While there is a general consensus that social networking will bring sweeping changes to customer relationship management during 2010, there is little agreement as to the precise form those changes will take. Some experts feel that a large number of companies will continue to experiment with the new media, taking a hit or miss approach that may do more damage than good. Others believe that it will be another year of learning as companies seek to avoid the mistakes of others while experimenting with better methods.
One thing everyone seems to agree on is that companies cannot afford to simply bury their heads in the sand and ignore the trend completely. They cite the recent Nestle versus Greenpeace issue as a social networking public relations disaster that could have easily been defused if Nestle had responded quickly and properly.
In case you missed the kerfuffle, here’s a recap: Nestle was targeted by Greenpeace, which posted a YouTube video criticizing the chocolate company for using palm oil in the manufacture of its Kit Kat candy bar and other products. Palm oil manufacture, the environmental activism organization says, endangers species such as orangutans by destroying the tropical rainforest in which they live. Nestle had the video removed on the grounds that it was a copyright violation and considered the matter closed. However, the word spread like wildfire on the social networks—Greenpeace sent tweets about what they called Nestle’s censorship, and many people kept posting the video to Vimeo.com and other Web sites. Protesters also posted vitriolic messages on Nestle’s Facebook page, but the issue really got heated when Nestle went on the defensive, telling Facebookers not to use or adapt its logo—as some were doing in protest—as well as deleting the most egregious anti-Nestle posts and posting rude responses to others. Eventually, Nestle calmed down and apologized, and added that they will phase out the use of non-sustainable palm oil—but it may have been too little, too late. The public relations backlash has yet to be quantified in terms of sales, but a search on Twitter or Facebook shows that the company has a long way to go before it’s in the clear. Social media and marketing experts agree that this is one for the textbooks.
Another aspect of social computing that most experts accept is that companies are going to need to use the networks to build relationships with potential customers rather than sell to them. It has long been a popular corporate philosophy that relationships need to be measured in terms of sales dollars. This is not the only criteria for judgment, however, and social networking is proving that customer relationship metrics can take many forms, none of which really outweighs another. Brands that use the new media to truly connect with customers—sending them responsive, personable tweets, soliciting their ideas through Facebook, rewarding their business with perks if they are Foursquare users, and whatever iteration the next gen of social media engenders—are the ones that will position themselves as forerunners in 2010 and beyond.
Perhaps the biggest impact on CRM that will be seen in 2010 as a result of social computing is that companies will be forced to relinquish some control over their fates. No longer can companies post glowing recommendations in ads or on websites and hide the negative comments. Everything is going to be out there for all to see, and there is little that they can do about it. They are going to have to accept it and learn how to most effectively respond. With everything now being made more transparent, the companies themselves are going to have to become more transparent. Honesty and responsibility will need to be more than just words, because the social networks will post every violation. That may well prove to be the most important contribution made by the social networks.
