The Social Customer
How Brands Can Use Social CRM to Acquire, Monetize, and Retain Fans, Friends, and Followers
By: Adam Metz
Published: August 16, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
ISBN-10: 0071759182
ISBN-13: 978-0071759182
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
"A social object is something that people look at, discuss, and pass from person to person, putting their own stamp on it",writes Vice-President of Business Development at Metz Consulting, Adam Metz, in his practical and idea packed book The Social Customer: How Brands Can Use Social CRM to Acquire, Monetize, and Retain Fans, Friends, and Followers. The author describes the business case for social customer relationship management (CRM), and how to apply CRM to brands as social objects, through the most effective application of social media.
Adam Metz recognizes that it is very rare for a brand to become what he calls a social object, but achieving that status will transform the very nature of the brand. The author points out that brands have always sought being talked about by their customers. What has changed is brands and their marketers must consider talking with their customers. While not interacting with customers may indeed be part of the brand mystique for a select few luxury brands, that failure to talk with customers can represent a disaster for most other brands. Brands often fail to understand the critical importance of interacting with customers, and attempt to control the conversation. In the social media world, that attitude is one that will lose value for the brand. Brands have value, and and the social collateral of a brand has a measurable value as well.
Adam Metz (photo left) understands that today's customer is a social customer. That means that every customer, for every brand whether they realize it or not, is a social customer. Social customers are both able to utilize social media and other social platforms with ease and at a high level of frequency. They also feel empowered to discuss and share ideas with other social customers openly and honestly. Some brands have embraced the social customer. Other brands have not done so as yet.
Adam Metz describes how CRM is measurable for social customers as it always has been for all customer relationships. The business case for CRM rests on the following:
* Brands have more types of customers than ever before
* Brands must obtain direct and actionable customer insight
* Brands are trying to keep costs down while increasing customer engagement
* Brands want to deliver the best products and services possible
* Brands want to be protected while being promoted constantly
* Brands are trying to be agile and able to stop on a dime
For me, the power of the book is how Adam Metz not only makes a very compelling case for social customer relationship management (CRM), but also provides the strategies and tools necessary to achieve and measure the desired brand goals. The author describes the techniques for transforming a brand into a social object. Adam Metz shares ideas for engaging customers that creates brand loyalty, He also demonstrates how to harness the power of collaboration. The author is also not afraid to point out the potential mistakes and pitfalls that await marketers who fail to understand relationships with customers on every level. Overall, this book is an excellent source of useful and readily applicable ideas for building a social brand and for measuring the impact of the enhanced customer relationships.
I highly recommend the brand changing and customer engagement building book The Social Customer: How Brands Can Use Social CRM to Acquire, Monetize, and Retain Fans, Friends, and Followers by Adam Metz, to anyone who seeks to make the transition from an ordinary brand to one that becomes a social object. The connections and relationships with your customers will be stronger and more loyal to the brand.
Read the valuable and comprehensive book The Social Customer: How Brands Can Use Social CRM to Acquire, Monetize, and Retain Fans, Friends, and Followers by Adam Metz, and discover how to develop social customers even if they never use the most popular social media tools. The strategies taught in this handy book will serve a brand marketer well regardless of the social media platform preferred by the customers.
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