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<\/a>Soft Side of Business<\/strong> – It\u2019s too easy to forget that there are real people behind companies and brands who want you to like them and what they stand for, what they work for. In today\u2019s social media world, it\u2019s too easy to call them names and forget the fact they\u2019re trying hard \u2013 real hard \u2013 to serve your needs.<\/em><\/p>\nEveryone, everything wants to be liked, even loved \u2026 including companies and brands.<\/p>\n
Being a big cold-hearted, calloused thing that churns out stuff expecting you to buy it until the next thing they churn out and expect you to buy just isn\u2019t working anymore.<\/p>\n
In the constantly connected, always-on world, the approach no longer wins friends or customers.<\/p>\n
People have too many ways to express themselves and ordinary folks are listening, agreeing, disagreeing.<\/p>\n
Just engaging real people worked for a little while; being social with them sorta\u2019, kinda\u2019 worked and being big just isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n
So now it\u2019s time to humanize the company. You know; distance it from the competition and be more personable; more real like you and me.<\/p>\n
That ad space is getting so crowded that now we\u2019re seeing some say (in so many words) \u2013 \u201cwe invented human\u201d or \u201cwe\u2019re more human than they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
I doubt if any of them invented human; but if they did, I\u2019m going to darn well buy whatever they\u2019re selling.<\/p>\n
Or, if you lay claim to the position that you\u2019re more human, then why tell me you are now introducing a (name here) killer…<\/p>\n
Not a really cool human activity.
\nBoth approaches sorta\u2019 make me feel a little dubious.<\/p>\n
Humanizing Brands<\/strong> According to the study, “The most admired brands and organizations have become flatter and less centralized. They listen to the world around them and are open to social influence. They use data to organize their capabilities around an individual’s needs, rather than the other way around. In short, the most successful companies have recognized that ‘fortress’ behavior is no longer an effective approach to interacting with customers or communities.”<\/p>\n The toughest part of humanizing a company isn\u2019t just setting\/dictating a new policy or a new program. It\u2019s getting everyone in the organization to believe that they are real people who can make a meaningful, valuable contribution to the company\/brand and the customer.<\/p>\n Employees have to embrace it, not just by a new campaign but by day-to-day actions by themselves and others in the organization.<\/p>\n It\u2019s all about leading the team by example.<\/p>\n Really?<\/strong> –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Your email campaign to my inbox uses \u201cdo not reply\u201d addresses. That sends a helluva\u2019 human message! SugarCRM, a customer relations management (CRM) company, recently released a report that said people were frustrated with companies they dealt with because of poor or inadequate service and support.<\/p>\n It was so bad that 50 percent of the folks said that because of the encounter, they didn\u2019t buy product\/service there again.<\/p>\n Tough Job, Teamwork<\/strong> That\u2019s because they know the person on the other end is supposed to have the answer \u2026 the right answer, right now!<\/p>\n Folks who like to call themselves social media experts are inclined to tell you that they have the magic key, the tools for creating a one-to-one relationship with customers. The problem is people really don\u2019t want to have an engagement\/ relationship with your company, your brand. It’s just a company, a brand; not a member of their family, their circle of friends and not someone I work with or associate with.<\/p>\n So get over it. People want answers.<\/p>\n Talk to Me<\/strong> Then do something about it.<\/p>\n Sounds simple but obviously, it\u2019s tough to do because according to a Forrester Research study:<\/p>\n \n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 71 percent of the Tweets go unanswered It\u2019s only human that people like to be listened to, acknowledged.<\/p>\n In many instances, the acknowledgement of the individual and his\/her issue does more to tie the person to the company\/the brand than the actual resolution.<\/p>\n It surprises me that more companies don\u2019t have an open forum on their websites or Facebook brand pages for customers to talk with customers about problems, issues, questions, applications. It works for several reasons:<\/p>\n \n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 People really know that not everything works perfectly all of the time; and knowing someone else had the same issue makes you feel better (the whatever it is isn\u2019t picking just on you). End the Silos<\/strong> \n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Business employees are kept separate from customers because \u201cthose\u201d people belong to the sales and\/or customer support staffs. Think about it.<\/p>\n The brands and companies you admire\/respect and want to associate with are those that don\u2019t live by an organizational structure, they\u2019re flat\/decentralized and populated by humans who have jobs, real jobs that are customer-centric.<\/p>\n The brand is human and interacts with customers in every way possible when things are right, when they know the answer as well as when they don\u2019t and when things go awry.<\/p>\n I\u2019m Sorry<\/strong>
\nBut as the agency Hill Holiday recently pointed out in a white paper, there are companies that are breaking down the corporate walls, leveling the organization and empowering\/encouraging employees to act as humans rather than policy distributors\/enforcers.<\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s not easy to \u201cbelieve\u201d the company\/brand is human when:<\/p>\n
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Your customer support\/customer service folks get bonus points for the volume of calls they \u201chandle.\u201d
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 After I come into your store (brick n\u2019 mortar or ecommerce) and tell you what I need and why, you recommend the solution with the highest profit margin rather than one that\u2019s the best value or say you don\u2019t have it but have something that\u2019s just as good or almost as good.
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Your customer support people have a script they follow and any question\/issue outside of that they can\u2019t or aren\u2019t authorized to handle.
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Your boss and sales people have well-scripted presentations \u2026 that\u2019s it.
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I happen to get a real person who isn\u2019t in customer support and they politely say \u201cno my yob mon.\u201d
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You find it difficult \u2013 prohibited \u2013 to say, \u201cI\u2019m sorry, we made a mistake.\u201d
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Someone reaches out to you with a question or idea by email or on one of your social media routes and they are simply not acknowledged, answered.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>OMG<\/strong> \u2013 Developing a marketing\/communications strategy that you promote to the world is a move in the right direction. However, actions speak louder than words.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
\nLet me say right here that customer service\/support is a tough freakin\u2019 job and in today\u2019s connected world, they shouldn\u2019t be singled out as the problem but rather the symptom.
\nIn their job, the minute the person picks up the phone or reads the email, tweet or Facebook post he\/she knows you\u2019re irritated or confused.<\/p>\n
\nBut it is possible to humanize that company\/brand throughout the organization providing you\u2019re willing to do the impossible \u2026 listen!<\/p>\n<\/a>Say What?<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 It sounds like an over simplification but if you want to develop a sound relationship with customers, you have to do something that may be strange for people used to sending out social media blasts to the world \u2013 listen. Consumers are anxious to talk with companies\/brands but they don\u2019t want to be talked at. The best conversation starts with tell me \u2026 then shutting up.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 95 percent of the Facebook posted queries fail to get a response or worse yet, if they were negative \u2026 removed
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 75 percent of the email requests received a form \u201cthank you for your interest\u201d response, vowing to get you the answer and up to five days later \u2026 zip, zero, nada<\/p>\n
\nMy wife is a whiz at finding and using customer forums to find people who have had the same issue and how they have solved it.<\/p>\n
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Humans like to solve challenges themselves because it is a real sense of empowerment, accomplishment.
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Humans really do like to help others because it makes them feel good and that they have made a contribution, made a difference.<\/p>\n
\nMost companies have one of three types of social media efforts with customers:<\/p>\n
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Employees who accidentally interact\/engage with a customer are required to immediately direct him\/her to the appropriate company department.
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Company\/brand folks throughout the organization are able to\/encouraged to engage with customers, assisting them where possible and if not, getting the person to the team member who can help and then follow up to make certain the question\/issue was answered.<\/p>\n
\nUtilizing a brand platform around being human extends to social media and how the brand speaks to its consumers on Facebook, Twitter and other networks. Another key part of being a human brand is suggesting that you make mistakes.<\/p>\n