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As we approach “FRANkademy Retail and Social Business”  this Friday I thought I’d whet the appetite with some observational snippets.

Australia remains emerged in a culture of austerity, caution and uncertainty. This is reflected in part by:

• Australians have increased their savings rate, since the economic turndown in 2008/09, to 10.5% (the highest rate since 1984).
• Consumers are becoming used to price reductions and expect to purchase items on sale, increasingly fuelled by group buying sites.
• A high Australian dollar is a double edged sword for Australian retailers – cheaper for retailers procuring goods from overseas but also cheaper for Australian customers to purchase goods from international online stores.
• Australians are prioritising reducing their debt.

(source: PwC 2011 “Australian & NZ online shopping market insights”)

Some of the  issues we shall cover include:

ONLINE SHOPPING; before we all freak out about creating tundra-like conditions at shopping centres let us not forget that of the $216 billion spent annually only 11 billion comprises online, less than 5%! (source: NAB Study).

GROUP BUYING SITES’ business model is that discounts are loss leaders and loss leaders only work in the context that consumers spend—or return and spend—above the loss leader. The reality is that many retailers don’t see repeat customers from online promotions. Group buying are on the wane, likely to become smaller as they serve a particular group of attractions and specialty services.

CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS have forged ahead as the retail category resolutely has resisted the cost of understanding and innovation. Retailers need to stop second guessing the customer and begin to listen & learn.The shift from an under resourced, under paid & under informed service offering towards a seamless integrated experience needs to happen. Last month’s CMO Survey indicated that consumers priorities have shifted from low price (-32%) to service (+56%)

TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES do not make for an overall retail strategy meeting the needs of a community. Just because it’s technologically possible doesn’t mean people want it.

BRICKS & MORTAR RETAIL are in a position of strength and can leverage their advantage to fulfill peoples basic needs; to participate in a communal experience of sharing, hearing gossip, escaping from daily life, haggling for a bargain and to feel a sense of community. Part of this dynamic is being recognised and feeling appreciated, enter Shopkick, which introduces real-world incentives to recognise and encourage checking in.

Here’s 4 things to know about Shopkick:

1. It rewards customers for walking into selected stores & in-store behaviour
2. It generated $110 million in-store revenue for partner retailers and brands in 2011 (source: TechCrunch)
3. Conversion rates of walk-ins to sales can be measured directly by counting specific shopkick offers in the basket at retailers, by rewards for purchases through POS integrations, and conversion rates of product scans to product sales can be measured through in-app questionnaires and POS integrations. (source: Founder, Cyriac Roeding)
4. Whereas 80% of Foursquare users are male with 70% aged 19-35 the Shopkick profile is 55% female with 49% aged 25-39 and 13% aged 40+

Here’s a slightly cheesy video from their site 

We’re looking forward to a lively session and hope to see you there!

I’ve just started to read Brian Solis’ book “The End of Business as Usual.”

Lots to get through but what strikes me in the early stages are the variety of bite sized foundation-comments which underpin the necessary approach to a fruitful social business strategy.

Before I delve into some paraphrases here’s a quote which stands the test of time……guess who said it? (answer at the end of this post)

“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him.

He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it.

He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it.

We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.”

To me this is at the very core of the revised attitude most companies need to adopt. They may have paid lip-service to this over the last century but today and in the future this attitude has to prevail, there is nowhere to hide anymore. The challenge for more established organisations will be the sediment of a long held internal culture. It will take years for many organisations to make the necessary shift towards an open and collaborative platform BUT it’s a shift that has to happen.

By way of offering some enlightenment here are 4 paraphrases and my narratives from Brian’s book:

1. “The change in social media is happening so fast it is impossible to be an expert. We’re all just students, literally learning something new every day”

No one has the keys to the digital castle and some of us are more informed at-the- moment. At best we are navigators of the opportunities before us. Avoid know-it-all smugness, accept that no questions are stupid and be generous with sharing insights.

2. “The good thing about social media is it gives everyone a voice. The bad thing is …..it gives everyone a voice.”

This taps into the common fear that many organisations have; losing control. Too late you’ve lost control. Do not fear. A successful social business strategy (external) needs to be coupled with being a social business (internal) and that entails, in part, having policies, processes and guidelines which can manage negative reactions or controversy. Knowing yourself as a company and understanding your customers’ desires often negates disruptive feedback, minimising risk.

3. “The true character of any business is revealed in the collective experiences of its customers. It’s about what people say when you’re not around.”

As people continually connect with one another vast networks rich with interaction abound. It’s not brands with ‘clever messaging,’ attractive tool-based promotions or creative activations that control this space, its people; you and me.

4. “Businesses that aspire to a higher purpose will outperform businesses that focus on the bottom line.”

 

This graphic says it all. Give people a common interest, add value to their lives and give them a reason to share experiences. Another challenge for most organisations is that they are socially inept, never having the need or desire to ‘give’ rather than ‘take.’

 

I’ll follow up with more observations from Brian’s book as I work through it.

The fabulous quote came from Mahatma Gandhi!

Yesterday I saw and appreciated this crochet wrapped around a tree in Greville Street. More enlightened people than me (thanks Steph) told me this is an example of yarn bombing.

My appreciation came from how the crochet made me re-evaluate an everyday object and reinforced a sense of an active local community in Greville Street.

Also yesterday the local council had a conniption and decided to ban all chalk street stencils plus threaten to fine shop/restaurant owners if they seek to beautify or ‘engage’ passersby. Reported

 in the Stonnington Leader  check out the comments. I think they are mildly disturbing….could they come from council  spokespeople?

That any attempt by a local community, such as Greville Street, which has built a draw-card reputation for being irreverent and eclectic should be penalised for the very reason that has attracted visitors and shoppers for years seems nonsensical.

As businesses increasingly strive to differentiate themselves and become more ‘social’ it occurs to me that local councils have a front foot responsibility to sensitively manage the very essence of neighbourhood communities. Stonnington Council might consider this.

One of the key challenges for businesses in becoming more social is that they are more often than not socially inept. This stems from never having the need to engage, add value, differentiate or just be different. As high street retail continues to be challenged so the need to give people a reason to get out and about to seek originality becomes more vital

One of the ‘neighbourhoods’ on the newly launched Chapel Street site is “Greville Village.” Part of the description says

Greville Village is returning to its heyday; truly coming alive during the golden hours of the afternoon. That’s not to say that a refreshing cider or glass of vino isn’t close at hand when the sun goes down. Though intimate in size, the area will see you effortlessly whiling away the hours. Amid a tight-knit hub of boutiques, cafes and bars is a place to wander.

“Returning to its heyday” is possibly ambitious as the Station Hotel soon closes to become more essential units and of course the lifeblood of individualism potentially attracts a fine.

Once upon a time Greville Street even had a Sunday market.

By the way the yarn bomb has yet to be fined.  Check out this guy out too. He plants pot plants in pot holes.

I wonder how the council would cope if random acts of character were to appear?

Back in early January we talked about the paranoia of brands and their need to be “liked.” Again thankyou to Mark Smiciklas for his graphics and inspiration.

This graphic has been updated to emphasis the process and end game of getting social business strategy right.

Let’s begin with the end game…. which is positive consumer advocacy, the nirvana of all marketing and advertising activity. I think/hope, increasingly, that brands are becoming wary of ‘likes’ for the sake of ‘likes’ but are ill equipped to shift to the end game.

I recently joined a workshop of Marketing Directors to discuss just these issues.  To varying degrees they’d tried tool-based solutions to little success (of course), chased ‘likes’ or remained sceptical about the need for any social play. The overwhelming sentiment, however, was “where do we begin?”

The pathway to getting it right is easy to navigate and at the end there lies fruitful social business solutions.

Step 1. Listen & Learn.

Invest in a better understanding of how your brand can add value/contribute to your customers’ lives (applies to B2C and B2B). What kid of content would be compelling? Don’t guess, don’t presume. Take the time.

Step 2. Publish & Participate.

Begin the dialogue with relevant (customer-desired) content and be prepared to participate as opposed to just broadcast. Don’t use the new tools in the old ways. Ensure you’re a social business not just a business having a go at social.

Step 3. Identify.

Become aware of your most active social fans. We use tweetdeck, some use hootsuite, both are free. We also subscribe to Radian 6 for more advanced analyses.

Step 4. Activate.

Don’t be shy. Begin to build  relationships.  Don’t just wait for them to come to you.

Steps 5&6. Nurture & Empower.

Make the relationship special. Offer rewards/incentives as you better understand what makes them tick and how your brand fits within their lives. This can be in the form of discounts, new product sampling, events etc. If they value the relationship, that you share, then in turn they will talk about you in positive terms and you can begin to build a high-business value set of customer advocates.

I appreciate its not always as simple as Steps 1-6 as there are often numerous hurdles to overcome internally at many companies, such as siloed departments, restricted information flow, vested interests and the need to demonstrate short term gratification. However these steps are full proof and will take you to the end game.

What’s stopping you??

 

 

 

 

Whilst awaiting my coffee at the ever so convenient St. Edmonds just across the road I scanned the business section from The Age. The article was about mining billionaires….blah blah…but the bit that caught my eye was the opening paragraph ” In the nineties and the noughties global banking and finance set the tone with an attitudethat could be summed up as ‘we’re here for a good time, not a long time.’ Get in, get out, get the bonus, let someone else clean up.”

It occured to me that the ‘let someone else clean up attitude’ has been highly prevalent in marketing for too long as well. Short term thinking generally underpins short term returns (ROI) in the quest to impress. We all know some perpetrators. This attitude has certainly been one of the barriers to brands embracing a social business strategy and realising its no longer an option.

There is a step-change afoot as marketing/advertising/communication becomes less about quick and repetitive appeal in favour of personalised experiences and long term relationships. A true social strategy is more of a attitude than a campaign and the shift for marketers needs to change from decades of “acting then measuring” to “listening and responding.”

Traditional media has a key role to play within a successful social strategy but we must ensure that the new tools are not used in the old ‘push’ ways. After all the tools will come and go and the danger of navigating these waters like the titanic is very real.

For us it’s not so much about working with great brands, it’s about working with great marketers, because then anything is possible.

I sense that the tipping point is coming as people realise that the same old thinking is working decreasingly well. Onwards to the future and the longer term.

Does anyone notice the beginning of a longer term attitude coming from marketers?

 

About 18-months ago we commented on T-shaped people which we’d noticed thanks to BBH Labs.

Well now we’re looking to recruit some T-people.

Who are they? Well back in November we remarked on the emergence of the Earned Media Director (EMD) and this post provides some insight plus the following three slides will give you a better idea. So if you think you could be T-shaped please contact us and we’ll go from there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The thinking here is that to generate true return on investment then an external social media strategy needs to be coupled with an internally sound social business. Here’s a chart we’ve amended from one of David Armarno’s excellent posts &  graphics.

If I can draw your eye to 12 o’clock…this is the external aspect of social. As we know lots of brands have not even got this right with many companies making the classic mistake of jumping onto a tool BEFORE putting any thought into the thinking or design that goes into effective monitoring and response. If we can put that sin to one side, for the moment, then the red stepping stones represent some key initiatives for a successful external programme.

It begins with the understanding that any initiative is dependant upon people. What resources do you have to listen, learn and manage? From appointing a Community Manager you can begin to develop a social media marketing platform and accept that the knock on effect of “social” goes way beyond just marketing, with customer service, amongst others, likely to benefit.

Identify your influencers and better understand what might drive them to care about your company. Begin to build events and campaigns which make you less reliant on increasingly expensive interruption/paid-for media. Generate your own content and develop a brand content plan at least 3-6 month out.

The net result is that you’ll be rewarding and engaging with customers in a way that will generate positive advocacy, the nirvana of all marketing.

So far so good but if you’re not acting like a social business internally (@ 6 o’clock) then ROI will continue to be elusive.

If your organization has spent money on tools or even people but haven’t figured out how to effectively communicate (internally), it’s a wasted investment. A process must be designed which connects multiple stakeholders together who can quickly get information and perhaps more importantly be able to connect with others on intepreting what it means.

 

Firstly your social strategy must be linked to your business metrics. What’s important to your business?

ROI can only come about if you link social’s performance to true metrics, not as a bolt on.

Value is predicated on willingness to connect SM to organisational objectives.

Without objectives and analysis, value is assumptive at best.

Knowledge then needs to be quickly shared in an open and collaborative manner….NOT in a silo based ‘need to know’ culture.

This is vital and can be a challenge for larger more culturally entrenched companies. Working towards a flat structure will entail policies and guidelines to adhere to as more employees become engaged with the socialisation of the business. Training and process then become part of the culture. The above chart is a demonstration of the kind of process that you can tailor to your company’s culture. Take this as a guide rather than  absolutely follow it. Again thank you to Mr Armano.

Everything stems from conversations between your community and your community manager(s)…is it positive?, negative? or neutral?….so you listen, assess, engage and repeat the process.

Not too many companies are acting as social businesses let alone investing in a true social media strategy, so first mover advantage is there to be seized. There are not too many case histories out there because social strategy is still emerging but zappos can be held up as a good example of what can be.

At what stage is your company? Are you striving for balance internally and externally?

I particularly like this analogy, again thank you to  Mark Smicklas.

It’s a chart I use to illustrate the importance of implementing a social business strategy.

The shift to come is moving from a focus on external media consumption to the internalisation and business integration of what it means to become social. External media will always play a role, but it will become the tip of the iceberg.

On one hand, the public desires authentic interactions with brands, in social spaces, from real people with an expectation for real-time response. (Social Brands)

On the other, a business will require an internal, open and collaborative system to be in place that coordinates activities beyond just marketing. (Social Businesses)

Challenges

This opportunity for brands to more readily converse with their customers is all well and good but the challenge for brands, as with any relationship worth having, is to add value and be interesting….not just talk about themselves.

In the desire to be of the moment some brands have started using tools such as Facebook or twitter but without much consideration as to how. (or whether they’re ready or have the resources to use the tools effectively). This is like going into the garden shed and grabbing a hammer and a spade and then trying to paint a wall.

Many of the social tools are fabulous but only when there is an underlying strategy behind their use….a Social Business Strategy. The tools will come and go. But social business as a powerful and effective communications channel is here to stay.

 

Interestingly we find the biggest roadblock to social innovation is very often that of return on investment or “Social ROI”

The irony with this is that most social plays begin with the tools rather than an underlying strategy based upon customer insights….so it’s no wonder that Social ROI is tough to measure in the absence of clear objectives.

Two other key roadblocks are 1. siloed organisations with, by definition, limited information flow coupled with 2. the inability to recognise the resource necessary to manage a social programme.

What we’re starting to see is that brands who initially grabbed at the hero tools are wondering why their social media play isn’t working as well as expected. The thing is that getting it right in social is not fast, cheap or easy.

So dont navigate these waters like the Titanic or you will surely flounder.

Do you recognise any brands which are Titanic-esq?