One thing that has struck me the past few years is not how
many companies are unable to keep up with new and emerging communications but
how many just want to apply old methods similar. The fundamental change in information
distribution has changed and some people choose not to see it. The old model of controlled information
distribution, the preacher model, is becoming more and more archaic. Information is now being shared between
stakeholders as well as with them.
You’re being evaluated, measured and judged by a wide number of
audiences.
Still many organizations see the emergence of social media
and its various children is completely changing the dynamic of customer
communications. Now the customer has the
floor and is able to completely bypass the company or shame them into making
changes to improve customer service or simply end an annoying process.
This is being more and more understood within consumer facing
organizations. Once again we are seeing
the savviest innovations coming from startups and companies with niche customer
basis. A particular favorite of mine is
Moxie a beverage with a cult following here in New England. They engage customers, share news and market
events and products. This is a rare
example of a company that has a strong strategy and powerful execution to engage
via social media.
However many companies truly do not appreciate the value of
social media. A study
last year by Aite group unveiled a number of interesting findings regarding
mobile payments and banking but the most compelling to me was the adoption of
mobile by younger demographics and those in emerging markets. In other words, those who you will be doing
more-and-more business with in the future will expect to be approached in a
method you may not be using today.
Still in the halls of most organizations we hear, direct
mail, e-mail, pretty web site and more.
None of these are bad ideas but they remind me of that old restaurant
who never changes their menu and then can’t figure out why they have no
customers. The old lectern approach of
delivering an exact message to your customer based on what you want them to
hear and how you want them to respond is rapidly changing. Yes, it is true, it will never go away but
you’re sending messages via a medium that fewer and fewer people are turning
to.
So what can be done?
Well first is to find out how your customers are learning about their
industry. This is quite easy yet no one
seems to do it. Do they pay attention to
e-mails? Are they visiting the web site?
Heck research firms do this stuff all the time.
Then develop a strategy to evolve your communications to meet the
changing expectations of customers. The
wrong approach is to jump in like a hungry person at a buffet. Communications requires thought and planning
not presumption and shots in the dark.
No company can succeed any more without communications planning and
discipline than can succeed without fiscal and budgetary planning.
