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Brands and Social Media: 7 strategic criteria to invest in it

Customers hunger conversation, but they are not equal when it comes to online expression, as companies and brands to face conversations that enrich each day Internet. The trademarks, uninformed or have little awareness of the strategic, oscillate between contempt, awkwardness and mastery of social networks. The period we are living is comparable to what we experienced in the years 1999-2001: the time it was claimed he had an urgent "make a website" . Today, it "must be on social networks " and excuses are many. Providers and other wizards of social marketing will tell you about the tools or" marketing moves "before you talk about strategy and customer needs.

While Social Media is revolutionizing the relationship between brands and consumers in this age New Customer Relationship , I wondered what criteria was a brand new investing these channels.
I found 7 criteria, and if Napoleon illustrates my ticket it is to illustrate my point of view is that this decision falls within the strategy and deserves some thought.

1. culture. Prime important topic: the culture of the company. It is easier for a company born in the last ten years (as Zappos ) and operating primarily online to practice their conversation with customers, being open to dialogue and exchange with its customers, for older firms such as BNP Paribas or SNCF made of bricks and mortar. Similarly all brands have the same natural orientation, and the average age of management which could hamper the transition to a presence on social media. There is a generation managers who learned to manage-often successfully-without exchanging with the end customer. Remember the episode of the client who bends Marks and Spencer on Facebook and imagine if the President of the time-close to retirement age, had been sensitive to online networks. I would add that if I took the examples of the SNCF and BNP Paribas, it is precisely because these two brands make real efforts to change their culture: the space station with his dialogue and his community management BNP Paribas with its Service account on Twitter.
2. positioning. can be very strong in customer marketing and little sensible aux médias sociaux : c'est un choix. Prenons l'exemple d'Apple qui pour moi a le sens du client dans sa façon de créer ses produits, de les rendre plus familiers, plus simples et meilleurs. Pour autant, Apple n'est pas très présent sur les médias sociaux et Ping, son propre réseau social est une initiative destinée à être le "lieu de la conversation" vs un effort pour dialoguer avec ses clients. DELL aurait bien gardé sa posture de grande marque distante jusqu'à ce qu'une poignée d'internautes ne les pousse à faire participer le client dans la co-création (cf mon billet ). Coca Cola, marque emblématique, a fait très tôt des choix strategic success with social media (see this eloquent presentation ), while many brands are rushed into the arena without having calculated. The imperative of transparency required in the Internet requires brands to rethink their position precisely and assert their position, whatever it is.
3. Awareness. For a brand known to the general public, there is a kind of evidence to provide a presence on social media. Investments in communication, the exposure of the brand recognition is the result, spark conversations. Like it or not in this case, to quote the Clue Train Manifesto , it is the subject of conversation. This is true of luxury brands that make them talk. However, they must enter the conversation, should they adopt Web 2.0 tools? Their image can it cope with an environment they can not speak? Chanel does not n''importe any retailer to sell it through a strict charter (see the news at Marionnaud this week and the withdrawal of products), why would it presents online to chat? The vast consumption, meanwhile, discovers the face of its customers and their need for recognition. Eg Nutella and Ferrero group brands were $ 22 million fans on Facebook, the soft drink Oasis is beyond the 1.5 million fans.
4. The volume of customers. Internet has become a mass medium, the volume of customers of a mark may require him to take an interest in social media because its customers are already there and social media are an exceptional opportunity for enhanced contact between them (the crowd sourcing), even before the company enters the conversation. The challenge for these brands will be to manage their presence (And reputation) on the planet, while 20 million people declare themselves each day as "fans" of a page on Facebook (DDB study) and certainly just as consumers write reviews. The large volume of customers is an essential criterion and that dimension precipitates brands that previously have no contact with their customers. On the other hand, it is easier to run overnight in Web 2.0 when you have few customers and an organization agile enough to cope ...
5. The frequency of contact. Needless to say it is an essential difference between the RATP and the cuisines Mobalpa between the MAFF and Nokia. Exposure to the brand, frequency of contact between a customer and its supplier are important criteria that promote attachment and fuel the conversation. With daily use of a product or service, the customer always has more topics, more questions about the brand. The customer wants more easily extend their online experience, share with other clients and simply improve their everyday lives. What's better than social media in their most useful to the client to strengthen the relationship and improve customer service? We think so to blogs, wiki and forums for dialogue. watch the episode Site recent "incidents-RATP " where users help each other at the initiative of a person and can just threaten the RATP. Would it not take teaming up with the creator of this site rather than oppose it?
6. experience level. The client invests in its relations with different brands. The first reason is the level of experience, immersion, connection. The monthly budget for electricity is equal to that of subscribing to a mobile operator, but experience of an operator is stronger and pushes the client has to want to converse with a brand, look for solutions online, enriching experience. There is a world between EDF and Orange, as between a carmaker and brand lift. By living the customer experience is rich and intense increases the probability of trying to get closer to the mark.
7. intensity client relationship. This criterion re vital could also be classified as affinity with the brand advertising at an angle. This intensity, this proximity between a brand and its customers is the basis for the creation of any community. To quote a friend of my shortcut comical Pierre Volle, with whom I exchanged on these criteria: "there is a difference between Harley Davidson and Harpic toilet" . And yet, these are two manufactured products that, on paper, nothing different. All products do not lend themselves to conversation, to dialogue with the client, have no sharp protrusions to social media. This intensity can not be decreed, it is the result of an original positioning of the brand, a strategic choice oldest. Take the example of the logo change GAP that ignites the canvas and rushed the U.S. banner in turmoil and conversation. Conclusion: GAP has underestimated its potential "talkabilité" (ability to speak of themselves) and would have to involve its customers in upstream . Has anyone bothered of new-and low-logo Intermarché Musketeers? To take the example of Harley Davidson, one could say that the brand is so strong in the minds of its customers, the communities are so strong and natural (the famous chapters) that the web is an accessory and social media a natural extension. Intermarket, which is not known for the intensity of its customer relations, has shrewdly created a Facebook group about babies and met a great success. A good way to invest social media.

These strategic criteria finally make me think of those that applied in the 70 to 90 and the thoughts I shared with my mentor Jean-Louis Ferry about clubs in direct marketing. To make a club customers, it needed a product or service that lends itself, established a direct relationship with its customers, an ability to thrive in a market, means to host and manage data (which gave an advantage to airlines and mail order) but above all the willingness to maintain a relationship with its customers.
Today, the Internet, it became easier to bring its customers the tools of dialogue are 100 times more powerful, customers expressed already all over the web and not waiting after the mark to meet. But the same policy questions remain. Do I desire or need to have a relationship with my clients? About what? My brand is legitimate? My management is willing to let the customer in the company? Am I able to sustain the effort over time? What benefit will I learn? Am I willing to change my organization to invest social media?

These reflections are based on two lectures given recently, one in UDA, the other AMARC , and a counter next bloggers and I am pleased to share it.

ticket written by Thierry Spencer's sense of client, the blog of professional customer marketing and customer relationship .

Customer Marketing - Customer focus - CRM - Insight