Page 230 - Social Media Marketing

c h a p t e r 8 : ╇ E ngagement on the S ocial W eb╇ ■and you are still responsible for its performance as measured by some combination of
customers, shareholders, management, and colleagues. The Social Web doesn’t change
this per se—what it changes is the way in which your customers expect to be able to
participate in—to engage with—your business.

What the Social Web really does—and the reason that traditional measures or
views of things like engagement are shifting—is driven not by the necessity to cede
control fully to customers but to involve them meaningfully in the processes that pro-
duce and deliver the products and services that they buy from your firm. So, when a
customer says “jump,” you should ask “why?” and then listen to the answer and evalu-
ate it jointly with that customer in the context of the your business objectives.

This realization shapes the firm or organization’s response to ideation, support,
and similar social engagement applications. Suppose, for example, that customers were
to ask for something that you could not legally or responsibly do. Consider for example
regulated businesses—airlines, pharmaceutical firms, and banking and investment
firms to name but a few—and the sometimes less-than-clear processes that govern
208 these businesses. As product manager or marketing director, you are bound by regula-
tions that may be at odds with what customers are requesting. Suppose it was your
business and that your customer was making the request: What would you do?

In respect to the customer’s participation, you’ve got to do something or you risk
alienating (to put it nicely) your audience. In a case like this, the only viable response—
which by default makes it the best response—is to clearly explain why this particular
request can’t be entertained and to offer instead an alternative if one is available. When
customers have the information they need to understand why something is happening
(or can’t happen) they generally end up supporting you. This is where the combina-
tion of participation and transparency can really pay off. Honest, open conversation
includes “We’re not allowed to do that by law” or “Our company has made a strategic
and top secret call.” This kind of frank honesty—sometimes the answer is “No” or
“We can’t talk about it”—is especially applicable in regulated industries where social
media and the adoption of social technology is nevertheless expected by customers and
stakeholders. Importantly, your practice of consistently open, forthright participation
on each and every interaction is essential in building trust: Trust happens not on the
first interaction, but on the second, fifth, or hundredth interaction. Building a relation-
ship is done by working at it over time.

As an example of the difference that the right information shared at the right
time can make, consider the following: I was on a flight heading for Cleveland one eve-
ning, and as we approached the airport, we began circling. If you’ve flown more than
once you know that planes fly relatively direct routes between cities, and so circling
generally means only one thing: you are being delayed. Tensions on the plane started
rising as we circled for 5 minutes, then 10, then 15.