What makes a brand social? (1)

March 6, 2013 by Dr. Anderson Uvie-Emegbo (anderson@gapsacademy.com @andyemegbo) 7 Comments

Dr. Anderson Uvie-Emegbo

A few months ago, I was on a study tour of one of the world’s most successful direct banks in Madrid, Spain. Over the course of a week, I learnt two fundamental lessons that continue to shape my work. These lessons speak to the issues around “what makes a social brand” (see my last week’s article).

Fired up and ready to burn

The bank’s executive team shared with me an intriguing story. The management decided to involve its employees in the process of redefining its brand values. Employees were asked to send in their individual suggestions of what the brand values should be.

Thousands of entries were received. Employees voted and the preferred choices became the new brand values of the bank. The real story here is not about the unconventional approach adopted by the executive management team.

The story lies in what they did with the rest of the “community generated brand values” that were not selected. The brand engraved all the suggested brand values on a statue of the brand’s logo. Copies of this statue were displayed prominently in all departments. They sure made interesting reading.

The brand clearly demonstrated the importance of everyone’s opinion. During meetings with various members of the organisation, I realised just how significant that exercise was to the employees. It renewed their passion, drive, commitment and zeal to do more. I recall Javier (not his real name) one of the product managers proudly taking me to a statue and showing me the brand value he had suggested.  These guys were truly “fired up and ready to burn”. This was lesson number one of “what can make a brand social”. “How fired up is your team?”

Team work, not tim work

The second lesson was how teams could work seamlessly to consistently create superior products for the customer. Each product had a multi-disciplinary team consisting of at least individual specialists in product development, IT, marketing, business intelligence/strategy and operations – a minimum number of four team members. The strategy was to ensure that right from the ideation stage, all critical stakeholders are involved in shaping the ideas so that the best possible outcome is achieved. The collective wisdom of the team is harnessed at the very points where they are needed.

 Sadly, this is not the case in many organisations. Frequently, teams work in silos often duplicating projects, products and efforts. Take a familiar culprit – the product team. They sometimes create seemingly “winning products/services” with minimal input from other critical stakeholders. The result – a significant number of the target audience literally go through the proverbial eye of a needle in order to find the unique selling proposition of such products or services. Stop trying to outwit the other departments. In the midst of all these fiefdoms, there lie the lost opportunities. We need a single view of the customer.

A social brand and its work place

A decision maker in a leading global fast-moving consumer goods company proudly told me that his brand had over 30 million fans on Facebook. Sadly his organisation has no active internal channels for engaging its employees. How can a brand be social when it has not created and nurtured the structures that enable socialisation in the workplace?

A growing number of employees do not believe that their opinions are valued. There seems to be a pervading atmosphere of “de-innovation”.

Any organisation that neglects the internal harmony of its employees while actively promoting a caring external image is simply living a lie.

From fans to cash – the missing link

At the end of the day, all the great stuff that happens on social media would come down to the wire – “We need to convert some of these virtual love into hard earned cash. Yes, we love the fact that you have liked and followed us all this while but now its time you gave us some of your money”.

Every member of the value chain is key to making service happen. They must be actively involved if we must achieve the expected return on effort (ROE).

Do you have adequate service recovery plans? How empowered are your employees to create “wow” moments for the customer?

Start the co-creation process within your organisation before you involve the external customer. “How social is your organisation? How social can you afford to be? Can you build a physical and/or virtual atmosphere where employees can connect, create and share in an atmosphere that is not simply another platform for company speak?”

“To lead people, first touch their heart before you reach for their hands”.

The making of a social brand 

A social brand is not about its level of activity in the various technology platforms, products or events. Its perception as a social brand is reinforced or diminished with every interaction the customer has with its employees.

A social  brand demonstrates its sociality in its corporate behaviour (internally and externally).

Is a social brand possible?

Yes it is. It can be formed gradually in line with a strong executive commitment to putting its internal customers first. This means deliberately creating and nurturing listening channels where employees can engage with executives without fear. It is a place where executives are demystified, chords are broken, bonds are formed, and alliances forged. It is place where a brand’s employees are its most ardent social media fans. It is a journey.

The take out for this article is simple: If we honestly believe in “People First” then it is time for some housekeeping. Charity must begin at home. Social media should not be an exception.