Thursday, October 24, 2013

For a Digital Age Why Are We Still Using the Telegraph?



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.

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