unselling social media: a customer love story
DESCRIPTION
How is social media changing our customer relationships? Has the balance of power shifted forever? What can your business do about it? We are witnessing a dramatic change of social media strategy - from acquisition to retention. As the social space gets more and more saturated, we look towards ways to turn our existing fans and followers into real brand advocates, instead of simply monetize them. Those interactions are increasingly taking place in branded online communities and private social networks to resolve issues with privacy, security, copyright and to preserve our social technology investment.TRANSCRIPT
Unselling
Social Media
A Customer Love Story
© 2010 Alexander Nikolov, CMO, NINETYTEN
CMO at NinetyTen
HULT graduate
Started own business at 17
Entrepreneur of the Year 1998,
Junior Achievement Bulgaria
KFC Bulgaria launch in 2 cities
Aveda, Clinique, Westin, St. Regis
NYC, Washington DC, London
Hi, I’m Alexander Nikolov.
London based
Founded in 2006
Opened first mobile social
network in the UK - BuddyPing
Dedicated to social technology
Communicator
BrandAware
Engage
This is NinetyTen.
In 2005: MySpace purchased for
$580m
In 2006: $15bn projected value by
2009 (J. Rohan, RBC Capital)
In 2009: estimated as low as
$500m
Twitter in 2008: $20m
Twitter in 2010: $1bn
The value is in real connections.
How did we get here?
How do I monetize my fans & followers?
We asked the wrong
question:
Customer experiences create
your brand.
Positive customer experiences
create loyal customers.
Loyal customers create brand
equity.
Brand equity creates growth,
revenue and profit.
Let’s go back to basics.
It costs 5 to 7 times more
to acquire a new customer
than to keep an old one.
5% improvement in
retention increases profits
between 25% and 85%.
Turn customers into
brand advocates.
Relationship marketing 101
New customer sales may cost 4 to
100 times that of a sale to an
existing customer.
For every 1 that complains there
are at least 25 who do not.
85% will return if the issue was
resolved promptly vs. 91% if not.
Dissatisfied customers will tell 8 to
16 others, on the web – 1000s!
Why do it?
An integral part of a company’s
customer value proposition
Plays an important role in an
organization's ability to
generate income and revenue.
It’s that "Feel Good Factor“.
Implement instant feedback
loops.
What is customer service?
Telephone
Face-to-face
FAQs
SMS
Search the web
Traditional channels
Incomplete problem diagnosis
Having to repeat information
Number of transfers to “experts”
Contradictory answers
Agent accent
Agent attitude (68%!!!)
Lack of toll-free number
Long hold times
Please hold, your call is
important…
Customers want many social media
service options:
Online chat
Forum to connect with other
customers
Instant feedback
Mobile customer service (apps, etc.)
How does social media
fit here?
For the first time, social media takes
the conversation with the customer
into the public domain
Increases the stakes
“Wall of Fame” vs. “Wall of Shame”
“WoW” – words of wisdom
Customers helping customers
Building knowledge banks
Who’s paying attention?
Customers use Twitter to vent
Businesses are forced to pay attention
Responses are warranted and necessary
70% of customers* would like Twitter to be an official customer service channel vs. 25% six months ago
Use Twitter!
*Source: Innoveer, Inc., 2010
What should you do?
Controlling the conversation –
integrity is paramount
Controlling the environment –
reducing distractions
Safety of your investment
Adaptability to your business needs
Security
Privacy
Public vs. private social
networks
Having a customer review facility tops
the UK consumer's wish-list of social
media tools
50%+ currently post reviews online
1 in 4 are less inclined to buy online from
a site that uses no social media tools
Onsite reviews are five times more
important than a Twitter account and
three times more important than a
Facebook page (ICS, July 2010)
Online communities and
private social networks
Increase in product ideation
Increase in agent productivity
Increase in first-contact resolution
Reduction in agent-assisted interactions
Reduction in agent-assisted email
Boost in relevant Web-site content and reduced search-engine optimization costs
Improved customer retention and customer lifetime value
Source: "The ROI of Online Customer Service Communities”, Forrester, June 2009
The 7 Benefits of Customer
Service Online Communities
Bank of America
Intel
Lenovo
Verizon
Vodafone
Sprint
Palm
Your business?
Create your own customer
love story.
“Soft sell”
Subtle, casual & friendly
Less likely to be irritating
More persuasive
Very hard to get lost fans or
followers back
90% conversation
10% promotion
The 90/10 rule
www.n i n e t y t e n . c om