26 Oct 2011, No Comments

Ease off a little…won’t ya?

I opened my Twitter account in September 2008 and loved the initial innocent community that I was a part of. There was loads of sharing, loads of support and loads of honesty. As more people signed up, this obviously changed. The biggest change for me was the tone, I watched as people started lambasting brands (and people) publicly. Demanding change, demanding instant responses and criticising brands when they were silent. I was and still am rather shocked by this attitude.

A recent post by a friend on her Facebook profile highlighted this again for me. Rather than the service frustrations she experienced, I was shocked at the reaction of others who quickly and ruthlessly jumped on the bandwagon.

A simple question lead to 21 comments. Just 3 minutes after, she received comments such as “Cheap bastards. Very poor service” and “Give em Hell”. Within a few hours though the issue was resolved and she got the service and response she needed.

My point is that we are SO quick to judge and along with it goes demanding, impudent behaviour.

Social Business:

The era of social business is here and what that means is that businesses are having to adjust, they’re having to find ways to adapt, and quickly, to consumers. I’m not just talking about a company having a Twitter account. I’m talking about what happens when that company makes a buying mistake and releases an inappropriate product in-store and then has to face the logistics of removing that product off shelf, dealing with the financial consequences of that error in judgement, as well as deal with PR nightmare that has resulted. I’m talking about the ability to quickly liase with the dealership and addresses the issues voiced, timeously & effectively.

‘Super-flexibility’ is the capacity to transform by adapting to new realities, underpinned by the ability to withstand turbulence by creating stable anchors.” Bahrami & Evans: Superflexibility 2010

Operational Activity:

And in my opinion these are operational issues that require thinking, planning, consideration and strategy. It doesn’t just take a team flying the social media flag within the company (and perhaps agency) it requires an entire shift in business attitude. That shift takes time. It is an entire business culture shift.

Service Orientation:

You can’t stamp your little foot at a till-point demanding an instant response when it is doubtful that the person operating the till even knows what Twitter is, that it is her job to listen or knows the online consequences of her apathy. We are not naturally a service-orientated nation. As a side note I look forward to the game-changer that Walmart will be. They’ll bring their extensive knowledge (heck they’ve even bought a social media agency a social media/e-commerce site and have partnered with Facebook to develop 3500 store pages) and will get the opportunity to train their staff ‘the social way’ from the outset.

Social Strategy:

There are countless scenarios that I can recall where the brand has addressed the situation, and resolved it accordingly, but that took time. I’m not saying for a second that as consumers that we should stop applying pressure toward change, I’m not saying we shouldn’t expect change and results. I’m saying that having worked with brands extensively on finding was to adapt, that it takes time. I’d suggest that most in South Africa are aware and are moving away from their “bolt-on”, “We need a Facebook Page” brief (thank goodness) to a social strategy that acknowledges the business strategy, mar-comm strategy and the implications on the business as a whole.

Ease off:

I commend the brand who has the guts to say “Keep your panties on, we are working on it” in response to a rude, demanding and contemptuous reaction. Just because it is online doesn’t mean you have licence to lose your manners.

A little visit to crowd psychology reminds us that people in a crowd act differently towards people from those who are thinking individually. I suggest we remind ourselves that we’re individual thinkers, help moderate each other’s behaviour gently and ease off on the social media judgement pedal just a little…