(^111) ■
CREATE A SOCIAL BUSINESS
experience of customers and stakeholders, including in venues that you may not have
originally envisioned.
For example, an outbound marketing message may claim to be “Created for
working mothers like you!” If it also turns out that the fi rm does not equitably pro-
mote women within the workplace, this contradiction will inevitably become known,
very likely being spread through social channels. This raises the requirements for
active listening and the incorporation of customer feedback into your business pro-
cesses: Without a strategic basis for participation, any involvement in the Social Web
will be limited to listening (but not responding) and using platforms such as Twitter
or Facebook for talking (as opposed to participating). Neither of these is optimal, and
neither will result in the desired outcomes.
The Innovation Cycle
The combination of social-media-based marketing and the application of Social CRM
is powerful. Connecting customer intelligence and what is learned through active lis-
tening deeply into your business results in a customer-driven innovation cycle.
Driving your business or organization according to your business objectives is
always your end goal. In combination with an understanding of your audience, your
business objectives are what dictate the specifi c actions you need to take. The use of
social technologies to create a presence for your brand on the Social Web—whether
though a smart application that a community fi nds useful or a space of your own built
around your customer’s lifestyles—creates a durable, relevant connection to the Social
Web. Social CRM is the complementary connection for your business: Social CRM
tools like ideation platforms and support communities encourage customers to provide
insights, thoughts, and ideas on how you can better serve them. This is precisely the
information you need to succeed over the long term.
What all of this adds up to is a new view of the customer in the context of
engagement. Figure 5.1 offers a view of the innovation cycle, codeveloped with
Uhuroo cofounder and 2020 Social colleague Kaushal Sarda, that combines the
engagement processes of a social business. The primary loop—Learn, Abstract, Do,
Offer—provides a framework for engagement that is based on an understanding of the
endpoint use or application of the product, service, or cause-related program that you
deliver. By closing the loop—by iterating—a continuous cycle that drives long-term
innovation through listening and collaboration is set up.
Kaushal Sarda
Kaushal Sarda leads the enterprise applications and products practice at 2020 Social in New Delhi. You
can follow Kaushal on Twitter (@ksarda) and read his blog here:
http://kaushalsarda.com/Kaushal Sarda
Kaushal Sarda leads the enterprise applications and products practice at 2020 Social in New Delhi. You
can follow Kaushal on Twitter (@ksarda) and read his blog here:
http://kaushalsarda.com/