I recently wrote about the amount of information that one can gather about users who register for or become members of your website using Facebook Connect. In continuing to read and contemplate writing on the subject I came across a nice article by Augie Ray in CRM magazine. Augie’s article points out that the majority of companies who are using Facebook Connect to allow consumers to connect to their website are doing so without telling the customer what information they are sharing or how the company will use it.

Customers are becoming wary and savvy about the fact that while connecting to a site using their Facebook ID may be high on the convenience side, they may also be unwittingly sharing more personal information and access to their data with that particular company than they would have if they would have signed up in a traditional manner. In a time where Social CRM is about as hot as any area of social software and where companies are beginning to want to capture and utilize the information available about customers and prospects on social networks it is amazing to me that so many companies would rely on Facebook to communicate what information is being shared through Facebook Connect. Let me explain…

Facebook Connect is a wonderful way to lower the barriers and gate to having people become a member of your website. With well over 600 Million members there is little chance someone who wishes to use your website will not have a Facebook ID. In using Facebook Connect as a signup/signon method for your site by default you get access to a bevy of user information (see the image below) but will actually not have requested permission to contact the user or post to their wall etc…For each of those you will need to request special permission.

While the majority of web users used to just click the “Allow” button and were instantly connected to your site, the amount of privacy concerns specifically surrounding Facebook has made more and more users take a close look at just what personal information they are now allowing the website/company access to by using Facebook as their sign-up/sign-on method.

It is at this extremely critical stage – the point at which you the company are asking the user to trust you and give up their personal information – that I feel companies are really falling down on. In the vast majority of Facebook Connect examples that I’ve seen or used the website/company has just used the default “Request for Permission” dialogue box that Facebook has provided without realizing that at this critical stage of creating trust the company itself could create that feeling and sense of security with just a little transparency.

Yes Facebook’s “Request for Permission” dialogue box is familiar looking to all by now and yes it does give the user details about what personal information and privileges are being shared with the company, but in reality it is nothing more than a blanket statement of information that the company now has access to without any indication as to how or why they will use that information.

In an era where customers want to purchase from and deal with companies that they trust and believe are transparent, replacing the default Facebook “Request for Permission” dialogue with one that actually speaks to the information your company is gathering and how you plan on using it is a tremendous way to create a sense of security, transparency and ultimately trust between the consumer and your brand. Are you gathering the information about a customer’s likes and dislikes from their profile? If so, why are you harvesting the information? What is in it for the consumer? Will you ever sell the customer’s data? Can they revoke access at any time?

While not every customer will care to have all these questions answered each time they sign up for a website, more and more consumers are becoming tuned into the fact that are allowing companies unfettered access to information that may really offer them no discernable benefit when using the website. When you combine this ever growing awareness with the fact that so few companies are actually taking the time to be transparent in the “Request for Permission” stage there exists a real opportunity for your company/brand to set itself apart and be seen as a brand that sits high on the trust/transparency scale for consumers.

The shining example of a company that continues to dominate when it comes to customer loyalty and trust is Amazon and their Facebook Connect Request for Permission dialogue box is no different. Rather than simply rely on Facebook to communicate to consumers what information they were sharing and how Amazon would use it, Amazon has created their own “Connect Amazon and Facebook” page that pops up before (yes an extra pop-up but a worthwhile one) the Facebook Request for Permission and gives a complete rundown not only on what how Amazon will use the user information (while spinning the benefits to the user) but also how they explicitly will not use the information supplied. While there is already a high trust factor for a brand like Amazon, that was certainly not always the case and it is in taking the extra steps for transparency and trust (like this one) that have built the trusted company reputation that Amazon has. Whether your company is a 2 man start-up or has offices around the globe you can take a page from trust leader Amazon’s playbook and instantly create a feeling of trust/transparency when asking people to share their personal information with your brand via Facebook Connect.

What are you doing to create trust with your customers? What other brands can be held up as examples of how to create transparency/trust? What brands should be examples of how to lose that trust?

Friend and mentor Paul Greenberg is fond of saying that we may be moving from a time of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to Customer Managed Relationships (CMR). It’s a statement that every company needs to take to heart. The number of channels with which customers engage with your company and each other obey no geographic boundaries and know no time zones. Where companies once had control of the channels and times with which they would engage customers the pendulum has decidedly swung the other way. While your office and customer support may be open 9-5 on the east coast of North America, your customers are talking to you and about you when they feel like it and on the channel of their choosing. Where companies used to have to facilitate the coming together of customers through user conferences, again at a time and place chosen by the company, today that same user base is spread across social channels, forums and connecting with one another without company involvement. How then should you react to this dramatic shift in consumer empowerment? 

It is easy to be daunted by the fact that your consumers are so empowered but in truth if you have a product or company that you are passionate about, the fact that customers want to connect with you and each other should be empowering. While this is not a how-to article, I will start with some truisms that you can take to heart as you learn to embrace the consumer control of the conversation.

1. Realize you cannot talk to everyone or react to every mention of your company/brand – People are going to mention your company on social networks and while you can and should be monitoring this chatter (go simple with a tool like HootSuite or go pro with Radian6) you cannot and should not react to every mention of your company unless you have someone dedicated to just that job. If your program allows, set up key word alerts when they are related to your brand/company, monitor Twitter and your Facebook Wall and where it seems logical and authentic to engage it most likely is. If you can add something of value to a conversation between two consumers then jump into the fray and add value but don’t just shoehorn your way into every conversation that you are mentioned in.

 

2. Train the people who will engage consumers – This seems really simple but I am amazed at how many companies still think it is ok to let multiple people or even a single person with no training become the voice of their company. I’m not talking about training on how to use Twitter or Facebook, I mean customer engagement training. Whether that means going through the same training as your customer support teams or media training is dependent on your specific company but I can’t stress this enough, train your people. There are far too many stories of companies who have had their reputations tarnished simply because they didn’t realize that when you allow someone to Tweet for your company you have essentially handed them the keys to your company’s store.

 

3. Get the right tools – If you’ve bought into point #2 then you will have well trained people who want to engage customers on your behalf. In order to make these engagements fruitful for both you and the consumer give your now well trained employees the right tools to do their jobs. Whether you require the power of monitoring tools like Radian6 or Sysomos versus what you can put together on a budget is dependent on your business’ needs, but make sure you are monitoring social media in some way with dedicated software. If you are going to have more than one person engage on social media or want to be able to post to several social media profiles at once then use a tool like CoTweet or HootSuite that are set up for just that purpose. Finally, tie it all together by tracking the conversations you are having with an integrated CRM system that allows you to view a complete history of traditional and social conversations before the engagement you are about to have and will archive each subsequent conversation regardless of channels.

 

4. Arm yourself with knowledge, then pay for help – There are more than enough people who like to think of themselves as social media or CRM experts and many of them will sell you their time for nothing in return. On the other hand there are plenty of great people who are really in the know and can help you both understand the shift to social customers and execute against a solid strategy. The difference in knowing which one you are talking to is arming yourself with knowledge before you decide you can tell the difference between the two aforementioned individuals. Read Paul Greenberg’s book, blog and then head to Altimeter and devour their Social CRM paper. Go to Hubspot and MarketingProfs and get yourself up to speed on some of the latest thinking. Also be sure to use the resources offered by Mashable (Facebook and Twitter) as well as the guides published by the social networks themselves (Twitter). Arm yourself with knowledge and then if you need it (and I believe most do) find someone who has a track record of implementation and success, talk to them and make sure that they know more than you do

 

5. Don’t be afraid to admit a mistake or say you are sorry – People make mistakes and companies are full of people. Perhaps the most authentic thing you can do on a social network is admit when you made a mistake or something that happened was not in keeping with how you wish to operate your company/brand. It can be tough to suck it up and say I’m sorry when everyone is watching but that is exactly why if it’s the right thing to do, you should go ahead and do it. Everyone is watching and they along with the aggrieved party will appreciate just how honest and authentic you were.

Epic Mix has taken the idea of check-ins, achievements, location services, and applied it all uniquely to skiing. Think Foursquare meets the Nike Run app. You really need to watch the video to understand just how nicely this is all tied together.

Tip of the cap to @janicediner who shared this video at Mesh Marketing.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uWzo5saKDE

Feedback 3.0

I recently wrote about the My Starbucks Idea website which solicits Starbucks’ customer ideas about how to improve virtually every aspect of the Starbucks experience. There is no doubt that this type of interaction with consumers is only the tip of the iceberg and companies better get up to speed quickly (see the Motrin Mom’s for an example of why). Called Transparency Tyranny by Trendwatching, the trend was first noted in 2007 where it was “big”, it was “bigger” in 2008 and it will be “even bigger in 2009.”

I called the Starbucks idea Comment Cards 2.0, Trendwatching introduced me to the idea of Feedback 3.0 as quoted below

• Feedback 1.0 (early web) – Saw an outraged individuals posting scathing reviews, feedback and complaints, often to the delight of other netizens Brands remained unaware or chose not to listen, dismissing these outbursts the way they’d dismissed any kind of customer dissatisfaction for decades.
• Feedback 2.0 (where we are today) – Is about these rants — and some raves — having gone ‘mass’. The long-predicated conversation is finally taking place, albeit amongst consumers and not, and intended, between corporations and consumers. Companies have started to take note, but to a large degree still choose to listen, not talk back, trying to ‘learn’ from the for-all-to-see review revolution. Which is surprising to say the least, since a quick and honest reply or solution can defuse the most damaging complaint.
• Feedback 3.0 (which is building) – Will be all about companies joining the conversation, if only to get their side of the story in front of the mass audience that now scans reviews. Expect smart companies to be increasingly able (and to increasingly demand) to post their apologies and solutions, preferably directly along-side reviews from unhappy customers. Expect the same for candid rebuttals by companies who feel (and can prove) that a particular review is unfair or inaccurate, and want to share their side of the story.

With this information in hand I give you a few of my tips for ensuring that your brand does not miss out on the conversation as it is certainly going on.

• Set up Google Alerts – It is really easy to miss the conversation going on if you don’t try to listen. Google Alerts are most certainly the easiest way to track any conversation that is going on about your company or brand. Choose the right keywords and get the digest sent to yourself everyday that way at least you will not go more than 24 hours without knowing what is going on.
• Claim Your Twitter Account – This again is a really simple thing to do and is one that you should do immediately if you have not done so already. There would be nothing worse than someone squatting on Twitter using your company’s name and responding as if they were your company. Jeremiah Owyang has a good article on this you should read.
• Search on Twitter – One thing you can be sure of is that if there are any (and I mean a single one) consumers or people who have interacted with you, your brand or a product produced by your company (including being the ad agency for a corporate brand) it will eventually come up on Twitter. So use Google Alerts to ensure you are on top of the situation daily and use Twitter Search to keep up to date during the day as response time is crucial.
• Gather Your Own Feedback – While your company may not have the money to invest in a large campaign like Starbucks or Dell, there are many ways you can solicit ideas and feedback from consumers, partners and employees. The important part is not to how you solicit the ideas, it is that you act on those ideas and some how (use your blog, employee newsletter etc…) relay the information that you are taking action to those who took the time to give you the suggestions in the first place.

Those are my ideas for you, I do recommend you sign up for the Trendwatching newsletter.

We live in a time and place where often consumers complain that companies do not listen to them or that their collective voice is not heard. While I do not claim to know anything about the Coffee business and to be honest, I do not even drink coffee (I am much more of a soda guy myself) Starbucks has caught my eye with their My Starbucks Idea website.

The idea is simple enough, give your customer’s a platform from which they can proffer ideas and suggestions about how to improve everything from their breakfast options to having a shelf in the bathroom to put your cup on. It seems as though consumers are really engaging with the site and they’re no dummies over at Starbucks, they are taking the time to not only listen to the ideas, but to respond and implement the best ones.

While the site has only been up for a bunch of months, there have been thousands of suggestions (some ridiculous and some ingenious) and as important there has been a ton of feedback from consumers and Starbucks Corporate on the ideas put forward. As of when I actually wrote this post originally (months ago) Starbucks already notes that they have twenty (20) of the ideas being implemented or at least tested in stores.

From a business perspective, could anything be simpler yet more innovative at the same time? Your consumers are often the best source of suggestions and insights that you being so close to your product end up missing. Many of the ideas have the potential to be revenue generators and the others will no doubt please many consumers.

Startbucks has often talked about its relationships with its customers and the idea of creating a consumer based culture, I can’t help but think this is a tremendous example of both.