We witnessed the first world revolution in 1995 when we started checking the online content to the successful access to social media networking sites and platforms. In only 10 years we changed the way we communicate, we opened up to strangers with confidence through social media, the way we purchase and how we consume. Then we have seen the second revolution with the appearance of users generated content around 2005. We watched a dramatic shift in the way the consumer interacts with the internet. However, enormous challenges appeared as well. The businesses had to adapt their brands and communications. Through content generation, comments, likes and follows, the power became into the consumer's hands. The Internet changed the world and the consumer-oriented brands that can listen to their customers got more chances to survive the engaged era.
I discussed in an old article how people, internal communication, and training are of paramount importance for the brand because its people inform the clients and this information need to be right and have to contain the brand's promises, values, and mission Concerned about the brand experience? consistency matters. Today, we are discussing how the internet changed the way we communicate these messages and promises and social media play a major role in communicating this information with the public and more importantly to current customers.
Maybe it worth give a full, precise and clear explanation to social media. It encompasses all the online resources we use every day to share content with the public or within a closed group ... this can be a video, an image, an opinion ... and so on. The online resources or so numerous and I can mention some such as blogs, online webinars, podcasts or social networks.
Unfortunately, many professionals naively treat the online resources just like they used to market in the traditional mass media such as TV or In radio failing this way to alienate themselves with the appropriate target audience. While the old way to attract people attention was about delivering a message to the mass audience, social media is mainly about creating a relationship which has to be monitored and nurtured all the time.
These channels are of high importance indeed but most of the business people when they are discussing social media, they give more importance to the media while the social is the key element.
Here I would like to inform you that in a previous article I highlighted the power of stars rating and reviews and the way in which they might make a brand more successful as consumers tend more to speak about their experiences http://jar.ma/Y3aus.
While years ago the brands were using one-way communication to inform people about their new products and services through TV ads, radio, billboards ....and so on. Today, the brands need to put much more effort into earning the consumer's attention. The world changed so fast that the brands couldn't see that the disruptive ads are not anymore the way to attract new customers and this method is far away from being the right way to transform them into loyal customers. Today, people are very well informed. Through the internet, people have access to much more than enough information, They are becoming more intelligent, they learned very fast and they are not anymore easy to fool with. Moreover, they become in control. In particular, the millennials dislike the old traditional media strategic planning and have much more comfort consulting the reviews or comments of previous consumers. In other words, consumers are more likely to trust previous relevant consumer experiences.
With the appearance of social media, people are more often in front of their screens and less tolerant of the mass media messages.
This consumer behavioral change can find its roots in:
1- People want trustworthy information from people who have no interest in selling the product or the service.
2- People are tired of mistargeted ads or promotions which might indicate that over time, the brands didn't know how to show to their customers the importance they deserve. Actually, people want to be remembered, recognized and feel the presence of an exceptional relationship with their preferred brands. They are suffering from the shouted out ads, the impersonal offers and the misunderstanding of their needs and wants which are harming the brands in the long term. The opportunities are then into giving to the consumer the chance to influence the brand's decisions.
In this occasion, you can have access to my previous article which discusses personalization and how important it is to build a long lasting relationship with your valuable customers http://jar.ma/C2t7R.
It is definitely time-consuming and highly expensive to start and keep and good relationship with every individual especially when the brand is worldwide and I strongly think that it is a weak argument that can be used to describe a failure to effectively engage with the right audience. I believe that most of the brands that couldn't survive or the one which lost the reputation they had were more concerned about how to outreach fast at low cost. It is possible to bring here the example of Starbucks, their brand image suffered enormously when it shifted from "I love it" to "extra expensive coffee, what for?". Their strategy encompassed opening up to the customer through MyIdea social marketing program. Via monitored social interaction they managed to save the brand and refresh its image.
I think that the platforms and the communities are growing stronger and more powerful. It became known that among users there are some who are identified as creators of movement, one or two who define the subject and begin the conversation. There are also people who like to engage in the conversation and leave their opinions, this category can be identified as the posters and then the great majority who like to keep updated but do not identify themselves as comment posters, they might express themselves via attributing likes or nothing at all.
Starbucks learned that pushing ad campaigns from the top to down in a traditional style had no chance to change the wrong brand image. They had to try a different strategy and as people are the one responsible for the brand's image switch. It was necessary to develop a strategy that would grow to start from the bottom, an engagement program which targets the users and listens to them.
besides, maybe this technological advance changed the consumer in another way. You probably noticed as well that they became very demanding and impatient reason for which it is important to mention the importance of being able to offer a consistent experience through a coherent omnichannel experience. People nowadays are present in more than one social platform and able to connect via different devices at the same time.
It is known now that people are present in many and a variety of platforms and part of different communities and check all available information on the web. People are tied to their screens more than ever before. They go online to check the best deals, they use their smartphones to check their peer's views regarding new products or services and maybe look up a product they saw on the TV ad. Alike, brands need to be present where their customers are also present. They have to be in as many and varied platforms as needed.
Still, even if brands are able to be in contact with their customers in different ways such as voice text, email, and chat. If they are not able to synchronize varied channels within one and unique interaction. The brands won't be capable of providing a unique and relevant customer experience based on a customer journey. These disconnected interactions in which the customer have to provide his contact details every time the person is transferred to another agent or passing from chat to a call are time-consuming, might decrease the customer level of satisfaction and might cause missed opportunities for that brand.
I discussed in an old article how people, internal communication, and training are of paramount importance for the brand because its people inform the clients and this information need to be right and have to contain the brand's promises, values, and mission Concerned about the brand experience? consistency matters. Today, we are discussing how the internet changed the way we communicate these messages and promises and social media play a major role in communicating this information with the public and more importantly to current customers.
Maybe it worth give a full, precise and clear explanation to social media. It encompasses all the online resources we use every day to share content with the public or within a closed group ... this can be a video, an image, an opinion ... and so on. The online resources or so numerous and I can mention some such as blogs, online webinars, podcasts or social networks.
Unfortunately, many professionals naively treat the online resources just like they used to market in the traditional mass media such as TV or In radio failing this way to alienate themselves with the appropriate target audience. While the old way to attract people attention was about delivering a message to the mass audience, social media is mainly about creating a relationship which has to be monitored and nurtured all the time.
These channels are of high importance indeed but most of the business people when they are discussing social media, they give more importance to the media while the social is the key element.
Here I would like to inform you that in a previous article I highlighted the power of stars rating and reviews and the way in which they might make a brand more successful as consumers tend more to speak about their experiences http://jar.ma/Y3aus.
While years ago the brands were using one-way communication to inform people about their new products and services through TV ads, radio, billboards ....and so on. Today, the brands need to put much more effort into earning the consumer's attention. The world changed so fast that the brands couldn't see that the disruptive ads are not anymore the way to attract new customers and this method is far away from being the right way to transform them into loyal customers. Today, people are very well informed. Through the internet, people have access to much more than enough information, They are becoming more intelligent, they learned very fast and they are not anymore easy to fool with. Moreover, they become in control. In particular, the millennials dislike the old traditional media strategic planning and have much more comfort consulting the reviews or comments of previous consumers. In other words, consumers are more likely to trust previous relevant consumer experiences.
With the appearance of social media, people are more often in front of their screens and less tolerant of the mass media messages.
This consumer behavioral change can find its roots in:
1- People want trustworthy information from people who have no interest in selling the product or the service.
2- People are tired of mistargeted ads or promotions which might indicate that over time, the brands didn't know how to show to their customers the importance they deserve. Actually, people want to be remembered, recognized and feel the presence of an exceptional relationship with their preferred brands. They are suffering from the shouted out ads, the impersonal offers and the misunderstanding of their needs and wants which are harming the brands in the long term. The opportunities are then into giving to the consumer the chance to influence the brand's decisions.
In this occasion, you can have access to my previous article which discusses personalization and how important it is to build a long lasting relationship with your valuable customers http://jar.ma/C2t7R.
It is definitely time-consuming and highly expensive to start and keep and good relationship with every individual especially when the brand is worldwide and I strongly think that it is a weak argument that can be used to describe a failure to effectively engage with the right audience. I believe that most of the brands that couldn't survive or the one which lost the reputation they had were more concerned about how to outreach fast at low cost. It is possible to bring here the example of Starbucks, their brand image suffered enormously when it shifted from "I love it" to "extra expensive coffee, what for?". Their strategy encompassed opening up to the customer through MyIdea social marketing program. Via monitored social interaction they managed to save the brand and refresh its image.
I think that the platforms and the communities are growing stronger and more powerful. It became known that among users there are some who are identified as creators of movement, one or two who define the subject and begin the conversation. There are also people who like to engage in the conversation and leave their opinions, this category can be identified as the posters and then the great majority who like to keep updated but do not identify themselves as comment posters, they might express themselves via attributing likes or nothing at all.
Starbucks learned that pushing ad campaigns from the top to down in a traditional style had no chance to change the wrong brand image. They had to try a different strategy and as people are the one responsible for the brand's image switch. It was necessary to develop a strategy that would grow to start from the bottom, an engagement program which targets the users and listens to them.
besides, maybe this technological advance changed the consumer in another way. You probably noticed as well that they became very demanding and impatient reason for which it is important to mention the importance of being able to offer a consistent experience through a coherent omnichannel experience. People nowadays are present in more than one social platform and able to connect via different devices at the same time.
It is known now that people are present in many and a variety of platforms and part of different communities and check all available information on the web. People are tied to their screens more than ever before. They go online to check the best deals, they use their smartphones to check their peer's views regarding new products or services and maybe look up a product they saw on the TV ad. Alike, brands need to be present where their customers are also present. They have to be in as many and varied platforms as needed.
Still, even if brands are able to be in contact with their customers in different ways such as voice text, email, and chat. If they are not able to synchronize varied channels within one and unique interaction. The brands won't be capable of providing a unique and relevant customer experience based on a customer journey. These disconnected interactions in which the customer have to provide his contact details every time the person is transferred to another agent or passing from chat to a call are time-consuming, might decrease the customer level of satisfaction and might cause missed opportunities for that brand.
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