October 7
Is social networks key to improved customer relations and product development?
Employees have long used company intranets to communicate with each other, but the explosion in use of external social network tools such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn has changed the way the tools are used.Instead of just being used for internal communication, they are also now being used externally – as a way of engaging directly with customers, releasing news, marketing products or simply as a way of raising a profile.
Dell – a company that has had its fair share of public relations struggles – is a good example of a company using social networks to its advantage. The company have launched the Direct2Dell blog, opening up a direct line of communication between the company and its customers.
Dell have also opened a public forum for customer ideas. Dell’s IdeaStorm is a site for customers and other people interested to submit technology and business ideas to the firm, with readers able to vote for their favourites. The company says that this can reduce costs associated with product development as well as provide a larger focus group to provide feedback on a development.
Starbucks have launched MyStarbucksIdea
And at the same time present on Twitter @MyStarbucksIdea
SalesForce.com has Idea Exchange and uses it to obtain ideas and allow customers to interact with other customers’ ideas:
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I’d argue that Facebook, Twitter etc in fact have worked their way *in* to the enterprise as opposed to be being used internally and now for customer interaction…
Many famous examples of consumers being quicker to use social tools positively for the enterprise before the enterprise made a move.. E.g. Coca Cola fan page having 1+ millions fans yet is not run by Coca Cola and so they didn’t need to do their own “official” one
Social media is an additional channel in the same way email became one when that came out…
It’s worth noting the Dell and Starbucks examples you give are based on the Ideas product of Salesforce.com which, apart from being a damn fine CRM, has social media integration.. What’s noteworthy here is I would genuinely question how much now products are forcing innovation upon the enterprise as oppose to them meeting a known need… Example being Ideas… This was a product pushed out to Dell and Starbucks… Twitter came upon Dell…
I don’t think enterprises are taking advantage of them… In fact social media is taking advantage of them as it is forcing fundamental changes in policy of some corporations…
The age of top down is over and finally companies will truly have to act on previously lip-serviced commitment to being about quality and service…
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