Category Archives: What’s Going On

June 21, 2012 · 8:32 am

The Social Hot Potato

An interesting read this morning from the folks at Genesys (with a hat tip to Media Post).

1 and a half russet potato with sprouts. Slice...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Genesys conducted a study that surveyed more than 798 senior executives worldwide about customer communication and found that the social and mobile channels are not yet aligned with customer service.  Shocking, I know.  Some key points:

  • Fifty eight percent of C-suite Execs see the CEO as responsible for the social media and mobile channels, but only 28 percent of middle managers agree. The disconnect between top-level and mid-ranking executives might be explained by the novelty factor of social media.
  • When it comes to driving the customer conversation, the marketing department, not customer service or the C-suite, is driving the response to new channels with 44 percent of executives saying the marketing department has dominated the dialogue between company and customer.
  • The report also found that 43 percent of companies only began using social media in the last year and only 11 percent of businesses have been using social media to communicate with customers for three years or more.
  • Customer Service has not been a priority with new communications channels. Only 42 percent of organizations use call centers to communicate with customers and just 6 percent see customer support/service as the main purpose of new communication channels.

A few thoughts.  In larger, more mature companies, the CEO is generally someone my age – well over 50.  One might wonder how familiar your stereotypical CEO is with social channels and what sort of daily (much less hourly) use they make of them.  No wonder the middle managers are a little skeptical.  The implied turf war between marketing, PR, and customer service over who is in charge is no surprise.  Nor is it a shock that companies that appoint a single person, instead of a team, to manage all communications were more successful. Thirty-three percent of executives within companies that have appointed a team to manage social media/mobile channels felt that there was a disconnect between teams that touch these channels. In organizations that had appointed a single individual to manage new channels, just 9 percent perceived the same disconnect.

Social media as a communications channel is a huge disruptor.  Those sorts of hot potatoes aren’t welcomed into most corporate environments.  As the study show, the social round peg isn’t fitting into any of the existing square holes.  The companies that are doing well are the ones that have drilled a round place.

Thoughts?

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June 11, 2012 · 10:26 am

What Boxing And Your Business Have In Common

You might be a fan of the sweet science or you might think it’s barbaric.  In either case, there’s something to be learned from the big fight that took place over the weekend.  I mean the Manny Pacquiao – Timothy Bradley bout that ended with Bradley winning in a split decision.  From the minute the result was announced there have been calls for an investigation.  There is an excellent article summarizing the issues in USA Today which also looks at 9 other bouts that had controversial decisions rendered by the judges.  Of course, the issue isn’t really with the judgement – it’s with the entire system of a judged sport.

Gymnastics, diving, figure skating, freestyle skiing – there’s a pretty long list of sports in which winners are decided not by a clock or a scoreboard but by a human being’s impression.  Boxing is a hybrid – in theory a knockout or other stoppage negates the need for judges at all (although we could argue the referee’s judgement about when someone is incapable of defending themselves plays a role too).  What does any of that have to do with your business?

Think about how often we insert our own judgement in decision-making when we don’t have to.  Which version of an ad is more effective?  Which page design is better?  What packaging will attract more customers?  What types of content increase engagement?  Often we look to the HiPPO involved – the highest paid person’s opinion – when it’s very possible to conduct simple A/B tests or spend a few hours looking at existing data.  We ignore the scoreboard and go to the judges. We’re generally not making art – we’re conducting commerce.  Because of that, what I happen to like is less important than which customer-facing experience yield the best return.

In the digital world, its pretty easy to test, adjust, and re-test ad infinitum.  In the non-digital world, product tests, packing tests, etc. are the norm (I’m often disappointed to find that some great product I’ve found is just a test and disappears).  We all need to abandon our egos and learn to love our data a bit more.  Otherwise, we might end up like Manny – on the wrong end of a bad decision.

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June 6, 2012 · 8:20 am

Where Have You Been?

Miss me?  The screed was silent the last two days.  I did what for some is the unthinkable – I took a break.  For the 18th consecutive year, 11 of my dearest friends and I went away to play golf.  At least, that was the original idea.  It turns out, however, that the trip is more about hanging around with the other guys, laughing, playing cards, eating too much, and generally decompressing than it is playing golf.  All of us are over 50; some are over 60.  Everyone is in a senior position within their business and industry.  Everyone carries a smart phone of some type and most everyone had a laptop along on the trip.  What was interesting was how some of the guys chose to use them and this is the point I’d like to make today.

I often rode in a van (we travel with 4 guys in each van) with a guy who immediately got on the phone to do business as soon as the door to the van shut.  An efficient use of time but it had a couple of negative effects.  Obviously, we had to turn down the music in the car and couldn’t talk very loudly to one another.  More importantly, it was a subtle reminder to those of us who were trying to tune out the “real” world for a couple of days and enjoy the benefits of a vacation – lowered stress, avoiding burnout, etc. that the rest of the world hadn’t taking a break and maybe we shouldn’t be either.

A couple of other guys jumped on their laptops to do business in one suite apart from the rest of the group and it wasn’t a 5 minute mail check – it was an hour or more each day.  Where I drew the line was the guys who were taking business calls on the golf course.  Fortunately, each time they did it there was a $5 fine paid into the group’s pool for tips, etc.

This isn’t a rant against the technology.  Instead, it’s a rant against those of us who can’t take a break.  I like to think of myself as a responsible businessperson but part of being responsible is putting in place a support system to handle stuff when you’re not there (or get sick!) as well as communicating to others that you are taking a break.  The break helps you better serve them, keeps you fresh, often generates news ideas and helps you live longer (there is research!).

Where have I been?  Recharging my batteries.  Thanks for caring!

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