These find their place via social media to express complaints, fears or questions, and in doing so they address producers directly, instead of general practitioners. While in many cases a producer can do little – it concerns an incorrect prescription prescribed by the general practitioner, a combination of medication that should not be allowed – it is the producer who is now being addressed and forced to enter into such conversations. What is fascinating is that these are organisations that are not (initially) organised for this, but still have to deal with it. Diageo (producer of vodka, rum and all kinds of other drinks) even has an internal policy that prohibits reading what young people under the age of 18 tweet or Facebook about their own brand.
Social amplification
Another good example of forced change towards a more open business, bit by bit, is Greenpeace . One of Greenpeace's employees talked about the campaigns where Nestle and Barbie were forced to their knees. Where there was talk about using social media to strengthen and broaden public opinion – social amplification – I wondered whether it was really about finding broader support or creating more noise. It did not seem to be so much about increasing opinion as about increasing the effect. In any case, it was clear that Nestle was not organised for the new relationship with consumers; a relationship in which consumers have a voice and will make this heard on the corporate pages on Facebook and Twitter. Nestle reacted shamefully by first deleting negative comments and when that did not work, by responding in a negative tone. It soon became clear that this caused even more bad blood with Greenpeace and consumers. A good example of the large bridge that organisations still have to build in the new relationship with consumers as partners. Most organisations are not yet prepared for this and especially not yet organised for it.
New role
This new relationship in which differences between organization and consumer are seemingly straightened out requires a recalibration of the role that organizations ascribe to themselves. Health is an industry in America where 54 million customers connect online and share content with each other about all kinds of health-related matters. 84% of these people use this content to inform themselves. That is an exceptionally high and almost scary percentage. Do you, as a producer, take responsibility for providing these people with the right content, and where do you draw the line? Do you simply provide information about product properties and side effects or do you treat each consumer individually?
The current state of affairs is that many organizations start listening and participating in conversations in closed communities in order to maintain control. Axa sees the importance of listening because it not only helps to signal the wishes of (potential) customers (there was a demand for pet insurance), but especially because it offers a finger on the pulse for macro developments. The developments in the field of climate improvement or the credit crisis are of great importance to insurance companies and social media offer an excellent channel to feel what is happening.
The big difference is therefore in good preparation. Where there is fear of receiving feedback, criticism, or even participation, the crux is good preparation. When you organize for receiving and especially recording feedback - let it flow back into the organization - you actually have the opportunity to have an open house every day. And who doesn't want that? Ask yourself as an organization who in the outside world can help you grow as an organization, and build a relationship with those people.
Piece by piece, step by step
In the smaller workshops, wonderful experiences were shared about how this changing relationship with the consumer seems to force organizations to become more open, but in practice transforms with small steps towards an open business . It appears impossible to involve the community in the entire process of product development. As an organization, you are confronted with dreamers who have wonderful ideas, but who have no idea about the time it takes to develop an idea, or the capacity that this requires. By putting such complex questions to the community, you also create unrealistic expectations in many cases, which large organizations cannot meet because they are stuck with internal deadlines and budget. The size of the organization seems limiting here, but the steps that are being taken are hopeful. It appears perfectly possible, for example, to inventory the most urgent issues that are playing a role in the community, or to let the community make a choice from the five flavors that have already been prepared by the product development team. In this way, the consumer is still involved as a partner, even if only in small steps.
5. Competing on a Global Scale Using Word of Mouth
Key recommendations for sustainable WOM on a global scale:
Be authentic in your messages
Do not assume any identity other than your own
You no longer launch a campaign on social media, the campaign lives 24/7
Small messages work best. Coca Cola and Starbucks messages can be very trivial and yet czech republic phone number list people react very strongly to them
When you send helpdesk messages, please be aware that those messages are also a reason for conversation
People are very willing to give advice to others. Give them the chance, ask questions and connect them. Apple has almost its entire first line of product support in the hands of its consumers
Don't be afraid to not have it completely perfect as long as that is transparent (Facebook is the best example)
Take a close look at your brand's recommenders and support and amplify their message
Finally
The conclusion we take from this exceptionally well-organized conference is that social media have long been indispensable, and that organizations are increasingly integrating social media into all processes. Facebook is unprecedentedly large, with a great commitment to also get the business community involved. Companies that do not yet participate mainly owe this to the fact that they have not yet been able to identify their target group on social media, or because management has not yet been able to develop a strategy for the use of social media that integrates the open relationship with stakeholders/consumers with their own business objectives.
The evolution to open business – first steps
Evolution is the new revolution. Social media are changing the playing field for organizations and consumers and have a far-reaching influence on the classic relationships and relations between organizations and stakeholders as we have always known them. At this conference it also became clear that companies are taking increasingly far-reaching steps to also profit maximally from the new relationships with customers in the way they are organized. For one organization this is no more than listening to what is happening in the market, for other organizations it is involving consumers as a real partner in the continuous development and improvement process.