Treat me like a customer, not a consumer

The challenge we at SiftGroups are always set by organisations and businesses looking at online social media is typically a request to “show us examples of social media delivering measurable value (ROI)”. If only it were that simple. Like any social activity, online social media is pervasive and insidious. It cannot be corralled or managed in a traditional way.

The challenge we at SiftGroups are always set by organisations and businesses looking at online social media is typically a request to “show us examples of social media delivering measurable value (ROI)”. If only it were that simple. Like any social activity, online social media is pervasive and insidious. It cannot be corralled or managed in a traditional way. Ultimately it’s about people being themselves and saying what they think in any way or place they choose. That’s why it’s a tough and scary opportunity for any business built on the legacy of treating us not as individuals but as the final step in their production line – from product to consumer.

We rarely use the word ‘consumer’ in our everyday conversations. It’s a word used by economists and market analysts to define us as a purchasing vehicle for a defined product or service. We are grouped together within socio-economic categories and are at no point considered as a proactive part of the creative process. A consumer is someone who passively consumes what attracts them. The only actions open to a consumer are to decide to consume or not. A customer, on the other hand, is more than just a consumer. To attract and retain my custom a shopkeeper needs to engage with me in a relationship – being able to address me by my name and converse with me about mutual interests. The result for the shopkeeper is not just my loyalty but also my ideas for improving his or her service. If you wonder how that translates into an online shop take a look at Zappos’s blogs, which is no doubt one of the reasons why they were bought by Amazon last week for around $928m.

Online social media is redefining ‘customer’

The exceptional opportunities that come with embracing online social media are now more apparent. Take the airline industry. Traditionally moving people from place to place across great distances is not dissimilar to moving any other cargo. It’s a question of control and confinement. The more confinement, the more the carrier can transport. So the naming of aircraft is unsurprisingly reflective of us as consumers. The new double-decker Airbus A380 fits this consumer criteria. However, the Boeing ‘Dreamliner’ clearly is aimed at customers – harking back to the first air travellers for whom the journey was as much a part of the pleasurable experience as the destination. And where did the name ‘Dreamliner’ come from? It was Boeing’s social media initiative to invite people from around the world to ‘Name Your Plane’. A half-a-million voted on the web. In competitive terms it potentially places Boeing in a completely different place to Airbus.

Talking with Matthias Mahr, Head of eCommerce and Customer Management at Eurostar, the potential for working with social media was clear. Eurostar is in the process of constructing a new fleet of coaches. However, the approach to working with its passengers in developing the specifications is based on traditional focus groups. Like the airlines, the 19th century model of categorising passengers by the size of their wallet still pervades the rail industry. I’m either in First Class or Second.

An appreciation of the potential for using online social media to tap into the creative ideas of potential customers (also known as ‘crowdsourcing’ in the social media industry) conjures up quite a different vision of how we are seated in a railway carriage. When I make my booking why not ask me my reason for travelling? If my reasons are business, would I want to be in a quiet carriage or would I be interested in sharing the journey with a fellow business traveller? If I’m travelling with my family would I like access to a play area? It can’t be beyond the realms of possibility that people will go on Eurostar to meet a new date and wine and dine them in a Parisian restaurant.

How can online social media deliver ROI?

The starting point for the answer to the ROI question has to be your organisation. Is it sensitive to its customers or is it locked into the consumer production line? At SiftGroups we offer an internal audit of your customer-facing activities that will clearly identify the challenges and the potential.