It is generally agreed that only a small percentage of participants actively contribute in social media. At the June 2009 Online Community Unconference many community managers were seeking ways to increase the number of active contributors. Since the unconference, I have been pondering two questions. One, what strategies and tactics will get more customers actively [...]
A common concern of community managers at the June Online Community Unconference was getting more customers involved.
Here is a short video (4:11 min) that discusses the issues.
Building Customer Relationships with Social Media
I will also be teaching a online course on the topic in mid-September for the Social Media Academy.
To learn more about the course go [...]
Twitter is hot!. Oprah got 100,ooo followers in the first day. But why do “real” businesspeople use it? To find out I interviewed a few. Here are the key reasons:
Reputation monitoring and proactive reputation building
Building visibility and credibility in a new market space
Learning from a diverse brain trust of executives
Keeping up with what is happening [...]
I recently stumbled on a video of Joseph Pine’s talk at the 2004 TED conference. It is a great primer on the concept of the customer experience and the importance of authenticity in business. Definitely worth watching.
Although Pine doesn’t mention social media (social media was yet to explore on to the scene), he sets the [...]
I am pleased to be part of the CustomerThink.com Editorial Board. This is the group that will set the direction of this important web portal for the coming year. Have a look at the talent and perspectives that will be brought to bear, then bookmark www.customerthink.com.
CustomerThink.com, Editorial Board, 2009
Bob Thompson, CustomerThink Corp. (chair)
Bob Thompson is [...]
Recently, CRM consultant, Dick Lee, posted a review of my new book, Get with it! The Hands-on Guide to Using Web 2.0 in Your Business.
It is always nice to learn what readers are thinking. Here is what he had to say:
The best thinkers and writers are those who can drill down to essentials — and [...]
Caroline McCarthy’s post on Cnet caught my attention. The title: “Marketing: Social Media’s Hidden Bubble.”
The gist is that so called “social media expertise” served up what many businesses thought they wanted, a place on Facebook or visibility on YouTube. The underlying assumption being that this is a new form of advertising, getting visibility where customers [...]
Notel declared bankrupcy today and alumus, Mark Binns says great products where overwhelmed by a lousy customer experience in the support department.
This is becoming a common story as the recession persists and too many companies take self-preservation more seriously than customers. What they don’t seem to understand is that the two are tightly linked.
A few [...]
I am pleased to announce that I have joined the Social Media Academy Advisory Board and will be teaching course on the strategic business use of Social Media.
Xeequa Corp (www.xeequa.com) recently launched the Social Media Academy to educate businesses and businesses consultants on how they can become part of the online conversation that has attracted [...]
Jan Hofmeyr, Ph.D., is perhaps best known for articulating strategies for getting customers’ committed. When asked what companies can do to sustain and even gain customer commitment in a recession, he gave the following advice.
The recession is likely to be long, not short. That means that most people and almost all businesses will come under [...]
