Do you know how long it takes an oil tanker to make a full turn in the middle of the ocean?
It takes up to 45 minutes, and more than one mile for a ULCC class supertanker to make a full turn.
This type of effort sums up the challenge facing global brands in the face of the sea change that is the arrival of the Dynamic Customer
In the latest research theme from Altimeter, they ask: “How can inflexible organizations synchronize with the dynamic customer?”
Unfortunately, as we have seen from companies like Kodak, time and distance are not luxuries they have on this trip.
Sprinklr, however, believes it is possible to speed up the transition. Global Brands can significantly reduce the time necessary to synchronize with the Dynamic Customer.
We see 3 hard and fast requirements to this process, what we call How the Enterprise Does Social@Scale.
1. Multi-Channel Capability
There are way too many point solutions out there. Twitter tools can post to Facebook. Facebook platforms can post to Twitter.
Organizations require a single, enterprise-wide platform that allows them to engage across all of the social platforms, so that they can maintain a unified view of the social customer.
2. Multi-Function Capability
“Social” is more than “Marketing,” as DCJ research correctly points out. In order to meet the expectations of the social customer, social across functions within a business must coordinate.
The Social Customer is not going to sit and wait for this transformation to take place. Organizations require a single, enterprise-wide platform that enables collaboration between multiple functions to collaborate and coordinate their engagement and response.
This way, the Dynamic Customer is always hearing the unified and singular voice of the brand…regardless of where he chooses to connect with the organization.
3. Multi-Division Capability
As one of our customers said, “when it comes to Social, playtime is over.” As organizations begin the shift in transforming their rigid systems, they will need to do so in an environment where they can make “apples to apples” comparisons among their divisions.
You can’t have one division that reports on Followers/Fans and another that reports on Likes/Retweets.
It also goes beyond reporting. You need to be able to run coordinated global campaigns while allowing for the right level of local independence and flexibility. You need to have an enterprise-wide framework for dealing with brand reputation issues and potential PR crises.
The evolution and maturation of Social means that organizations must standardize on a single enterprise-wide platform that supports multiple divisions. The platform must provide a framework for governing consistent engagement and measurement.
Without this, the results of efforts to maintain and nurture the Dynamic Customer will remain cloudy at best…or create dissatisfied and departing customers, at worst.
Navigating the Sea Change: Some will. Some won’t
There will be some global brands that, like Kodak, will not successfully make the turn. Those that accelerate the turn of their vessels using a Multi-Channel, Multi-Function, and Multi-Division-oriented approach will greatly accelerate their transition and adaptation to a more flexible organization and increase their odds of success.
Tags: altimeter, Social Business Manager, social media manager, social@scale
