Are you thinking about becoming a social business? You should be!

Five years ago when I first investigated “social”, my choice of monikers for this phenomenon was limited to either “social media” or “web 2.0”. Neither made any sense to me. They still don’t. My biggest quandary was just how would I be able to adapt these terms within any application which would be business-centric? I decided to call it “business social media”. That term didn’t catch on but, “social business” has. How it is defined depends entirely on who you talk to and even then these definitions will range from “businesses who support social causes” to companies who will deploy these new concepts in a variety of fashions.

Here’s my definition:

“A social business integrates social media tools and strategies, internally and externally, with the goal of enhancing the customer experience, and exceeding customer expectations, in a seamless fashion regardless of channels. It leverages these technologies to become more effective in those key areas that it already focuses on in real life.”

Perhaps this should read … “Should already be focused on in real life.” One very important element to always remember about “social” is that it does not make you into something that you are not. It only magnifies that which you already are thus becoming the proverbial “two-edged sword” that cuts both ways. In other words, you had best have your current house in order prior to even thinking about integrating social. Business has always been social. We continue to operate by the same proven rules only now we do it with shiny new tools.

In this article we will focus on three areas of discussion: challenges in implementing a social business strategy; steps to its incorporation internally within our organization; and finally taking our initiatives externally to both our existing and potential customers.

The Challenges: Who does this program belong to? For that matter, does it belong to anybody? Who needs to be involved? Who is going to take this ball and run with it? How can we coordinate our efforts between our team members, different departments, and vendors while still providing a seamless and cohesive service solution to our customers? Do we have the budget needed to implement this? Are we willing to change? How will we measure our results? Who will monitor and respond to customer engagements and how will these conversations be shared to other internal parties so that we can provide a consistent message?

This isn’t just about the age-old battle between sales and marketing. Everybody’s in: customer service, tech support, purchasing and fulfillment, manufacturing, research and development, delivery and installation, accounting, and even C level executives. Each must play their part. You will be creating both internal and external communities with visitation passes being issued to members of each. It is very clear to me, and this is easier to talk about than it is to implement, that there must be a central database that is accessible by all parties involved.

Internal Strategies: Quick! Who is your most valuable customer? It’s your fellow employee as, if you can’t and don’t serve each other first, there is no way that you will be able to come even close to optimizing the company experience for your customer. This is a simple fact. Stop fighting over who owns what, and who does what, and instead choose to collaborate to ensure customer satisfaction. If for one minute you think that what goes on behind the scenes, or behind closed doors, is not something that is totally visible to your client, or that they don’t really care as long as they get their stuff, you are sorely mistaken. When it comes to your customer, not only does the left hand need to know what the right hand is doing, you need to be able to demonstrate these skills to your client and do that consistently and continuously. Finally, your employees should be your best brand ambassadors! You must adopt policies that will encourage shared ownership.

Taking it outside: Let’s start with…

Who do people buy from? They buy from those they know, they like, and that they trust. Social business allows you to accomplish all three in ways never before possible.
Recognize that how people buy has changed. They do their research on the internet, ask their friends for recommendations, and their expectations in regard to the speed and methods of your response to their questions and concerns have increased dramatically.
Your customer does not want to be pitched. They expect to be attracted to you (not attacked by you) and then have the ability to initiate engagement with you and your company by way of conversation.

Looking at all three…

How do you create a relationship with your customer that meets the three criteria (know, like, trust)? You do this by listening first, providing value second, and by engaging with them third. Together these form the basis for a relationship. Business has always been built on relationships as has selling.

How have buying habits changed? If your customers are talking via social to each other and/or are trying to reach you, what happens if you are not even there listening? I suppose nothing (like a tree falling in the woods, it makes no sound unless someone is there to hear it). However, you want to create something and the only way to that is to be listening when “something” presents itself.

What do you mean by “attraction”? Traditional marketing is based on interruption. Ads on TV and the radio are good examples. Now our customers can not only turn you off or change channels, they can avoid your message altogether if they wish and many are doing just that. Social business is about attracting potential customers to you, your company, and your product. Even better, those you have attracted have, at least on some level, opted into your message. They simply would not be at your site or engaging with you if they had no interest in what you had to say/offer. By providing value, by being helpful, you create opportunities for engagement which, in turn, creates opportunities to do business.

There are tools available to help you! There are a ton of great applications available for every category, every business size, and every budget. What follows are but a few. For internal communication, you might take a look at Yammer and Chatter (Salesforce). Social monitoring can be done quite simply by using applications like HootSuite or SproutSocial all the way up to enterprise programs like Salesforce Marketing Cloud (formerly Radian6). CRM’s are also becoming social and in many cases include a social dashboard as well as internal collaboration. These would include Salesforce, Nimble, and IBM. Customer service also gets into the act. Take a look at Desk.com (Salesforce) or Conversocial.

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.

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Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services

Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!