Customers 3.0 - Help them connect
I had the good pleasure of hearing Jeffrey Rayport speak this week at an event hosted by Omnicom (at the very cool Google office in Chelsea Market in Manhattan). Jeffrey is an illustrious speaker and business thought leader on e-commerce and the issue of how companies should connect with their customers in the current online era. Jeffrey talked about Customers 3.0, which he defines as:
With a seemingly infinite array of companies, brands and products vying for scarce customer time and attention...customers dictate how they will purchase and consume -- where, when, and how much -- using a variety of channels largely, if not exclusively, configured by them: They are using community-based online tools (social networking, social bookmarking, and social shopping) to guide one another, which has made dot-com darlings like Amazon.com look almost quaint compared with media-meets-commerce-meets-community start-ups like Glam.com.
They also are joining social networks of various stripes at a pace that so far is unabated. These networks are filled with people they trust, which is why they will rely as much on each other to get information they need on products than on traditional sources like publications or companies' web sites.
In most cases individual customer's social networks are small, but this doesn't mean that it's not worth integrating social media into your program. I say, the smaller an individual's social network -- for example their number of Twitter followers -- the better. To me, this is a clear indication that those folks in one's network of followers are true friends and the peer influence factor is high. I would assert however, that many of these individuals -- particularly ones that are using Twitter or other social networks as part of their jobs -- would love to connect with more peers in order to learn from them, showcase themselves and gain more trusted opinions on technologies they should use.
The trick in thinking about social media in this context lies in three things:
- Finding where these individuals are
- Determining how they are using their social networks for their jobs
- Determining how you can add value to them
On the last point, a primary way to add value to help them connect. This means joining and using the social networks where they are, and for the most part not talking about your company. When you do, it should be in response to a problem they've expressed and it should be either an offer to help or a pointer to your knowledge base with a practical solution. This requires a different mentality among marketers, but pays off in cumulative returns in the medium and long-term.
Does this make sense? If not, why not? Please let me know and let's explore deeper in the comments.
