Entries Tagged 'General' ↓

Business Week’s 2008 Customer Service Champs edition contains a variety of interesting rankings, facts and sidebar articles that underscore the new media challenges faced by those in corporate America today. Although we’ve all heard most of these customer service horror stories before, it’s still good to learn about the progress some brands made from last year to now. The trend for many brands to do more is definitely up from last year.

Unfortunately, Business Week plays the scared tactic card again (like many publications have done in the past) in its Consumer Vigilantes piece - profiling angry out-of-control consumers smashing their products to gain attention and rebates. While there is no question that some companies deserve such wrath and need to listen more closely to their customers, the vast majority of brands have exceptional customer service. If you’re in the business of honest measurement of consumer sentiment about brands like we are, then you know most companies do a pretty good job at taking care of their customers. I doubt we really need to constantly profile out-of-control consumers to gain the attention of most brands today.

Business Week was smart though to balance its coverage with a more realistic view from Jeff Jarvis called “Love the Customers Who Hate You,” that points out how and why customer service is fast becoming the new marketing of this century. Lots of others, like John Bell and Pete Blackshaw also offer their views on the new rankings.

Mike Spataro

Everywhere I go these days it seems like I run into people who are scrambling to fill what appears to be the trendiest new job in corporate America today - head of social media.

Everyone from Harvard to confidential global brands are putting feelers out to find people who can lead their social media programs. It’s going to be interesting to see how things progress as more brands move from measurement to engagement.

In 2007, more dollars started shifting to social media, but the big turning point for many companies is the movement in the form of existing employees or new hires to drive strategies across multiple functional areas within a company. The leading brands in social media understand that corporate integration across the entire organization is crucial to success.

Mike Spataro

Michael Dell’s interview with Shel Israel provides a great glimpse inside his company’s strategic approach to social media – a term you almost feel the Dell CEO doesn’t like when you read between the lines of his interview. It’s easy to see why the tech giant has gone from the poster child for not getting the blogging community to among the best in the world at it in just a few short years.

To Michael Dell, it’s all just an extension of his company’s longstanding policy to listen and learn from its customers and detractors. The only difference is it’s now through this new channel on the Web. Rather than steal Shel’s thunder, its better you hop on over to his site for the full interview. My favorite Dell quote from the piece though is, “We don’t own our reputation, we just own our actions.”

And while Dell continues to get a lion’s share of credit for its social media accomplishments, dozens of other brands are doing just as well operating somewhat under the radar and outside the media spotlight. One of those companies is Disney. Even though its been up and running for several months, very few people have noticed or written about the wildly successful Disney Moms Panel of experts who advise people about visiting Disney Parks and Resorts.

I was fortunate in a previous job to work with the PR machine at Disneyland on several major campaigns. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Disney struggled for years with its Web strategy and wasn’t the first to jump into social media. However, a lot has changed over the past year and the Moms Panel is proof positive that change is underway in the land of Mickey. Yes, Disney hand-picked the moms and trained them, but they exercise no editorial control over responses.

The fact that more than 10,000 people volunteered to be one on the panel tells you how powerful social media can be for Disney in the years ahead. It’s hard to imagine a brand that doesn’t have more to gain - or lose - based on how it addresses the new challenges of communicating with its customers online. Keep in mind, this is a brand that has a history dating back to Walt himself of controlling every single item of what has been published about its global company and image, so getting used to giving up some of that message control is definitely a bit scary. Look for more good things from the folks at Disney this year.

Mike Spataro

I’m a big fan of the Web and new media as there is, but sometimes you have to take your hat off to great television programming, what little of it seems to be left these days. Two programs I would strongly suggest you see or get your hands on copies of are the documentary series Pioneers of Television on PBS, which showcases the greats of variety TV, late night, game shows and sitcoms. What a terrific series regardless of which era you grew up in.

The other is HBO’s Mr. Warmth, the story of comedian Don Rickles, directed by John Landis. You don’t even have to like Don Rickles to like this outstanding documentary. You will die laughing - guaranteed.

Mike Spataro

Over on Seattle 2.0 today, the Seattle Startup Index for January 2008
has been posted. It’s great to see Visible Technologies listed among other top startups in the Seattle area.

Thanks Marcelo for putting this together.

Blake