Corporate Blogging Series VI-Indian Corporate Blogs

The latest addition to corporate blogs in India, after Infosys ,Tata Interactive Systems Ltd., Cleartrip.com and Frito Layis the Indian auto giant Mahindra and Mahindra.

Named the Mahindra Universe, the blog revolves around 4 thought processes-
Customer Centricity
Globalisation
Sustainability
Innovation

With respect to Customer Centricity, the blog says-

Mahindra aims for a long-term engagement with its customers and encourages customer loyalty and advocacy by responding to their changing needs and expectations speedily, courteously and effectively. Engaged customers ensure a business of sustained and profitable growth.

With about 30 posts in a 3 month time span, it will be interesting to follow the usage of the blog by the organisation.

Corporate Blogging Series III-Consumer Engagement,Technorati authority and CGM

Research clearly indicates that organisations have accepted 2 facts-
1.Cultivating a respectable level of customer engagement is a strategic challenge.
2.The volumes and degree of consumer engagemnets will have long term implications for a firm.

Let's take a look at social media's role in this entire talk about consumer engagement.

Mario Sundar at the Linkedin Corporate Blog lists the top fifteen corporate blogs on the basis of their technorati authority.

Technorati authority is a measure of the number of blogs linking into the blog under discussion.In other words, technorati authority is indicative of-
1)Popularity of a blog as in terms of voulme of readers.
2)Volume of user generated content about a blog, with those many other users having generated content regarding that particular organisation, brand or product.

For the purpose of this discussion on corporate blogs, let us assume that a significant number of visitors to the blogs in question are customers-prospective and current.

Further, as per Ghuneim’s typology of engagement, a customer who comments on an online organisational initiative measures ‘medium’ on the degree of engagement continuum while a customer who creates content, as in blog about an organisation, brand, product, or service rates as 'highly engaged'.

Hence, the technorati authority can be safely assumed to be indicative of the volume of significantly ENGAGED consumers.The study of CRM could significantly benefit by taking into account the technorati authority of these corporate blogs, to track the volumes of consumer engagement.

Some observations-
1.There is a positive correlation between the reach(percentage of global internet users who visit the site) of a blog(source:Alexa.com) and the Technorati authority of the corporate blog.
2.There is a positive correlation between the Technorati authority of a corporate blog and the volume of Consumer Generated Media(source : Blogpulse).

Engagement refers to the creation of experiences that allow companies to build deeper, more meaningful and sustainable interactions between the company and its customers and appears to be the first step for any corporate towards building consumer loyalty, satisfaction, involvement and evangelism. Social media sure seems to provide a way.

Marketers start to use social networks for CRM instead of ads

An ADAGE article on Marketers start to use social networks for CRM instead of ads strengthens my understanding on the uses of social media as a tool catering to customer engagement, loyalty and satisfaction. The key objectives of CRM, at the end of the day are Customer Aquisition and Retention, and social media has offered tools to cater to each of these objectives by strengthening relationships, building networks and starting a two way communication process with the customers.

While the ad age article traces how first time product users can connect with experienced ones on these networks, creating a rich customer experience sharing platform, my article on how Corporate Blogs can make organisations customer centric had focussed on how auto giant General Motors had used its blog to maintain and nurture its relationships with its customers. By allowing companies to build product brands, create a customer-centric image, and by giving people a contact point by attaching a face or name they can interact with, corporate blogs serve as for a for consumer redressal and help build intrinsic relationships between the company and it's customers.

Social media and it's contribution to CRM maybe a subject of discussion today...but will definitely provide companies with a competitive edge, in the long term!!!

The 5th P of marketing-Participation

After Product, Price, Place and Promotion, Mario Sundar aptly talks about Participation being the 5th element of the marketing-mix.

"If you were wondering where does Social Media Marketing fit into the classic “4 Ps of Marketing” model, check this out. Traditional 4 Ps of Marketing encompass Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Social Media as well as social networking sites enable the Promotion aspect, especially the Word of Mouth part of it. (Related question I posed on LinkedIn Answers — 44 answers). Subsequently, the Word-of-Mouth component enables the 5th P of Marketing - Participation."

As the Web 2.0 mantra-
Create, Publish, Share, Connect, Influence and Collaborate, focusses intrinsically on Participation, the same is fast emerging as a tool for marketers to promote products, build brand equity, engage customers, and track customer satisfaction.

Harry Potter Marketing

Graham Hill's reference to the concept of "Harry Potter Marketing", while talking about marketers not taking the passage of time into account when marketing to loyal customers made interesting reading.The insensitivity of organisations in changing their product offerings to their loyal customers as they age is appalling.

The Harvard Business Review's February edition had a long article about Breakthrough Ideas. One of the ideas was keeping the brand (and its marketing) relevant to customers as they age by changing its value propositions, marketing messages and delivery capabilities. This the authors called 'Harry Potter Marketing' in recognition of the way the character both stays the same (at the core) but changes (in behaviour) as he ages.

Harry Potter Marketing defined-The concept of changing value propositions, marketing messages and delivery capabilities to loyal customers with time, while keeping the brand loyalty intact.

Businesses need to do the necessary cleaning up and updation of data time and again to keep abreast of developments. Besides, it is high time organisations stopped taking their loyal customers for granted!!!!

The correlation between Consumer Generated Media and Sales

As the democratisation of consumer expression leads to a viral proliferation of information online, the newage communication ecosystem has prompted the need for a careful evaluation of the potential of CGM or buzz as it is called. With each passing day, consumers find innovative ways to express their satisfaction/dissatisfaction about a product or brand.

An investigation of the relationship between blog buzz, market promotion and sales in the Consumer Packaged Goods(CPG) industry, by Nielsen Buzzmatrix revealed the following-

1.CGM has the potential to influence and generate incremental publicity for products, enough to effect their commercial prospects, specially in the CPG category.

2.CPG Marketers should consider the role of Buzz in their Marketing Mix, with respect to New product communication plans.

3.Ad spend is a large factor involved in generating CPG buzz.

4.There is a strong correlation between buzz and sales.

5.Buzz helps in generating accurate forecasts.

6.Buzz Magnitude: Top 10 % of products were responsible for over 85% of total buzz generated. Buzz is higher

7.Buzz Timing: Buzz usually precedes product launch and sales and is usually highest in the initial stages

As the above reiterates the prime motivational factor for consumers to create and post CGM-To be on the forefront of something new, it is profoundly clear that CGM will need to be an intrinsic component of the new product communication plans for marketers.

Interesting way to express Consumer Dissatisfaction

Expressing dissatisfaction over the way cheese is inserted in a sandwich at Subway, this cartoon from Lefthandedtoons is an interesting way to use the power of Consumer Generated Media. Source:ADAGE

Opinion leaders and CGM

As a consumer's pre-purchase research finds more value and credibility in an informal source of information,rather than a company's advertising campaign or it's salespeople, CGM and opinion leaders are fast becoming forces to reckon with.

Opinion Leaders (Schiffman, Kanuk)have an informal influence over consumer behaviour and impact consumer acceptance of new products and services and Consumer Generated Media has provided a new source of communication for these opinion leaders.

The question is-
What drives an individual to be an opinion leader?

Desire for Self-Actualisation-
A feeling of superiority or status by demonstrating expertise by generating content and on being considered an authority on a subject.

Desire for Self-Projection-
Desire to build a credibility for himself. Research shows that individuals categorised as opinion leaders are four times more likely to be asked for advice/voice their opinion on any subject under discussion.

Need for Self-Confirmation-Try to reduce own post-purchase dissonance or self doubt regarding a purchase, by discussing the product features in a medium which will garner some comments, which if positive, will reassure the concerned individual regarding the appropriateness of his purchase.

Need for Social involvement-
Some people love sharing product related experiences and use these conversations as a means of being part of the community.

As the keen desire for knowledge and information drives an opinion leader to be an innovative consumer and share his experiences, his gregarious nature and access to the community coupled with the fertile opportunities provided by the collaborative web, can be utilised by organisations to generate favorable conversations about their products and services.

It is upto the consumer marketers to decide how to 'identify ' these opinion leaders or 'create ' 'CUSTOMER EVANGELISTS'

The consumer was the king and we all seemed to know it.

According to the fifth annual PRWeek/Manning Selvage & Lee Marketing Management Survey, polling 279 U.S. chief marketing officers, VPs of marketing, and marketing directors and managers, and focussing on new media/CGM, integrated marketing and industry ethics, only about 12% respondents had CGM on their mind when considering marketing platforms.

Now why is this so?
CGM or consumer generated media is gaining imporatnce as the newly empowered consumers finds himself with a voice to express his opinions and post purchase emotions.

Organisations on one hand have a set of satisfied customers generating content about their positive experiences and influencing product adoptions by their friends and relatives, and on the other hand have to contend with unhappy customers sharing their woes with the threat of doing so in a technologically empowered digital environment capable of replicating the thoughts umpteen times, as people take to reading each others creations and linking to them.

As per the ADAGE article on the above subject, reasons for non-adoption of CGM as a promotion tool by several organisations stems from-

1. Fear of empowering a consumer to the point of no control.
2. No clear ROI on the subject yet.
However, the cost-effectiveness of this media over traditional media is bound to eventually let it get into vogue sooner or later.

Agreed that organisations are wary of embracing a medium where the echo of the consumer voice may be uncontrollable, but in an era where marketers are talking about
-Customer Relationship Management
-Customer Lifetime Values
-Increasing customer shares rather than market share
-Product Customisation
-Customer data warehousing and datamining and
-Using customers as brand evangelists,

will it not be contradictory to keep the consumer voice muffled?...After all, the consumer was the king...and we all seemed to know it.

Society concious corporates and the consumer

Coca-Cola recently entered into a tie-up with environmental group WWF. As part of a $ 20 m initiative, Coca-Cola is investing in 8 fresh water programmes overseen by WWF in regions where it has bottling operations.In return WWF will advise the drinks firm how to improve it's use of water , make it's bottling operations more efficient and reduce it's carbon footprint.As companies balance their objectives of profits, by focussing on the consumer, while also taking care of society's interests, the Societal Marketing approach to marketing is much in focus.

In an era of environmental problems, resource shortages, population growth, worldwide economic problems and neglected social services, there is a rising need of organisations which are sensitive to these issues to adopt the SOCIETAL MARKETING CONCEPT .

This concept of Marketing leads organisations to determine the needs and wants of target consumers and deliver desired levels of customer satisfaction more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that maintains or improves the consumer's and society's wellbeing.

Responding to nutritional concerns across the world, the $11 billion Kellog's company has decided to phase out advertisments targetting younger children for most if their products in case they do not meet nutritional guidelines.Mc Donalds has started churning out advertisments for adults. As consumer advocacy groups fight against anorexia across the world, Uniliver has announced a set of guidelines barring subsidiaries from using excessively thin models in a bid not to promote unhealthy 'slimness' in their advertisements.

Approaches like the above showcase the dedication of the organisations towards consumer welfare and positively influence their credibility. As more and more corporates embrace the concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility and consumer welfare, good corporate citizenship breeds not only consumer satisfaction, but also aids corporates in their efforts towards customer aquisition and retention.

Measuring Customer Satisfaction

As the value of customer retention increases manifold and becomes as important as customer aquisition, measuring customer satisfaction has gained impetus 'coz the key to customer retention is customer satisfaction. A highly satisfied customer is likely not only to indulge in repeat purchases,recommend the company and it's products, have lesser problems with pricing fluctuations, gives feedback and may be easier to service.

Methodologies for Measuring customer satisfaction-

1.Complaint and suggestion systems.
2.Customer satisfaction surveys.
3.Ghost shopping.
4.Lost customer analysis.

As I studied a whitepaper on Customer satisfaction metrics from Netpromoter , the strategy corresponding to the second methodology of customer satisfaction survey was thoughtful. While collecting customer satisfaction data, it made sense to collect information corresponding to repurchase intentions and likelihood of a customer recommending the product and brand to another consumer.Analysing data for satisfied, dissatisfied customers and further taking a look at those dissatisfied customers who could pose as detractors and generate negative inputs about a company and it's products made thorough sense.

NPS-The Net Promoter Score
By simply querying consumers on
"How likely is it that you would recommend (Company X) to a friend or colleague? " the "Net Promoter Score" or NPS, can be calculated. The NPS is simply the percentage of customers whose answers identify them as promoters minus the percentage whose response indicates they are detractors.

Three Categories of Customers
NPS is based on the fundamental perspective that every company's customers can be divided into three categories. Customers can be categorized according to their answer to the above Question based on a 0-to-10 point rating scale with "0" representing the extreme negative and "10" representing the extreme positive end.

Promoters (those who answer 9 or 10) are loyal enthusiasts who keep buying from a company and urge their friends to do the same.
Passives (those who answer 7 or 8) are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who can be easily wooed by the competition
Detractors (those who answer 0 through 6) are unhappy customers trapped in a bad relationship.

A proactive approach towards collecting and analysing this data appears mandatory in an age where customer complaints no longer are an index of a company's customer relationships. More than 96 percent of dissatisfied customers do not complain, most just stop purchasing from a company.

Understanding that a customer is not dependant on an organisation, but the organisation is dependant on him, appears to be the fundamental goal of any organisation.After all, Managing Customer Relationships towards more satisfied customers is the order of the day...

Case study from Brandingwire

Interesting new blog containing case studies and having a set of bloggers solve them independently. The first case study from
Branding wire is about a fictitious coffee company and the objective is to work out a strategy for growth and expansion. Ideas of contributors range from branding strategies to expansion plans, to extensive market research with the current consumers, to managing customer relationships, developing web strategies for publicity, capitalising local strengths, employee training to kiosks etc. An exhaustive list of ideas..

The one that stuck a chord was the idea on using Coffee outlets for Social Networking by The Branding Blog
In the era of social and Business networking, using these premises for the same, would definitely act as motivation for the social groups and adding an image angle to the offer, can make way for elite/premium social groups to get associated with the coffee chain. This will automatically take care of the word of mouth/buzz marketing as interested groups would like to be part of the clique.The relationship equity can be built upon so that customer's tend to stick to the brand beyond subjective or objective assessments, so much so that sticking to that brand of coffee becomes a habit.
Using social media further, adding access to internet based social networking at such a hangout can further set the revenue registers ringing.

Adding further to Drew Mc Lellan's idea of collecting data to gauge a customer's point of view, maybe some online communities can be established to have people share their coffee experiences...rather than interviewing customers, maybe an online site where they could briefly document their experiences before leaving, and hence be part of the 'Coffee' community....

As suggested by Brand Impact
" go after influential bloggers; find a large number of bloggers inside and outside the coffee blogging arena, and send a complimentary 1/2 pound bag. Ask for their input, either privately or publicly (on their blogs). Bloggers like coffee (by and large), and have an outsized influence"

Having satisfied customers create content about their experiences is bound to set off a positive chain which is much more beneficial than any other marketing or brand building tool....After all, satisfied communities not only indulge in repeat purchases, but also are great customer advocates....

Can social media be used by corporates to manage customer satisfaction?

It is common place knowledge that
Customer Satisfaction=Customer Perception minus Customer Expectation.
If the client perception of the product delivered is lower than their exepectations, negative satisfaction is the result.
If however the client's perception of the product delivered exceeds their expectations a positive level of satisfaction is achieved.

Companies have by far understood that by effectively managing the three elements of this formula, they can ensure client satisfaction and hence garner competitive advantages.
The question here is...Can social media be used to manipulate the above equation to garner positive differential between perception and expectation.

1. Can companies use this media to reduce customer expectations?
I guess yes, by being conservative and talking about their products with realistic expectations.
Customer expectations are typically based on past buying experiences,the opinions of friends, and marketer and competitor information and promises. However, reducing customer expectations too much can satisfy those who buy, but may attract few customers and can create a risk of competitors enticing the prospective customers with better products. So, for starters, this may not be the right approach.

2. Can companies use this media to increase customer perception of value?Definitely .
Social media can be used efficiently in 2 ways to achieve the above.
a)Companies can set up corporate blogs which are sophisticated brand building and product positioning approaches.By managing the customer's subjective and intangible assessment of the brand, they can increase the brand equity, hence adding to the customer's perception of value.
b)Companies can ride the CGM wave,and by suitably incorporating the same in the marketing mix,identify some evangelists. It is clear that a few influencers can generate a great number of product mentions if they decide to feature a particular product or service in their blogs. By building relationships with these individuals, companies can not only have positive media generated about them, but also increase the value equity of it's products in terms of quality, price and convenience.

Both the above strategies(a&b) can aim at increasing customer perception of value for the company and it's products. Agreed that customer perception is a final function of the quality of the product delivered, but considering an optimum condition where the product is of standard quality, an increased customer perception of value for a company's brand definitely helps in increasing the level of customer satisfaction.