January 27, 2009
The Why and How of Listening
By: Amber Naslund
Sometimes, making the case for social media starts with making the case for listening. If you haven’t seen David Alston’s Top 10 Reasons to listen, or the Next 10 reasons, have a look and I’ll hang out while you do.
Back? Okay, good.
So here’s an interesting perspective that a friend and I were discussing the other day. Making the case isn’t always about the “why”. Why is important, and it’s the justification behind what we do. Often, it’s the case that the C-suite needs, because while they’re not steeped in the day to day, they need to understand the rationale behind initiatives.
But the “how” people are equally important. These are the folks in the trenches, day to day, that will be responsible for managing the influx of information you’ll get through monitoring. They’ll also likely be the people that need to answer the “what now” question and figure out what to DO with that information once they have it.
So I’d like to put the question to you, How People. Let’s get into detail about the management of all this…stuff. Here are a few questions I keep hearing:
- Do we have to respond to EVERY brand mention?
- How much time does it take each day to do this?
- What’s the best way to handle negative comments? Ignore or engage?
- How does one person manage all of that information?
- How do we keep track of what happens after someone responds?
- Who should respond to brand mentions? What should they say?
- How will we know if all of this is making a lick of difference?
This is just the start, of course. We’ll tackle some of the above questions in individual posts. But what questions do YOU have about the “how” of listening and brand monitoring? I’d love your feedback.
Photo credit: Claudio Matsuoka
In the infancy of building a brand. I’ve been listening to what’s out there for a while. There isn’t much. What’s an effective way to build legitimacy, without sounding like Don King the fight promoter.
Thanks, Joe
Hey Amber-
I think a key question is \"how do you scale the program?\" especially given the current economic climate that isn\’t going to allow for ever expanding budgets for monitoring tools, community managers, etc.
I'm interested in the "how" of managing all that information but I'm pretty sure part of the answer will relate to filtering. Certainly when it comes to complaints, there are oodles of people who love to complain about almost everything. How do you separate them from the legitimate complaints that could be key to fixing and/or enhancing a product or service?
In the book "The Orange Code" (about ING Direct) there is a part where they discuss how the CEO fairly often takes calls in the call centre in order to stay connected to what customers are saying. In one case he eventually told a woman that ING was not the bank for her, she should be using a traditional bank.
In other words, not everything that is said is representative of your customers, not everything that is said needs your attention. Responding to some of the things that are said simply wastes time and turns your attention away from where it should be. But how do you distinguish?
My guess is that to a large extent it has to do with how close you are to your customer base. One of the mantras I like to chant is, "Be a customer first, an employee second."
I’m interested in the “how” of managing all that information but I’m pretty sure part of the answer will relate to filtering. Certainly when it comes to complaints, there are oodles of people who love to complain about almost everything. How do you separate them from the legitimate complaints that could be key to fixing and/or enhancing a product or service?
In the book “The Orange Code” (about ING Direct) there is a part where they discuss how the CEO fairly often takes calls in the call centre in order to stay connected to what customers are saying. In one case he eventually told a woman that ING was not the bank for her, she should be using a traditional bank.
In other words, not everything that is said is representative of your customers, not everything that is said needs your attention. Responding to some of the things that are said simply wastes time and turns your attention away from where it should be. But how do you distinguish?
My guess is that to a large extent it has to do with how close you are to your customer base. One of the mantras I like to chant is, “Be a customer first, an employee second.”
I thought I would put down my answers to your questions:
1. Do we have to respond to EVERY brand mention?
No. If the mention contains misinformation or an error, then yes. If it is slanderous or positive from a source that always maintains that angle, it is up to you.
2. How much time does it take each day to do this?
That depends on the volume of posts. for Apple I would imagine a lot. For a small B2B manufacturing firm….you get my point.
3. What’s the best way to handle negative comments? Ignore or engage?
Is it from someone who normally is negative. That makes it easy to ignore. Is it a customer with a single gripe or issue that can be resolved, then you must respond.
4. How does one person manage all of that information?
They don’t – it is a team effort.
5. How do we keep track of what happens after someone responds?
Using the same tools you used to catch the initial comment, then internal systems to ensure resolution of the issue.
6. Who should respond to brand mentions? What should they say?
Whomever you determine is capable. Corp. Comms, Brand Managrs, etc.
7. How will we know if all of this is making a lick of difference?
Watch for an increase in positive brand sentiment, less customer service complaints, etc.
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