QUANDO ENTRAI IN OMNITEL venivo dalla rete. Avevo già ampiamente lavorato al progetto editoriale e giornalistico di Web Marketing Tools (da circa 3 anni) e avevo fatto esperienze editoriali avendo scritto NetBanking: banche e utenti dialogano su Internet edito da Apogeo.

Al tempo, le cose che leggete qui di seguito -e per le quali ringrazio Vincenzo per l’ottimo link- (è stata un’ottima e piacevole lettura), le dicevo a tutte le persone che incontravo.

Probabilmente non così bene -anche se il succo era quello- perchè all’idea di monitorare newsgroup e IRC per vedere cosa dicevano di Omnitel rispetto a TIM, fu la prima cosa scartata dal piano di Internet Marketing che scrivemmo.

Ora i tempi per fare queste cose sembrano maturi …

“7 steps to turn a “no logo” into a “yes logo” conversation”

1. Reclaim the call centre

Monitoring the blogosphere, newsgroups and consumer rating sites for consumer feedback is a prerequisite. But I would argue that marketers are missing another trick: to reclaim call centres. There is a vast amount of customer interaction there, but too little information is fed back to the organisation. Gathering better knowledge on consumer issues and training/empowering staff to deal with them would certainly help deliver a better consumer experience. Most disaster stories include an element of customer representative failure, be it on the phone or online. This is often the first channel a dissatisfied consumer will turn to, before venting his/her anger online.

2. Fix what is broken

Jim Heskett 13, Professor at Harvard Business School wonders if companies take the risk to pay too much attention to the most vocal minority of consumers. This is a very valid question, but if you are a marketer and that the second highest link on a search query about your brand is a catalogue of disasters you hoped to keep secret, you know that the damage is done. Bloggers won’t let you cover up your shortcomings anymore. You have to fix what is broken quickly as consumers are bound to find out what works and what doesn’t. If a consumer voice up, check if this is an isolated case (see “reclaim the call centre??) and address the issue promptly. Publicise what you are doing to fix it.

3. Be prepared to join the conversation

Marketers should familiarise themselves with blogging dynamics and newsgroups etiquette. Several companies have successfully established company blogging policies and have equipped their staff with expertise in dealing with bloggers. The decision to blog or not needs careful planning but you need to gather some experience about it sooner than later if you want to remain in touch with your increasingly tech savvy and networked consumer base.

4. Treat influencers like VIPs

Nowadays, you have to pitch to bloggers too. Find out who the influencers in your sector are and treat them like VIPs: exclusive previews, product testing, consultation on marketing plan, customer services audit, etc… This is what companies like Microsoft (with their developers network) or Alfa Romeo (who is running a successful online community leaders program) have been doing for years.

5. Tailor your marketing for consumer-to-consumer distribution

Advertisers seem to have discovered WOM’s effectiveness with Burger King’s Subservient Chicken viral campaign. A few months ago, Microsoft launched a campaign to recruit bloggers to promote Longhorn. Vespa has recently launched a blog to provide “tips on the latest tools to get around cities more quickly and enjoyably?? while Ubisoft encourages girls into gaming via the Frag Dolls blog. Technology company Marqui even pays bloggers to mention their products. This is a different world and it needs different rules and different formats. Rehashing your ad campaign or your PR ideas will not work. You need to think about it differently, from start. Talk to the experts.

6. Create a platform for consumers to express themselves

If you want to create a blog, allow readers to comment and do not censor or remove their postings just because you don’t like what they have to say. It takes courage to listen but consumers take notice as David Gee from HP found out. Ultimately, you need to contribute positive buzz online, both in quality and volume. That means encouraging consumers to say good things about your products or direct them to where they can. Gap launched the “How Do You Wear It??? campaign to invite people to upload pictures of themselves fully Gap clothed. Mercedes Benz goes one step further and invites customers to co-create its advertising campaigns. Often, the conversations are spontaneous: a lot of positive brand messages are posted every day at the iPod Lounge while NikeTalk, the “non-affiliated online sneakers community?? received 200 million visits.

7. Let consumers be your marketers

Consumers know best what make them tick and how to spread their enthusiasm to their friends. “Network marketing?? companies, from Avon to Tupperware have been turning consumers into ambassadors for decades. I will not be surprised if companies look into their experience to help shape their CGM strategy. The local gym club offering gifts for any friends you convince to buy a membership is using a similar technique of capitalising on consumer’s connections and marketing skills (and you would not recommend it to your friends if you did not enjoy the experience).

[via]: Consumer Generated: from Mayhem to Marketing