I can't decide whether I like this tactic, or whether it's going down the right path.
I am often asked by prospective clients, “Why should social media matter?” to their business or nonprofit. My answer is always the same: "By tapping into the social networks increasingly used by your buying audience, donor base or community, you are better able to plug into their lives and directly engage and interact with them — ensuring your products, services or worthy mission remains visible and relevant to their needs or self-interests."
Knowing where to find your customers, donors, volunteers or constituents would give you a tremendous leg up on improving your bottom line. So, if you want to increase your reach, elevate brand awareness, engage and interact with your buying audience, or — raise awareness, attract volunteers, cultivate new donors, or strengthen relationships with the donors you have — you must join their conversations taking place online, right now! If the above is not convincing enough, consider the following findings recently published in: FEED: The Razorfish Digital Brand Experience Report, 2009:
Social networks are being used to bring in more dollars online, allowing nonprofits to reach beyond static websites to hold conversations between volunteers, community and donors:
Need a final nudge to take seriously, the significant impact a well-planned and executed social media program can have on your business or nonprofit?
So, if you’re still asking, “Why social media?”, then maybe you should drop back five yards and punt.
From my "deeper thinking" blog, a post on how to execute a good market segmentation project. You must be careful to make sure segmentation is based on values and behaviors, not on characteristics. If based on characteristics, then it is simply "classification", which is not as useful for devising effective positioning strategies.
(found via @DDB_Budapest)
What's new in this is not the kind of strategy McDonalds is promoting - it's a bit too generic for my taste and could be applied to lots of other companies as well. But I think sharing their insights proves that McDonalds has understood more than others what social media is about.
Are there certain rules that are preventing you from pleasing customers? Get rid of them by:
1. Think "grow," not status quo. "Stupid systems protect themselves. In seeing their role as that of protectors of the system, most managers do what's comfortable and familiar, rather than doing what needs to be done," observes Little. As a relatively new boss, you have the opportunity to set new goals - higher sales, fewer complaints - and urge people to reach for them. So do it.
2. Put purpose before profit. There's a paradox here, which is that the only way to get higher profits is to stop making them the main focus. "What gets you and your people out of bed in the morning?" asks Little. "It's not the money. Without employees who truly understand why their organization exists, there can be no growth. The purpose of any organization is to identify and serve the relevant needs of those it serves." Come up with a succinct statement of what your purpose is, and keep repeating it until everyone gets it. Says Little, "Invariably, purpose precedes profits."
3. Make customers king (or queen). Little doesn't claim to know any one magic bullet, single policy, or simple rule for improving customer service. He does believe that individual employees know what works best, if you just let them do it. Says he, "If you engage the organization, and remove the self-imposed stupid systems, milkshake moments become routine."
