As I mentioned in a previous post, the Internet has forever changed the way in which we share our experience with a brand or company. Likewise, it’s changed how organizations are able to collect feedback from customers, analyze it and gain valuable insights. The social conversation between brands and their customers is now just as important, if not more, than customer feedback hotlines and “How are we doing?” cards.
Rick Wion, director of social media for McDonald’s Corp. explains the importance of paying attention to what people are saying about your brand online:
Monitoring social media is an absolute essential for any company to understand what people are saying about your brand and your industry. Set up monitoring to measure the overall conversations, how conversations flow, what topics drive those conversations and who influences those conversations the most.
By keeping track of who is engaging with your brand you are able to gain insights into their experience and the opportunity to build a relationship with them. For example, I was recently on a flight from Chicago to Indianapolis after what had been an exhausting trip. (Side note: Anyone who has ever had to fly out of or through O’Hare feels my pain.) As I boarded the plane, I heard one of my favorite recording artists singing and the flight attendant greeted me with a smile. Immediately, I felt more relaxed and, to be honest, happier. I tweeted the airline (and the artist) with a well-deserved “Thank you!” and within minutes I heard back, “You’re welcome! Enjoy your flight home.”
Engagement comes in many forms, including @ replies, retweets, comments and likes. Right On Interactive scores leads and customers with a 3D Scoring methodology (3D Scoring = Profile + Engagement + Lifecycle Stage). Companies using the ROI Customer Lifecycle Marketing solution are given one single view of the customer, including lead scoring activity from social media, email marketing, events, meetings and other interactions.
Engagement drives relationships. Relationships drive revenue.
