Ehsan Khodarahmi2013-05-21T22:01:39-04:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=ehsan-khodarahmiCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Ehsan KhodarahmiGood old fashioned elbow grease.Customer Experience or Customer Expectationtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.29333592013-03-22T12:40:31-04:002013-03-25T12:49:54-04:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
Businesses want tangible result after their marketing budget spent, but as you know the bigger the budget may not necessarily translate to the best result. Maybe the best possible way to ensure optimal result is to analyse and evaluate consumer behaviour. This is not a difficult task by the way; almost every business has data about their marketing activities as well as their customers. If brands use such data to improve customer experience, they will enjoy a better marketing return.
People make purchasing decisions based on past experience and even other people's experience; because they talk to each other online and ask friends and family about their experience with a particular brand. So, interaction and building meaningful relationship with customers create experiences which undoubtedly pay dividends. By creating experience, brands can expect positive word of mouth and customer referrals, which according to eMarketer is the most effective marketing tactic.
People always remember both good and bad experience with brands and usually share their experience online and offline. Brands respond to their customer feedback are highly likely to be trusted and remembered. So it is important for brands to ensure that they create customer experience rather than customer expectation alone.]]>Social Media is About Back to Basicstag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.22916922012-12-13T07:27:58-05:002013-02-12T05:12:01-05:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
Despite many businesses think Social Media is new, the medium is older than anyone in this world; in fact Social Media is as old as history. Social Media is a place for interaction and communication; the place where people are involved and converse with one another. Social Media is all about communications and as you know the root to communication gets back to history; the days we were interacting via drawing pictures on the walls of caves. Then we realised that we can communicate via sound when language was born, how we've been ever since giving meaning to our drawings and sound; what we widely refer as pictures and words. Based on this, creativity is not a new thing either; we've been creative throughout the history, haven't we?
Social Media is a new change which once again needs our creativity to further improve the way we communicate with each other; even the way brands communicate with us. Brands' communications used to be mainly in the form of marketing and advertising followed by different PR techniques; but all seemed to be one way and less engaging from people's point of view and origin of communication culture.
People have questions and brands can no longer afford ignoring those questions or aiming to change minds of public through their traditional PR techniques; Social Media has given the platform to everyone in every society to be heard if they feel ignored by brands. So, brands need to apply some changes in their marketing and PR exercises too. Here's where the value of Social Media sit and need acknowledging.
Social Media is here to take us back to basics, origin of communication culture; the two way avenue. This is perhaps why brands need to have a strong and effective presence in major Social Media channels and commit to monitor their reputation while engage with their customers and prospects on Social Media; and wherever their brand has presence in fact.
Some brands and even charities have been using the medium for direct marketing and sales generation with no consideration of principals of ethics and Social Media culture, which unsurprisingly led to Social Media failure. On the other hand some brands are using Social Media to strengthen their brand value and reputation. The viral effect of the medium must not be undermined; good practice on Social Media will create positive word of mouth, which ultimately reduces costs of marketing and PR.
As evident above, Social Media is not a machine to bombard people with marketing messages, but it is the means to genuine communications and interaction with people for mutual benefits. Social Media has changed the way businesses and their audience communicate with each other.]]>Social Media Storytag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.22108082012-11-29T08:52:55-05:002013-01-29T05:12:02-05:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
1) When did the Social Media game start?
Social Media has been around forever, just in many different formats. Since biblical times we have seen examples of the "power to connect and engage" with each other, in the same way this is displayed through Social Media.
But today Social Media has taken on a very high profile and all-important role in a new age world of super-highway information, with a 24-7 world of Twitter where we clock-in and clock off on a ticker-tape way of life.
2) How should we be playing the game?
The most important thing to note is that the game is there to be played, not won! It's about communicating and sharing. It is about connecting and engaging with your network and building powerful relationships 24-7 while creating your very own social environment to communicate with other like-minded people. The rules are simple:
1) Listen
2) Share
3) Engage
4) Connect
With these four we can start the ball rolling, the rest will follow on; if and only if we follow these simple four steps of course. Other important elements are to invest in people and influence them; but do not forget to let you be influenced too by others' best practice. Life is all about sharing and learning, so is business - in particular Social Business.
3) Is it Social Marketing or Social Media Marketing?
Both terms are used often; however Social Media Marketing is correct if we look at Social Media from a marketing perspective.
Social Media needs breaking down for better understanding and ultimately best practice. It is social, it is media! Social Media is a two way avenue, whereas marketing usually tends to be one way with quite a few things attached.
4) Why Social Media communications and not Social Media Marketing?
As soon as we talk about marketing people switch off and see the messages as spam; whereas if we see Social Media as a communication channel, we start talking and interacting with people. This is what encourages people to listen and engage.
People are on Social Media to communicate with one another and of course sometimes to find out more about other people's experience with brands. Brands can in a way use the medium for their marketing purposes, but in a smart and creative fashion.
When it comes to Social Media, it is not about marketing, it is all about communications; so better to use the term Social Media communications.
5) What does Social Media best practice mean?
Social Media best practice is about the sense of transparent and ethical communications we should be developing; and indeed all about an ethos and integrity of operation. It is something that develops in its own time and way, naturally and with an embryonic growth that needs nurturing by us all.
Hence, Social Media has always been with us, technology has just made it more accessible. So it should not be a surprise if I say, Social Media has lived with us throughout history. Below I display my reasoning...
Before modern day society, we know that there were:
Stories about cavemen
The engraving of images and symbols on the walls of caves
The use of basic sounds to communicate
Today, with the presence of technology and innovation, we have:
Residential and holiday homes
Graffiti as well as creative graphics and illustration
Languages and psychological analysis
Storytelling and conversations are not anything new; in fact storytelling and conversations began when human kind acknowledged they cannot live and progress without communication and interaction. We have been constantly and in a way consistently looking for ways to improve our communication skills; our first words were sounds and we were alerting each other through smoke.
Now, we receive alerts via Google Alert and some of most sophisticated algorithms behind monitoring and listening tools for brand reputation management. Mobile technology, videos and pictures are increasingly becoming other sources of communications; transformation of languages I would call it.
You may ask 'what is the best practice in this ever changing and evolving space and what is the best possible Social Media brand positioning?' Fair questions! A short but effective answer to both questions lie on two simple models (which work best when combined), regardless of your industry and size of your business:
At last, never forget commitment and consistency upon implementing HTC and LCD Models.
Now, may I invite you to share your thoughts, arguments and comments with everyone about what you just read?]]>Social Media Is Nothing More Than Common Sensetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.20811282012-11-06T04:42:38-05:002013-01-05T05:12:01-05:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
Twitter announced on October 25 that there are over 2,000 ways to interact on Twitter. The question remains: How many of these ways are brands aware of and actively exercising? Who could have that this 140-characters-communication platform could create so much buzz -- and even jobs! Brands don't have to be confused and unsure about the effectiveness of Twitter's 140 characters nature -- they just need bespoke communications advice and training. It's that simple.
Social media is plain and simple, meaning everyone and every brand can do it -- but only if they are confident that they can do it. Building confidence in brands is a huge responsibility of responsible agencies and consultancies. Trust me, if you as a consultant build confidence in your client and hand-hold them to drive and achieve results, they will trust you and constantly come back to you with new projects or recommend you to their business contacts.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of social media consultancies and "gurus" out there trying to make sense of social media -- Twitter in particular. From an ethical point of view, buying Twitter followers has become an issue. Making matters even worse is that some gurus and agencies pitch to brands that Twitter is a sophisticated, esoteric tool requiring expertise to manage -- expertise acquired by outsourcing Twitter activities.
Remember that the future of competition is collaboration and partnership. The real winners of the future will be those who genuinely say "Let's talk."]]>Social Media is Plain and Simpletag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.19139252012-09-25T15:41:19-04:002012-11-25T05:12:01-05:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
1) Clarity
2) Consistency
3) Commitment
People are savvier than ever and they expect brands to communicate with them honestly. There is no room for hiding in Social Media; people appreciate transparency and authenticity. Some may argue that Social Media management on corporate level is complex; but complexity doesn't mean authenticity and transparency should be forgotten. The moment brands forget about the significant impact of authenticity in persuasion and leadership, they may lose trust of their customers; simply because when they marketed to them they promised good things.
The moment of truth is when a customer asks a brand a question; it all depends on how genuinely the brand answers that question. People want to be respected and appreciated truthfully; pretending that can work against a brand. So make sure all your brand communications across all channels, especially Social Media, are clear. Speak with one voice and ensure consistency in your messages.
When you ensure clarity and consistency, your success in what you are doing as a business is almost guaranteed, you just need to commit relevant resources and constantly deliver against what you promised your customers. Commitment is the force behind your success; any shortcuts without careful assessment may harm your brand reputation.
Social Media is about people, about your audience; Social Media is not about buzz words. Action speaks louder in Social Media. So it is not about your number of followers on Twitter or number of Likes on your Facebook page; it is about showing your brand's human side and let your customers know that you care about them. Yes, Social Media is that simple; Social Media is in fact plain and simple - anyone can do it!]]>Who Follows Obama and Romney on Twitter?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.17599032012-08-10T09:55:51-04:002012-10-10T05:12:15-04:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
DigitalEvaluations have developed an analytics software with Professor Calzolari, the brain behind the algorithm, to distinguish human and bots on Twitter and Facebook. Professor Calzolari is confident about the accuracy of the software; hence he carried a study on high-profile individuals' Twitter accounts. He says:
"While it is impossible to distinguish a fake user from a real one with utter certainty, the algorithm that I have developed is able to identify 'human' and 'bot' (or inactive) behaviours on existing profiles with reasonable accuracy. Based on this method and with direct access to a Twitter account, its fake or inactive followers can be removed."
According to the study, up to 29.9 percent of President Barack Obama's 17.82 million Twitter followers and 21.9 percent of Mitt Romney's 814,000 followers are likely to be inactive.
Professor Calzolari said "the bot profiles -- in other words, the profiles which are most likely generated by robots or inactive -- would be in absolute terms 5,326,883 for the current White House tenant and 178,237 for his opponent. The human users -- users almost certainly real -- would be 8,020,826 (or 45.01 percent of the total) for Barack Obama and 405,357 (or 49.75 percent) for Mitt Romney."
The researcher decided not to consider uncertain accounts, those profiles which cannot be confidently assigned as human or robots. The study has found 11.56 percent uncertain profiles for the U.S. president and 13.64 percent for Mitt Romney. Moreover, protected accounts following the U.S. president (13.54 percent) and Mitt Romney (14.73 percent) cannot be examined by the program as they do not share their activities publically; thus they are not assigned as human or bots and excluded from the overall analysis.]]>Who Cares About Customer Service?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.17484072012-08-07T10:38:09-04:002012-10-07T05:12:03-04:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
Prioritization is key of course, but what seems has been receiving the least attention is customers' feelings -- which is the primary component of return business. For example, if you go to a pizza restaurant you trust, because you see them in almost every high street and see their adverts online as well as offline, but you have to wait for 25 minutes before having your starter on your table, and when you get your food, the waitress tells you to have your pizza with your used cutlery, because they don't have clean cutlery -- how would you feel? Are you going to go back to that restaurant?
Are you going to have anything nice to say about the service you received?
How do you feel if you didn't complain last time you were in the same restaurant for something different, but this time you decided to give the pizza restaurant a second chance?
If you put a complaint, how quickly would you like to hear from the company and what would you like to hear?
It is however not enough to hear back from the pizza company, it is important to hear from them with certain words and promises, isn't it? How long it should take the business to get back to their loyal customer before losing the loyalty?
Conversocial has recently conducted an interesting research into consumer behavior and attitude when using social media for customer services purposes; some of the insights are as follows:
For Facebook
29 percent of customers want a response within two hours
22 percent expect a same-day response
For Twitter
Twitter expectations are even higher!
30 percent of users expecting a response in just 30 minutes
22 percent wanting one within two hours
29 percent looking for a same-day response
So, brands decide to be reactive rather than proactive may miss a point or two here with regards to an effective customer service -- which indeed can lead to customer loyalty and advocacy. Customer service is the new PR, and the way forward for building brand equity.
By the way, the pizza example is real and recent.]]>Why Brands Need to Take Social Media Seriouslytag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.16397662012-06-30T08:54:14-04:002012-08-30T05:12:15-04:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
They contacted HTC direct in April 2011 and the manufacturer advised the problem is not with the hardware and it is software matter. HTC promised to get back to the customer, but now we're in October and HTC hasn't yet got in touch...Is that because they lost the contact details they did jot down while they were on the phone or maybe something different?
They then went to Carphone Warehouse with the faulty phone in number of occasions for repair and as the problem didn't get fixed, the customer asked for replacement but because they didn't have the handset in stock anymore they couldn't replace the handset. Carphone Warehouse simply denied any further help simply because the handset wasn't in their distribution centre and they didn't know whether they get any future delivery of HTC Desire Z.
How else Carphone Warehouse could make an unhappy customer furious and disloyal to the brand HTC, they did a good job in this though!
This friend of mine then decided to update their HTC software, but as there's probably a fundamental problem with this model, nothing changed; actually yes something changed - my fellow tweep is not using a more traditional phone with the sim-card they meant to use with their HTC Smartphone! Because of the handset was constantly overheating soon after unplugging from charger; apart from the unusual long time took the handset to be charged.
Luckily this is not a phone for business purposes, otherwise a part from the level of frustration caused, they would experience massive client dissatisfaction and loss of earning.
But do Carphone Warehouse and HTC care about such bad customer experience? I doubt, because if they did, they would have done something to prevent a few days of conversation on Twitter and RTs and now this blog post. Those hours of talking on the phone and exchanging emails with the so called "customer service" guys are also the hours the customer lost, who will compensate for their loss of time?
It is however interesting to see after the conversations on Twitter in the past few days, HTC US and Carphone Warehouse care just jumped in (after 10 months of raising concerns by the customer) to make sure they drag the conversation offline once again; obviously for "brand reputation purposes" and not necessarily for customer s satisfaction reasons.
Thanks to Social Media, voice of customers are just begun to be heard - but not by brands but by other Social Media users (to leave brands with no choice other than genuinely get involved). Now it's the time to wait and see how Carphone Warehouse and HTC are going to resolve this issue.
The person who has this software problem with their HTC Smartphone bought from Carphone Warehouse is working in customer service and this is what they have to say:
"I work in customer service, so I understand that if a customer has a problem they want the quickest and swiftest resolution so that they can get on with their day."
Watch this space, for the reaction received from the owner of Carphone Warehouse and one of the UK's leading online marketing journals.]]>Customer Service is the New PRtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.15692262012-06-04T17:45:23-04:002012-08-04T05:12:12-04:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
When customers call companies with their queries, they often don't talk to human, there is either a form to fill in or expensive numbers to call and press buttons after buttons while listening to automated messages - and finally being referred to the business website or if lucky placed in a queue to speak to an "adviser" whom apparently is very busy on another call. Although, this is a safe game for brands, it is frustrating for customers.
People don't have short memories when it comes to their emotions and personal values; they may forget what they're told but they don't forget how they made feel. Brands had the luxury of controlling what the general public should see and hear about them, but thanks to Social Media, people have the luxury of being heard by brands much faster; regardless of their level of "reach" and "influence". The new communication techniques are good news to people but frustrating for brands.
According to tweets, when one search for EDF and their customers service, as well as previous publications that indicated EDF was fined for £2 million for bad customer service, EDF is amongst companies with the least caring customer service but massive noise with regards sympathy with customers.
In old days, marketing communicated attractive messages, PR hid past stories by creating new good stories and customer service team read from a script often begin with "sorry to hear that...". Today, brands can no longer afford ignoring voice of customers and manipulate negative word of mouth while pushing negative comments down in search engines; simply because the brand has money to spend on SEO and ghost writing.
Proactive and engaging customer service is now the real PR brands may wish to pursue; not Klout score screening and check number of followers on Twitter then respond with typical texts. Social Media has changed the way of communications. Social Media called for decent and transparent tone once, and it's not repeating its message twice; however it every day introduces new casualties of bad customer service practice.
Something to remember about this article and Social Media: whatever happened in Vegas won't stay in Vegas anymore, it will travel fast and everyone would know and remember forever. It's worth mentioning that, good news travels fast but bad news travels faster. Thus, genuine engagement and listening are key to assessing brand perception among people; that's why customer service is the new PR.]]>Social Media Advertising and the Brand Authority Mythtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.15482332012-05-29T18:05:09-04:002012-07-29T05:12:04-04:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
Brands and agencies realised that the nature of advertising and brand positioning changed and they need to do something about it otherwise their competitors would do. They decided to advertise in social media channels and increase number of their Facebook page fans and Twitter followers.
Obviously the acquisition of thousands of fans and followers won't happen within few hours or few days; but buying such users was an option which was pursued by many brands, agencies and even individuals who thought the higher number of fans and followers the higher their authority.
However experience proved otherwise; what means the most and in fact indicates a brand's authority would be their level of engagement and interaction with their audience; British Airways is the prime example as a brand using of social media with high level of brand authority.
Agencies often encourage brands to advertise in social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter for fans and followers recruitment; but what usually remains unanswered is how to maintain and engage with the recruited users. Advertising is a great approach to create awareness but it is still vital to have a plan for engagement and interaction to justify the investment, time and effort.
The time and money spent on Facebook and Twitter advertising can be used wisely and for a longer period of time if it is invested in content and interaction with the brand's audience; this is perhaps why General Motors recently announced it is cutting its Facebook ad spend after number of successful paid Social Media advertising.
Success in the modern world of advertising and social media communications is plain and simple. One of the models to follow and base brand's attitude and behaviour is LCD (developed by myself); which should in fact lead to collaboration and eventually successful brand stories:
]]>TfL, What's All the Fuss About!tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.14357302012-04-19T11:29:48-04:002012-06-19T05:12:01-04:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/#fail character on Twitter; simply due to the level of frustration they add to everyday life of millions of commuters. Of course none of the inconveniences are planned or meant by TfL; but most of them can be prevented.
There is no doubt that TfL has been doing a great job in making public transport a better experience for all Londoners as well as those visiting London. However, what TfL is getting the most of their complaints, is in customer service. Some of staff working in London Tube Stations as well as some of bus drivers do not really know how they should treat customers; let alone that sometimes they have very little information about ticketing and journey planning if one has a question.
What makes the matter worse, just less than 100 days to go to the Olympics, TfL is asking commuters to provide proof of ID and address; should their Oyster card stops working and they require an exchange. It does not make any sense to have such demand; why TfL needs such information in the first place?
If a commuter is a tourist or a visitor who is going to be in London only during the Olympics, would not be able to provide such unreasonable documents if their Oyster card suddenly stops working and they have to change it. TfL has been charging £5 deposit for each Oyster card but never asked for proof of ID and address; it seems it always easier to charge people than refund their money. So, how the proof ID and address could help TfL to identify the owner of an unregistered Oyster card and or to establish whether the person paid the £5 deposit?
There's no way to prove the ownership of the card, if the card is not registered; so why TfL is creating such level of unnecessary bureaucracy just for one form of ticketing process? This can be certainly a major source of dissatisfaction during the games and after for sure; unless TfL realise how making simple changes in their customer service process can make massive differences in mood of individuals using public transport in London. This in turn will lead to more positive feedback and customer satisfaction for TfL.]]>Social Newsroom is the Next Big Changetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.14156892012-04-10T15:15:03-04:002012-06-10T05:12:01-04:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
The time in which, talk the talk is key to relationship building has come to an end; and the time to walk the talk is crying out to begin. Yes this may sound strange, walk the talk?! That's my little invention, as we can't run before we walk. Hence, we first need to walk the talk, which we talked about for decades, to enable us walk the walk. This is all about a change, a change that ensures sustainability and credibility; that indeed needs a process in place as well as dedication. This is the process of change; and change in itself is a process that doesn't like to be changed but to change. Change is about choice and direction; the right choice will lead to success and the wrong one to failure.
Brands have been working with their agencies for years and invested a lot of time and money to create plans and processes. Brands always wanted to protect their reputation through very controlled environments such as press releases and very close relationships with selected journalists. Social Media and citizen journalism however brought a new spectrum to the mix, mostly in favour of consumers and customers. Brands and agency widely refer to Social Media as a challenge and also an opportunity, but they have a fear as well; hence adoption of Social Media has been rather slow amongst some major brands. It is very important to acknowledge fear from change doesn't make change go away; it just makes the adoption and implementation process lengthier and more expensive.
Brands, one after another, are realising that they need to use Social Media and they've been asking their agencies to do something with Social Media. They don't know what proportion of their budget they should allocate for Social Media; or even which department is best to be responsible for Social Media. Due to lack of resources, such as dedicated talents and appropriate technology, agencies tried to replicate the old communications techniques, which often don't work according to plans and expectations.
There are countless number of seminars and conferences about best Social Media practice and how to integrate Social Media with the rest of marketing mix and PR; most very expensive to attend though.
The truth is, there's no single simple answer; as different brands have different culture and audience. This by the way doesn't mean brands and agencies should just experiment, because there's not a unanimously agreed solution. It is important to remember, as much as experiment is good but, when it comes to reputation and brand management, one should be cautious. Brands and their agencies need a technology which can be easily integrated with websites; while allow effective content distribution and management. This will undoubtedly play a key role in driving high and relevant traffic to the brand's newsroom.
Cost efficiency and having a hub for distribution of news stories is critical to bear in mind when planning for integration of a technology to boost newsroom. Contents must be interactive and engaging, while the deployed technology be capable of driving your strategy. Making news stories more interactive and engaging will lead to higher ranking and authority. This in turn reduces advertising and marketing costs, including SEO and display; while maximises brand awareness followed by an effective monitoring and accurate measurement. This doesn't have to be expensive though, if the right technology is adopted by brand's content and press team or their agencies.]]>How to Establish Social Media ROItag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.13932502012-03-31T05:10:47-04:002012-05-30T05:12:01-04:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
Social Media is about listing to what others have to say more than talking at them. Social Media allows an amazing opportunity to exceed customer satisfaction; while reducing number of phone calls to your call centres or number of emails which are often left unanswered - as major causes of further customer dissatisfaction. In one of my previous blog posts I said, customer service is the new PR; and I again reiterate the importance of customer service in today's world of business.
Social Media proved that it is not about controlling conversations and working with ghost writers; it is about learning how your brand is perceived by people and why. Building massive number of fans/followers without engaging with them is in fact waste of time and all other allocated resources.
What is the point of having 150,000 followers on Twitter and follow only 400 (with most of whom brands won't engage or, they're the team behind the tweets and status updates)? I think we reached the time to become serious about social media and customer service through the medium; as what is said on Twitter or Facebook, in a blink of an eye spread all over the web and becomes a permanent citizen of memories.
If you would like to have a brand with positive associations, stop thinking about increasing number of fans/followers; start investing in quality content and genuine listening to your customers.
Brands used to asking a questions in traditional sales projections and still asking the same question when it comes to Social Media; and that question is about ROI.
To put this in a plain and simple language, the ROI of Social Media is in engagement and listening to customers. You can only build brand loyalty and become social business leader, if you master engaging with your customers and listening to your customers.
By listening to above tips, you will exceed your customers' expectations, improve customer service and generate your brand invaluable positive word of mouth; all these should ultimately increase your revenue.]]>Brand Loyalty is Not to Be Bought, But to Be Earnedtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.13248812012-03-06T16:32:06-05:002012-05-06T05:12:01-04:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
What brands need to remember is customer loyalty is not there to buy, but to earn. One may argue brands like Tesco and Sainsbury's have loyalty schemes and they offer discounts exclusive to those sign up to the "scheme". But another may argue how much you have to give (as a consumer) before you get £1 off your next shopping and whether the offer is exactly on the product you would like to buy next (and not of those the database suggests based on your shopping behaviour). Such brands encourage people to give away their personal information for FREE to be monitored and their consumption behaviour, including purchasing methods analysed prior to get some so called "exclusive offers".
Brands encourage people to sign up to their loyalty programme/s, as they see it another avenue to:
* Market research - and sell more stuff by creating more needs perhaps
* Consumer behaviour - to establish how else they can market their products
* Consumption habit - to gather different ways of maintaining the same habit if not encourage more
consumption
* Up and cross selling products - make temporary feel good factor in consumers but in favour of
financial health of their own brand
* Selling personal details to 3rd parities (depending on above analysis), such as insurance
companies - OBS!
Question: It is a good business for big brands, but it doesn't seem to be as good for smaller businesses despite the fact they do loyalty schemes, but why?
Answer: Maybe because they don't have pages of small prints and deals with insurance companies and cold calling companies etc. #in this fashion bigger brands increase sales (quantity) and still making good margin, but smaller businesses sell more products just cheaper to survive.
Most loyalty schemes are buying people's information for pennies but making pounds out of them. While the owners of the information are walking on streets or sleeping over night, there are businesses making money out of them; that simple!
As you may now guess, money doesn't buy brands trust; it won't enhance brand reputation. It may buy your brand some short term support though, which is way different than building or maintaining a sustainable business. There are still handful number of business and agencies practice some old techniques to have their hands on people's money. Some of the some old school sales and marketing tricks work for businesses (sometimes); for example BOGOF or discount vouchers (but still for a price for the end consumer). The most expensive offers by brands are the 'buy now pay nothing till next year' and some of the 'FREE' trial promotion things. You may however argue this and it would be interesting to see your views too.]]>Social Media in Light of Common Sensetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.13248002012-03-06T16:11:02-05:002012-05-06T05:12:01-04:00Ehsan Khodarahmihttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ehsan-khodarahmi/
Social Media is simple but at the same time sophisticated; due to the very nature of communications. Unlike other types of communication theories, which are often based on "circumstances", there is only one type of communication in Social Media; symmetrical. This is the both the simple and sophisticated sides of the medium. Simple as there's only one solution to how become successful; but sophisticated since not many individuals and brands are still willing to come out of their so loved traditional comfort zone
As some may agree, Social Media is not a machine to bombard people with PR and marketing messages. Moreover, if people get upset with your messages or find out there are little truth and honesty in your intention, they have the luxury of broadcasting their messages about your brand to both who you reached as well as couldn't reach. So, it is vital to get the basics right in Social Media.
The old world of PR and one way communication avenue brands owned for a while is over; and their effort to control Social Media is everyday proving them unsuccessful. Isn't it the time to realise and acknowledge collaboration with people and listening to them more often?
I remember back in 2008 JCDecaux was removing any negative comments from where they had their press releases published; especially after they were caught on having unsecured database where they stored CVs of those applied for jobs to the company. It is quite fascinating to see how being genuine is winning its way despite restless efforts by emotional intelligence as well as traditional communications folk. Today is all about being genuinely transparent and honest; otherwise legal and ethical consequences should be expected.
There are always audience for one's thoughts and ideas about your brand; and Social Media united people across the globe. If a country is having sweet dreams in one part of the world, there is a nation awake in another country working hard and probably over their lunch break check hash-tags on Twitter, blog posts updates via friendfeed etc. So how strategic is your Social Media plan and how well have you positioned your brand in social channels?
As it is evident above, incorporating very well thought through Social Media strategy is a critical task, regardless of size and country of origin. Ignoring Social Media and power of sharing by people may result in losing market share and ultimately being permanently stopped by the red lights. Carphone Warehouse is for example a typical example when it comes to ignoring the power of sharing by people. That of course didn't cost Carphone Warehouse their business but, it did cost them a few hundred pounds and their reputation on Twitter.
Having said that, investment and commitment must be well justified because, Social Media is really fun and you can easily distracted by it; if your goals and objectives are not clear enough. Thus, it is crucial to develop bespoke Social Media strategy and implementation plan suitable to your business with objectives in-line with your corporate goals.
There are many individuals out in the marketplace calling themselves "Social Media Evangelist" or "Social Media Expert" but when talking to them about Social Media , PASSION is absent in their tone and body language; simply because they use Social Media as a buzz word to satisfy their bank account; so be careful who you're trusting to hand over the life and reputation of your brand to.
Social Media is not a buzz word like "Social Media Evangelist" or "Social Media Expert"; it is a communication channel which if deployed wrongly, the channel practitioners and savvy users would hardly ever give a second chance to your brand. Those behind Social Media MUST understand the principles of strategic communications, both in personal and professional life. Generally speaking, anything other than truth is a lie and liars aren't so welcomed in the territory of Social Media; unless they want to experience the embarrassment of being named and shamed.]]>
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