The True value of Social Business – Free white Paper

Focus recently released a white paper I wrote on The True Value of Social Business.  Check it out.

It blows through various misconceptions circulating about ROI.  For example, results such as influence, engagement, impact or customer satisfaction are not values but benefits.

Use the white paper to arm you to gain the green light on your social initiatives by discussing the value with your executive team in monetary terms. This paper will tell you what you need to know, and explain the benefits of social business including:

  • Extended influence with prospects and customers.
  • Improved branding.
  • Improved customer service.
  • Heightened customer loyalty.
  • Better insight into customers.

The white paper is free.  Click here. 

Social Media ROIs are excellent so get on with it

As a consultant, I often have prospects trying to buy my services by promising me leads or “exposure.”  Those results are beneficial but they don’t put food on my table or pay my rent.  Know what does?

Money does.

Now take what I just said and translate that to a company.  A business can’t pay its employees with tweets.  It can’t build a new factory paid for with impressions.  That takes money.

Are you really surprised then, when executives want a social ROI to forecast the revenue or savings potential from undertaking what could be a six- to seven-figure social investment?  They need to know how much Money Out and In to expect to run the business.

To me, any corporate initiative should be able to stand the test of economic analysis -- and no, marketing isn't excused.

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PR Agency Social Media ROI Calculator

And how PR firms can benefit

Thought you’d be interested in insights into a social media ROI methodology geared specifically towards the PR agency world.

Check out the preso.

PR Agency Social Media ROI Calculator - And how PR firms can benefit

Each ROI calculator is a little different, depending on the industry and company.  However, the basic elements are consistent and building the methodology is the hardest part.  I’ve done the hard thinking to help you.

Thanks to Dr. Natalie Petouhoff for her thought leadership.  She’s the bestest!

SCRM’s dirty little word is really not so dirty

Lawrence Buchanan wrote a dandy article about the importance of understanding the dollars and sense impact of social business. 

While he values determining the return on investment (ROI) for social business initiatives, he also expresses a preference for the Return on Customer (ROC) which is a means to determine the total customer equity.

To me, ROC is the little brother to smROI because getting to the latter is influenced by the former.

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Simplifying Social Business - How real people work

The social business model exalts engagement and collaboration with customers, partners, and employees. 

Strip it back and the reason why the social business model is fundamentally important is because it supports how real people relate and do real business.

Why then are companies still confused about the social business model?  Why aren’t they rushing to implement it in their own companies?

I’m going to explore these issues in this white paper, although I’m going to come at the discussion from a little different perspective than most other thought leaders in the social business space.

Along the way, I’ll explore why the social business model is so important for companies today ─ and the potential impact on failing to pay attention to it.

 

Click here to read Simplifying Social Business or you can view the slideshow format.

 

Who owns the customer relationship?

I struggle with this question.  Crowd wisdom in Social CRM (SCRM) circles says in today’s world the customer owns the relationship.  That’s the power of social media.

True confessions, though, I’m not completely comfortable with this idea.

The reason? The inequality in a relationship where one party holds more power than the other.

Some will say the point of social media is to give customers power back.  Yes, it’s true – and it’s one of the great things about social media.  However, I also have concerns about the pendulum swinging too far to the left, in which case a new problem arises.

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Sensemakers versus Skynet

Esteban Kolsky makes me think.  Like today, he posted a provoking article on Sensemakers versus systems – and he was stimulated, in turn by Venessa Miemis, another favorite thinker of mine.  Let’s hear it for people who make us think.

I started to post a response to Esteban’s article but as I watched the length of my comment grow, decided to post it here instead.

Esteban postulates:

[D]o we need Sensemakers, people who can make sense of the data — or can we trust the systems to make sense and make the decisions for us?

Esteban’s essential argument is the world is too complex and the data volume so high that computers are needed to handle such high volumes of information and then act on them.

My thought?  I agree in part with the Esteban...but with a big qualification.

 

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