Abercrombie & Fitch get it right. When you pay for your purchases at Abercrombie & Fitch the sales assistants will ask you “Have you checked us out on Facebook?”

There are a few moments at the till when the assistant is usually quiet – the customer is finding their money or waiting for their bank to authorise their credit card. It uses these moments to talk about their social media activity – and in particular a campaign they are currently running on Facebook. And with 1.5 million people liking them on Facebook, they are clearly doing something right.

So if you want to grow and engage more customers in social media the best way is to embed it into your existing processes. You currently have many customer touchpoints so make the most of them. And let social media complement what you already do rather than sitting on its own.

Short URL & Title:
Embed social media across your customer touchpoints — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/cwg

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A brand that had the ability to embrace criticism as well as praise was Domino’s pizza. Instead of cowering in shame or responding angrily to negative online reviews and comments about their products, Dominos pizza met the criticism head on -  “Oh yes we did – The Pizza Turnaround“.

Dell recently held its first “Customer Advisory Panel (CAP) Days“. Customers from across the United States attended the events over two days. Conversations and interactive panels took place in front of the eager ears of many Dell employees across various groups of the business, to hear firsthand what the attendees think of the brand overall, the products and the customer service.

A good replacements for focus groups – but less effective than in-person ones – is virtual panels.

Pssst is General Mills’ online testing ground for new products. The company sends participants coupons and free products to try, and in return they are asked to fill out surveys. The program is so successful that bloggers who write about saving money are gladly turning others onto joining Pssst.

Similarly, the Starbucks Passion Panel was designed to get customer feedback – for better or worse. The community of Starbucks drinkers gives their input via surveys and forums.

Wal-Mart’s Elevenmoms platform is another example of how a mix of online community, shopper experience and in-person visits can work together to help the company gather new insights.

Short URL & Title:
Get customer feedback through virtual panels — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/scd

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No airline can afford to forget the viral impact of the YouTube video of the song United Breaks Guitars by Canadian musician Dave Carroll.

So it’s not surprising Air Canada acted quickly to repair a wheelchair – special motorized chair – belonging to 10-year-old passenger Tanner Bawn fighting muscular dystrophy. As soon as word hit Twitter that the wheelchair was damaged in transit, the outraged messages started to fly. “So. @aircanada killed Tanner’s wheelchair. We’re now stuck at La Guardia. #tutusfortanner”. (#tutusfortanner being a fundraising event held in NYC for Tanner). Twitter exploded with support for Tanner.

Air Canada did the right things. They immediately provided a manual wheelchair and then an electronic one. Realizing neither would be adequate, they located an all-night repair shop, got Tanner’s chair fixed and returned it the next day. However, they did not communicate this in the spaces where discussions were taking place, allowing damage to be done.

This new kind of corporate accountability is good for customers and, ultimately, for industry.

No business of any kind is safe from the power of social media.

Short URL & Title:
Act quickly to avoid a corporate image nightmare — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/avo

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Hayward’s leadership failure started with his delay during the initial weeks of the spill to address the severity of the problem. He even played down the crisis:

“The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume” (Source)

“I think the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to have been very, very modest.” (Source)

Hayward’s inability to be transparent from the start of the crisis roiled the public’s frustrations. In the early days of the spill, BP failed to present a specific plan on how the problem would be handled.

One of Hayward’s most serious mistakes was saying:

“I’d like my life back”

on camera. He was standing on the Gulf Coast when he made the statement. It’s a region that has suffered the deaths of 11 rig workers and an emotional toll unmatched since Hurricane Katrina obliterated communities five years ago. He would have done better and come out better if he had just empathized with all the folks in the Gulf region on how sorry he was. The five-word remark sent a detached, insensitive message to the public and inhabitants on the Gulf Coast. The words made many families feel that Hayward and BP simply didn’t care.

And than his lackluster appearance in june 2010 before the U.S. Congress. Hayward testified, “I wasn’t part of the decision-making process in this well”.

And while fishermen in the Gulf lamented over the loss of their livelihoods, Hayward was photographed at a yachting race.

One of the basic rules for managing an emergency is constant communication with the public. Without building a relationship with the community, companies like BP face the danger of an information vacuum that becomes filled with assumptions, predictions and rumors, concocted by the public, that may be untrue.

In the world of social media, where news is viral, a statement  – whether true or false – can tarnish a company’s credibility. Dealing with a crisis has totally changed because of social media but apparently BP didn’t understand this point, as it did not have a strategic plan on how to defend its response to the oil spill on social media. And BP have been under heavy social media attack:

• Greenpeace shut down every BP petrol station in London, putting up signs saying: “Closed. Moving beyond petroleum”
• Greenpeace, initiated a “Rebrand the BP Logo” contest. Greenpeace asked its supporters to “ . . . create a logo for BP which shows that the company is not ‘beyond petroleum’ – they’re up to their necks in tar sands and deepwater drilling.”
• A Facebook group called “Boycott BP,” it’s urging a worldwide boycott of all BP brands and services, has drawn more than 848.000 fans.
• YouTube users are uploading a steady stream of videos – about the oil spill – that use humor to express their anger about BP
• An anonymously managed Twitter account – BP Public Relations (@BPGlobalPR) – that makes glib comments, purportedly on BP’s behalf, with 189.000 followers
• The Black Oil Firefox plugin that aims to black out all mentions of BP (British Petroleum) across the web
• Flash mob attack against the BP station on Houston and Lafayette in New York City.
• And the Lady GAGA remake song “Big Oilmance” – listen to the song:

Social media is a powerful crisis management tool, but make sure to have a social media risk management plan before the crisis occurs.

Short URL & Title:
Companies in crisis need to build trust with the public — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/chn

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Trust, authenticity, purpose, empathy, devotion, curiosity, mindfulness are all crucial leadership skills. I have been working on leadership development for several years and I totally agree with all the skills explained in the video. I would consider one skill, “self-knowledge”. In my point of view, the basis for effective leadership is to know deeply yourself. Starting from there, the leader can demonstrate all leadership skills presented in this video.

Short URL & Title:
What lies ahead for leadership — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/gfx

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United repeatedly refused to listen and take corrective action after damaging the guitars of Dave Carroll. He eventually wrote a song in response that have been viewed 8.8 mil­lion times since it went live a year ago and is among the most-watched video in the his­tory of YouTube. The inci­dent has gone down as per­haps the ulti­mate self-inflicted cus­tomer rela­tions screw-up by a major cor­po­ra­tion in the social media era of empow­ered cus­tomers.

“Com­pa­nies pro­vid­ing poor cus­tomer ser­vice can’t ride out the sit­u­a­tion as in the past,” Car­roll says. United ran Car­roll through the bureau­cratic ringer for 9 months before giv­ing him a defin­i­tive answer about his com­pen­sa­tion claim: No. “I was almost out of options but I wasn’t because social media allowed me to express myself in a cre­ative way,” he says.

As for Car­roll, his viral hits on YouTube have helped juice his career as an inde­pen­dent musi­cian and, now, a pub­lic speaker. CD sales are “through the roof,” he says, and he’s field­ing offers to play gigs and to write songs. The tril­ogy has taken on a life of its own: see Tay­lor Gui­tars’ video response and the below UBG Song #3:

This is defin­i­tive a proof of how social media has shifted the bal­ance of power toward cus­tomers and away from arro­gant multi­na­tional cor­po­ra­tions.

For another exam­ples, see Web users turn to social media sites to channel anger and frustration, Transparency in a social media age and Social media as an activist tool.

Short URL & Title:
Social media has shifted the bal­ance of power — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/lkc

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This is why environmental organizations like Greenpeace, on a growing scale, are tapping social media sites to seek support for political causes and voice consternation over what they see as unfair company practices.

In a recent attack against BP, Greenpeace shut down every BP petrol station in London, putting up signs saying: “Closed. Moving beyond petroleum”. The activists stopped the flow of fuel by flipping safety switches located on the forecourts and then removing them to prevent the petrol stations reopening. This attack was not targeted at motorists, but was targeted against BP to get the company to rethink their strategy:

But that is not all. Greenpeace also initiated a “Rebrand the BP Logo” contest. Greenpeace asked its supporters to “ . . . create a logo for BP which shows that the company is not ‘beyond petroleum’ – they’re up to their necks in tar sands and deepwater drilling.”

Nestlé, have also been attacked by Greenpeace for using palm oil from companies that where trashing Indonesian rainforests, threatening the livelihoods of local people and pushing orang-utans towards extinction. Greenpeace prepared a frontal assault with prepared assets such as off-brand logos, detrimental videos, and called for their Twitter followers to attack Nestle’s Facebook page.

And human rights group Amnesty International  launched a social media campaign on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and through bloggers, designed to raise money for a full page ad buy attacking oil company Shell in a UK national newspaper.

Social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Flickr have become invaluable mobilization tools for activists.

This is why brand transparency has become increasingly important. Brands can’t hide behind walls and tell us who they are. We decide who they are by how they act and the quality of their product. Our purchasing decisions will be made with more information at hand. To succeed brands will have to be open and part of the discussion so that consumers are aware of the value their brand has on issues we care about.

We’ve always been social, we just have the technology now to easily connect with others on a massive scale. Word-of mouth has never traveled so fast. Brands need to remember that with every decision they make.

Short URL & Title:
Transparency in a social media age — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/ysk

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Being a pharmaceutical company Lundbeck operates in one of the most regulated industries. There are strict limitations to Lundbeck’s communication. Many pharmaceutical companies with Facebook pages simply disable their Facebook walls because they are afraid, that they will be held responsible for postings made by users.

But Lundbeck developed a concept that makes it possible to have online conversations with end customers. The sites are run by a foundation, and there are chinese walls between the commercial activities in Lundbeck and what is published at the DepNet and DementiaNet websites, of which there are more than 20 worldwide.

The first of the Lundbeck communities, DepNet, was launched in 2001 and the second, DementiaNet, was launched in 2005:

Lundbeck pays independent doctors to answer questions from users at the sites, and by this Lundbeck is able to create communities and facilitate conversations amongst patients online which are perceived as valuable by its end customers. Doctors mention products in their postings, and in many cases it is products made by Lundbeck’s competitors. The Doctors at the Danish site mention Lundbeck’s products less frequent than the seize of Lundbeck’s market share could justify.

When Lundbeck was attacked in the Danish press and accused of being unethical in marketing its medicine by the means of DepNet and DementiaNet user after user responded online and stated how much they valued the conversations and content at the sites and defended Lundbeck against criticism.

Short URL & Title:
Social media in a highly regulated industry — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/hkb

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This video tells an interesting tale about how everyone from an Ice Cream Truck to a Mobile Bistro are able to use social media to promote their products: The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, The Bistro Truck, Holton Farm:

And the trend is spreading as more food trucks are using the social networking site to draw customers. Another example is Curbside Cupcakes:

The enormously popular Creme Brulee Cart in San Francisco, has amassed over 12,000 followers in a little over a year. Most of their business comes now from people who follow Creme Brulee Cart on Twitter because Twitter is the only way that customers can find the cart’s location for the day – This has gives people a valid reason to follow Creme Brulee Cart.

Short URL & Title:
Using social networking sites to draw customers — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/bqj

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The vast majority of consumers prefer to carry out business communications via social media, according to a new survey by research firm Yankee Group for Siemens Enterprise Communications – Yankee Siemens Social Media 2010 (.pdf).

Consumers want companies to be more engaged with social media, particularly in the realms of customer support and service. Companies are being seen to fail when it comes to using the likes of Facebook and Twitter as a communication channel.

According to the survey consumers want to engage with companies via their social spaces:

• Over 70% of consumers want access to company experts and support via social media channels and trust company information provided to them via social networks
• 57% of customers feel company outreach via social media would improve their loyalty to that company
• Most customers feel that companies should be monitoring social media for customer feedback
• 50% of respondents use social media at least once a day

Businesses must understand that social media is no longer just a marketing initiative for generating leads. Businesses need to focus on how social media, combined with customer service and other revenue-generating initiatives, can help make the relationship between a company and its customers more effective for both.

Short URL & Title:
Consumers want companies to be more engaged with social media — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/ybh

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• Greenpeace, initiated a “Rebrand the BP Logo” contest. Greenpeace asked its supporters to “ . . . create a logo for BP which shows that the company is not ‘beyond petroleum’ – they’re up to their necks in tar sands and deepwater drilling.”
• A Facebook group called “Boycott BP,” it’s urging a worldwide boycott of all BP brands and services, has drawn more than 800.000 fans.
• YouTube users are uploading a steady stream of videos – about the oil spill – that use humor to express their anger about BP
• An anonymously managed Twitter account – BP Public Relations (@BPGlobalPR) – that makes glib comments, purportedly on BP’s behalf, with 185.000 followers
• The Black Oil Firefox plugin that aims to black out all mentions of BP (British Petroleum) across the web
• Flash mob attack against the BP station on Houston and Lafayette in New York City.
• And the Lady GAGA (Bad Romance) remake song “Big Oilmance”:

Related posts:

1. Act quickly to avoid a corporate image nightmare
2. Rebrand attack
3. Youtube apology campaign

Rather than try to sweep these unhappy customers under the rug, look at them as a challenge and an opportunity to improve your brand and leverage them for some publicity.

A brand that has the ability to embrace criticism as well as praise is Domino’s pizza. Instead of cowering in shame or responding angrily to negative online reviews and comments about their products, Dominos pizza met the criticism head on -  “Oh yes we did – The Pizza Turnaround“.

Dell recently held its first “Customer Advisory Panel (CAP) Days“. About 30 customers from across the United States attended the events over two days. Conversations and interactive panels took place in front of the eager ears of many Dell employees across various groups of the business, to hear firsthand what the attendees think of the brand overall, the products and the customer service. The group was split into two, a day for individuals who recently had a frustrating experience with Dell and a day for individuals who are vocal evangelists for the brand.

The attendees started the morning with their gripes – customer service issues came up again and again. The heads of customer service and marketing were present and actively engaged. As they listened, they took notes, then asked questions and they promised they would make changes.

That type of customer empowerment is important. Now, whether they’ll go through with the promised changes is another story, but it was clear that Dell understood it was time to start paying attention to the public’s perception of its brand, and make some changes to keep their customers.

Nestlé is another company that has been successful at holding an event to let people engage with its brand directly. After a resurgence in interest in the Nestle Boycott, Nestlé decided to invite a group of bloggers to what it called its “Happy, Healthy Gathering”. Mommy bloggers, who’d been tweeting up a storm about the company’s stance on breastfeeding in third world countries, were invited to tour the facilities and give their input on the company.

“In order to sell more of its infant formula in third world countries, Nestle would hire women with no special training and dress them up as nurses to give out free samples of Nestle formula. The free samples lasted long enough for the mother’s breast milk to dry up from lack of use. Then mothers would be forced to purchase the formula but, being poor, they would often mix the formula with unsanitary water or ‘stretch’ the amount of formula by diluting it with more water than recommended. The result was that babies starved all over the Third World while Nestle made huge profits from this predatory marketing strategy.” (The Nestle Boycott)

Whether the event truly changed perceptions remains to be seen, but it did a great deal to show that Nestlé was putting in the effort to reach its audience.

Short URL & Title:
Complaining customers as an opportunity to improve business — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/mes

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No longer is social networking just for gossiping, hobnobbing or telling your friends what you had for breakfast. Increasingly, it has become an effective communications tool to mobilize masses to effect change.

Lately we have seen:

• Intel was attacked by activists opposed to minerals mining in the Congo inundated Intel’s Facebook page. They wanted Intel to pledge its support for a congressional bill that would restrict the import of “conflict minerals” that contribute to fighting in the war-torn country.
• Human rights group Amnesty International  launched a social media campaign on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and through bloggers, designed to raise money for a full page ad buy attacking oil company Shell in a UK national newspaper.
• Nestlé, was attacked by Greenpeace for using palm oil from companies that where trashing Indonesian rainforests, threatening the livelihoods of local people and pushing orang-utans towards extinction. Greenpeace prepared a frontal assault with prepared assets such as off-brand logos, detrimental videos, and called for their Twitter followers to attack Nestle’s Facebook page.
• Greenpeace, initiated a “Rebrand the BP Logo” contest. Greenpeace asked its supporters to “ . . . create a logo for BP which shows that the company is not ‘beyond petroleum’ – they’re up to their necks in tar sands and deepwater drilling.”
• A Facebook group called “Boycott BP,” it’s urging a worldwide boycott of all BP brands and services, has drawn more than 800.000 fans.
• YouTube users are uploading a steady stream of videos – about the oil spill – that use humor to express their anger about BP
• And the Lady GAGA remake song “Big Oilmance” – listen to the song:

There is no brand immune to a negative event … it happens, that’s life and most companies plan for this to happen by developing action plans.

Short URL & Title:
Social media as an activist tool — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/ucp

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1. Social media sites used to channel anger and frustration
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During a turnaround, don’t focus exclusively on distinguishing yourself from the competition; find what brings you together as a company. It may be values, a vision, or a set of shared emotions. Articulate this sense of unity well and the business will follow.

Do remember the famous words of Peter Drucker: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast“.

Short URL & Title:
Build a culture that supports strategy implementation — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/srd

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