINT: BBM Channels).

Is yours a social company? If not, it may find itself appearing on 24/7 Wall St.’s list of brands that will disappear. The below are some strategies that may prevent that from happening:

1. Participation Beyond Your Job Title: In many companies, job descriptions are carved in stone. Developers develop. Marketers market. Customer care agents are at the “front line” (interesting war analogy that term has), and they take the heat from frustrated customers. In “Unsocial” companies, if a customer has a great idea of how to optimize an app, they send an email to the customer care department. Social companies have left that rigid, and outdated, model behind. For an example, check out Intuit, where any employee is considered customer-facing, and can solve a customer problem. It’s no wonder they’re growing as fast as they are.

2. Enlist and Engage Your Community: A company’s customers are more than “those people who buy our stuff”. Companies can leverage the wisdom of their loyal customers to both help shape their products, and services, as well as help promote them. Rather than leaving all of the PR, marketing, and product development to the “experts” who are on the payroll, why not involve the real experts who live and breathe the products every day? Social companies understand that. The result is that they’re uniquely suited to be ahead of the curve in product development and positioning. For an example, check out Mountain Dew Canada’s latest social media campaign that is all about engagement.

3. Collaborate and Co-create: Social companies have developed a process to not only listen to their customers via social media, but to benefit from their input in the form of new features to products and services. This involves collaboration between employees (and not customer care agents), customers, and high leverage members of your community. Whether it’s a new product, service, idea or program, bringing everyone together – inside of the company and outside – can not only deliver a remarkably innovative product, it ensures your company is agile, informed and relevant. Lego has been at this for a while (click here for a great overview), and their new products have completely revolutionized the brand.

4. Focus on Culture and People: It’s the oldest truism in business. First, hire great people. It’s interesting how, as companies become increasingly reliant on technology, this adage has never been more relevant. Awesome ideas, products, growth, and customer engagement begins with a great culture, and that’s a product of the people within the company. Companies are, after all, groups of people. It’s easy to forget that.

5. Jack Be Nimble: Yeah, okay, it’s a nursery rhyme. But unless you want to be burned by that candle stick, your company needs to be able to be like Jack. Five year plans are fine as long as flexibility, and “nimbleness,” are key components. Innovation, creativity and agility are the new pillars of a successful and social company.

Final Thoughts

Social design within a company is no longer an option. Creating a social culture within an organization isn’t easy. A Facebook page may help your brand appear social but building long term engagement, and long term survival, requires more.

Companies that invest the time and resources to implement what it takes to become “social” will thrive in this increasingly social environment. Companies that don’t, won’t. Simple as that. Which company will yours be?

And of course I’d love your thoughts. Is your company social? What steps, even small steps, has your company taken to involve its community in product / service development?

The Three Pillars of Social Customer Service

Customers today are not shy about sharing their experiences with the world – good and bad. We’ve seen the power of social media when it comes to customers. You might remember the viral “United Breaks Guitars” video that had a resounding impact on the company’s reputation and customer service approach. Who could get that tune out of their head…we know United couldn’t!

But, it’s not all grim – there’s some light at the end of that potentially dark viral tunnel. When an unhappy traveller tweeted about how the Four Seasons in Pala Alto bumped him into a worse room (there probably wasn’t a mini-fridge!), the hotel saw it as an opportunity. They responded immediately – promising to make it right. Turns out, that customer spent more than 60 nights in Palo Alto for work. In his next tweet, he promised that he’ll be staying at The Four Seasons for the majority of his travels. Both of these examples justify the investment in social media for customer service. Not only does it help preserve and strengthen a company’s intangible assets, like its brand equity and reputation, but it also helps drive sales.

In world where experiences are shared, commented on and reshared, companies are now focusing on how they can leverage social service more effectively. There’s three pillars that any company needs to address: integration, scaling and crisis management. We thought we’d examine some real examples of each – a way to visualize how you can apply these best practices to your company.

Integration

No company can survive today working in silos, but integration isn’t easy. Finding how customer care can fit within other functions of a company is crucial. Social media shouldn’t be “owned” by one person or department – it needs to transcend the traditional boundaries. Dutch airline KLM was forced to integrate its social media process thanks to the Icelandic ash cloud of 2010. They used Facebook applications, videos and live replies on Twitter across their customer service, marketing, PR and operations teams. The 24/7 support under pressure taught KLM and all the onlookers how to break down the barriers and work together rather than keeping everything centralized.

In 2010 they only had two social media team members and a Facebook page. Fast forward to today and they have more than a million fans and 50 dedicated team members. KLM has continued to teach the world what a social company looks like.

So what’s next? Now they’re branching out even further, beyond all their business channels, creating the “Must See Map” – a digital app that was built on the belief that recommendations from friends are more personal and impactful. Rather than having someone tell you what you should see on your next trip, this app builds a customized experience based on your network and interests – your own personal guide to whichever city you’re traveling too. This is just yet another example of how integrating the entire customer experience can achieve big results.

Scaling

While one or two individuals can get things going, how does a brand take those efforts and roll it out brand-wide?

Best Buy takes the cake here. They’ve frosted (oops, we do love cake – we meant fostered) a social culture among their 180,000 employees, encouraging them to use social tools and in-house resources to share their personal passions and experiences. Most importantly, they’ve found a way to scale beyond just a small social media team into a company-wide army that interacts, shares and assists customers and the brand itself.

How successful are they? Well, “Twelpforce” – their social customer service channel – gets hundreds of tweets per day and has said to have reduced complaints by 20%. But, it goes beyond just their large social media team. The social culture they’ve created has boosted morale – many retail staff are proud of the service they offer and will actually join in on their off hours, tweeting from their personal accounts, to help the Twelpforce out.

Crisis Management

Brands need to be prepared to deal with irate customers and complaints. Unfortunately, customers are more inclined to be more vocal about negative experiences. But you need to find a way to use social media to mitigate those negative posts and capitalize on the opportunity they present – remember, it’s not the end of the world.

Just like our first example of The Four Seasons, the main thing to remember is not to freak out – resist the knee-jerk reaction to hit delete, scream for help or pull your hair out (you’d be bald in the world of social media). While we never want to experience it, negativity will be there, but it’s an opportunity, not a source of stress. When replying to a complaint, it comes down to striking the right tone, showing true empathy, and keeping in mind that it doesn’t mean you have to let go of defending your brand.

Starting a conversation that is genuine, detailed, true and timely – regardless of the issue – tends to resolve the problem and strengthen the customer experience.

Final Thoughts

Integration, scale and crisis management are the three pillars to success on social media when it comes to a brand’s reputation and customer service. Here’s a little homework for you – a way to kick start your social strategy and get it moving in the right direction:

1. Map out the typical experience your audience or customer goes through when they engage with your brand. Does it bounce off eight people, get slid into a specific channel queue, need three approvals and then end up getting a form-letter type response? Once you’ve mapped out the process, you’ll be able to find ways to turn the experience from one that resembles a pinball machine into one that is seamless and simple.

2. Creative a social-centric culture across the entire company – an undertaking that will be simple now that you’ve integrated it. Don’t fall into the trap of making social media the sole responsibility of that one community manager. Encourage others to engage with customers through their own channels. We’ve found that setting up some sort of incentive will help get the ball rolling.

3. Develop a crisis response plan that becomes second nature to everyone. Instead of reacting when it happens, be prepared well ahead of time. Go through some scenarios and – while it’s not always black and white – have a process in place that walks your social media team from the first point of contact all the way through the engagement. Most importantly, find a way to share that experience at the end – both internally and externally. This will boost morale and pad your brand’s reputation.