Talking around the town – Friday, 10/16/09

I entered into a great discussion this week on John Moore’s blog regarding Important Social Media Stats From IDC For You To Consider.

The article highlights adoption of social media by workers and the technology implications.  I commented on my techno-thoughts, in the good company of others.

 

I agree with a lot of what John writes, however, in his article Social Media May Never Scale Beyond Support For Most Businesses, John and I face off on opposing sides.  There's great potential for business uses of social media -- but it will fall into collaborative realms.

Business strategy should always lead technology

There are ongoing discussions ablaze concerning how to label social media technology solutions.  Should they be called Social CRM or Social Business solutions or what have you.

It’s beneficial to decide on labels so we can all speak a common language so the discussion is important.

However, the focus on the technology is also a cart before the horse phenomena.

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Collaboration equals harnessing diversity

Sometimes I wonder why collaboration is so interesting to me and today I solved on the why.  It’s because collaboration equals harnessing diversity.

Being an information explorationist, despite whatever job title I may hold at any given time, diversity means exposure to truckloads of information I might not find on my own. And that's cool!

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The Great Social Media and Social CRM debates

I spend très beaucoup time keeping up with thought leadership on social media and social CRM topics, hopefully adding to the discussion.

A big discussion topic centers on whether social media is a paradigm shift for how companies will be called to interact with their customers.

Is it?  Hmmm. Yes and no.  I’m going to give you my 2 cents worth and am interested in yours.

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How Intellicore Design Consulting helps companies strategize & implement social media

Navigating through the social media world can be challenging, especially for companies new to these channels.

Part of the challenge is the breath of social media.  To do it right, companies need to consider the both user needs and business needs.

Bridging user and business needs is our speciality and that's why we can help you.

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4 in 5 adults participate in social media -- Companies need Social Media Strategy

Think social media doesn't have an impact on your company?  Think again.  And yes, that's true even if your business is B2B.

Forrester just published its third annual Social Technographics Profile.  Some of the highlights can be found on the Groundswell website or you can purchase the full report from Forrester, entitled "The Broad Reach of Social Technologies.” The company gathered and analyzed data from across North America, Europe, and Asia.

A few of the stats that popped out at me are these:

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Rackspace Email – Integrating customer service & interaction via multi-channels

Bob Warfield recently wrote a article on the need to integrate Customer Service and customer interaction.  Additionally, he also pointed towards the very real possibility of how sometimes being too social can be the wrong move for a company.

Bob’s observation highlights the customer service challenge of finding the right mix between offering self-service options mixed with help from real people via phone and via also social media channels.  It’s about providing service in ways customers want and need.

Circling around all this social challenge, companies also still need to be cost-effective in managing their businesses.

Break it down and the challenge is about finding a balance between business need and user/customer needs.  That’s a driving motivator behind whole Social CRM movement.

Rackspace Email (formerly Mailtrust) is an excellent example of a company who is successfully hurdling the challenge as they offer excellent service delivered by a variety of avenues.

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