Editor's Note: Entrepreneur Richard Branson regularly shares his business experience and advice with readers. What follows is the latest edited round of insightful responses. Ask him a question and your query might be the inspiration for a future column.
Q: We've been trying to find a way to improve communication with our customers, but neither our website nor our Facebook page is producing results. What would you suggest? -- Billy Loaiza Rivera, Medellin, Colombia
A: This is a question keeping many company founders awake at night as they struggle to keep up with rapid changes in the digital world. The swift rise of new communication channels such as Facebook and Twitter have caused many executives to reassess how they stay in touch with their customers, employees and, increasingly, with the media itself.
People no longer want to be sold to; they want companies to help them find an informed way to buy the right product or service at the right price. They still watch ads, but often online rather than on TV, and they're much more likely to view ads that friends have recommended. When something goes wrong with a product, they want to be able to reach the company instantly and get a quick solution.
How companies adapt to this energetic and sometimes chaotic world will define their future success. The website, Facebook page, blog and Twitter feed are no longer add-ons to a business's communication budget: They should be central to its marketing strategy, and used in coordination with other marketing efforts.
As a first step in addressing your problem, make sure your site is set up not just to handle transactions, but also for communication -- and that when customers leave comments or send emails your team always follows up. Depending on the channels you choose, this might mean helping your customer service staff adapt to new methods of communicating. Once they have, you must continue to keep in touch with customers yourself.
In the past, I would ask Virgin customers to write to me with problems or ideas, and I often called people to talk about the problems that came up. It was a great way to check on our businesses' quality and standards -- though many of the complainants believed one of their friends was playing a practical joke on them. To this day, I try to answer as many e-mails as I can and encourage our executives to do the same.
Beyond customer service, you may need to consider that the old divisions between advertising, marketing and public relations have broken down, so it's time to review how your marketing team works. Virgin Atlantic recently created a Social Relations team to manage the combined media space and to make sure our sites and communications are current and interesting, maintaining the cheeky flair that characterizes the brand.
The rise of social media has presented exciting challenges and caused us to question our usual ways of doing business. When we launched a global ad for Virgin Atlantic on TV and in theaters -- full of humor, fun and with a touch of glamour -- it started to generate a big online following, as our fans promoted it to their friends. This extended the ad's reach far beyond our usual audiences.
To succeed, such efforts must be supported from the top. David Cush, CEO of Virgin America, freed up the management of these social media channels from the company's classic hierarchy. His social media team is made up of 20-somethings who have been given broad guidelines and then let loose.
These employees, who were "born digital," have placed Facebook and Twitter at the center of the company's communication strategy. When the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals contacted Virgin America to find out if we would help fly Chihuahuas from the West Coast to the East Coast, because the shelters were so full of this breed that they had a better chance of finding homes elsewhere, we agreed straight away. Some of our caring crew members volunteered to accompany the pups, and we sent them off in style on a flight from San Francisco to New York.
The team promoted this story through all channels. It went viral and also sparked the interest of the traditional media -- drawing attention to the ASPCA and Virgin Atlantic's efforts to help. We then used the story as the basis of a very successful online sale on flights to Mexico.
To succeed, entrepreneurs and business leaders must look at this rapidly changing world through a different lens; by working with your online sites, services and teams, you can transform these challenges into opportunities.
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Comments:
he experience of working in social media spaces since beginning days to maximize their presence and create a viral buzz about their brands with highly effective ROI. The cost of a social marketing campaign can vary but the basic packages still deliver outstanding value for the advertiser.
I like Richard's take on this as well. Many companies are mis-using social media as just as extra venue through which they attempt to push product. Establish yourself as the expert in your field and challenge yourself to use these forms of media in ways that you bring extra value to your customer, whether it is through helpful how-to's, industry tips and trends, or simply being entertaining as Virgin was. Forget hawking your product for a minute and think bigger picture.... how can you establish your business as a great partner and resource for your customer base? Lisa www.StartYourOwnSmallBiz.com
Great article . The points which resonates with me are the view that customers like to be informed so that they can take the best decision. that the effectiveness of the media will depend on how well it is managed by the company. There is a tendancy for companies to set up sites including websites without managing and updating these sites on a regular and in a systematic manner
Great Points, we are certainly trying to us social media to its full potential. Doing so while maintaining class and integrity has been a learning experience which has required refinement along the way. Our website was certainly born digital as we just recently launched. As for me I was born somewhat digital and am trying to catch up! Its been a learning experience and undoubtedly will continue to be as we and technology evolve. We are trying our best to use the big two social media sites to promote. You questions, comments and feedback are welcomed. http://www.facebook.com/diedonthevine http://www.twitter.com/diedonthevine
This is a great post. So much from one of the wealthiest people in the world, Sir Richard Branson. I think we shouldn't forget to include "Sir" in his name. He wouldn't be knighted if he weren't someone worth to be respected.
Joseph, I think the dichotomy you set up of profits vs social responsibility is a false one -- the two act synergystically rather than in conflict. Mr. Branson made this plain in his statement -- they leveraged their social responsibility into a successful Mexico ticket sale. Mr. Branson even mentions the reach enabled by their actions which not only reached more potential buyers, but reinforced the brand; which leads to future sales. Companies who are shortsighted enough to focus solely on current profits to the exclusion of building their brand are cutting off their noses to spite their face and it won't work in the long run. Similarly, asking the ROI of such efforts is like asking what is the ROI of my customer service department. Businesses have become so obsessed with measuring performance, they miss the logic that many actions leading to performance are hard to measure. In social media, cause marketing can be especially successful. You can read more at:http://hausmanmarketresearch.org/social-marketing/marketing-strategy-on-facebook-3-keys-to-being-liked/ where I show evidence from other firms using cause marketing to successfully build their brand (and their fanbase) through social media.
Awesome read. Many sales people we have asked are finding the new tech trends is impacting how they do face to face sales with clients. These are been jump from email to social media and now there is move toward mobile technology ~ see sales survey @ http://crocodilemarketing.com/sales-survey
I definitely think social media is huge! Just from my own recent experience with www.LeaseOptionsMadeSimple.co.uk I have seen a huge increase in traffic after starting to use Twitter and Facebook. LinkedIn is also powerful as a tool for connecting with other professionals. Excellent article which really highlights the power of viral. We are on the verge of a new global social revolution, and it is so exciting to be a part of it. Well done Entrepreneur for highlighting this in a very enjoyable way!
I love this article. Branson surely shows his ability to adapt to changing times, and I think this is one of the key factors in the success of the Virgin Group.
I love the last statement you wrote here "... you can transform these challenges into opportunities. " and I have to agree with you that customers are simply smarter these days; they don't like being told what to do. I guess, the question now is: how do you really engage your customers? It's not enough anymore to simply talk and listen- there must be something new, a fresh experience that customers will love and whatever that is, it's for you and I ( and the rest ) to find out. What makes these customers tick?
In today's market companies NEED to be up to date with the latest social media. I test this out when I tweet. Many times I will tweet positive or negative remarks about an experience I had with a company. If I get a response, I am more likely to feel they are listening and trying to keep me as a customer. If I get no response, I feel bad that the company is loosing valuable customers just because they won't tweet 140 characters. Social media is nothing but the next step in customer service. I applaud them for their attentiveness.
Excellent read
Social media is diametrically opposed to many corporate missions of "make a profit at any cost" Virgin is successful because it cares for more than just the bottom line. But, at some point size and bureaucracy can overcome even the most altruistic of corporate missions, leaving the image tarnished. Social media is about being real, but corporations and even governments are trying to control or even stop it.