Sparks - Energizing business transformation

Perspectives on Customer Centricity

2012-02-08T20:25:55Z

Today’s podcast on Perspectives On Customer Centricity is hosted by Dr. Natalie and I with guest Emily Yellin. Emily is the author of Your Call Is Not That Important To Us.

Crowd wisdom in social media circles says, in today’s world, the customer owns the relationship because of the power of social media to shape corporate agendas.

There’s a problem with that sentiment though, because it creates an inequality in a relationship where one party holds more power than the other.

Click the podcast to hear more.

Understanding Social Business articles On CRMSearch

2012-02-08T19:32:09Z

CRMSearch.com published the first of a two-part series on understanding social business by yours truly. Check it out. Would love to hear your comments or have you rate the article.

Here’s an exerpt for Should You Become a Social Business, the first article.

If you are in business today you can't help but be inundated by the plethora of information about the social enterprise and Social CRM. Social pundits send the message deploying social is a "must have" for businesses.

The big question for business leaders, though, is whether social media will help them solve their business problems. And if so, then the question becomes one of how to combine traditional business methods with social media to do so.

[…] Should your company adopt the model? The short answer is…maybe.

Go on, read the article for more.

P.S. The second article should be out tomorrow.

How Social Business Emulates the Human Approach

2012-02-02T17:35:52Z

Today’s podcast with Dr. Natalie and I showcases how social business emulates the human approach.

Social business, and supporting SCRM strategies, allow us to once again emulate the human approach. It’s not about adding a human touch to your business. Instead, it’s about being human.

In the process, social business unleashes the creative processes of real people, incorporating normal right- and left-brained processes, rather than force-fitting us solely into a left-brained, transactional mold.

Why Social Data Is Valuable

2012-01-25T16:21:12Z

In today’s world, we need to move beyond CRM to add in the social component that is prevalent in Social CRM. But what does that even mean?

It means adding “relationship” into CRM in the way it was originally intended. It means gaining valuable and insightful information about what’s really important to people, as well as about how they really make decisions, do work, and live their lives.

Today’s podcast with Dr. Natalie delves into how social data is valuable to companies – and how companies can use it for competitive gain.

Why the Social Business Revolution Is A Game Changer

2012-01-16T20:10:27Z

Today’s podcast centers on why social business is a game changing revolution because it supports how real people and do business together.

Why CRM is really Customer Transaction Management

2012-01-11T17:45:38Z

Dr. Natalie and I discuss how CRM (customer relationship management) has been really more like CTM (customer transaction management).

And we delve into how social business is moving CRM to where it’s really meant to be – and why moving to true CRM is important to companies.

(If you want to watch/listen to the full discussion rather than an excerpt, you can download the file here. Select Episode 1 - The Proimse of Social CRM, part 1.)

Now, here is today's podcast...

Why Customer Engagement Is A Huge Gain For Companies

2012-01-06T00:51:34Z

Today's podcast with Dr. Natalie focuses on the dilemma surrounding the social belief that “customers control messaging.” Do they really?

We discuss how customer engagement is valuable to companies.

(If you want to watch/listen to the full discussion rather than an excerpt, you can download the file here. Select Episode 1 - The Proimse of Social CRM, part 1.)

Now, here is today's podcast...

More On Why Netflix Failed As A Social Business

2012-01-05T20:09:22Z

Yesterday I posted a podcast on Why Netflix Failed As A Social Business. Today’s podcast with Dr. Natalie continues the discussion.

The podcast starts to lay the explanatory groundwork for what makes a social business.

(If you want to watch/listen to the full discussion rather than an excerpt, you can download the file here. Select Episode 1 - The Proimse of Social CRM, part 1.)

Now, here is today's podcast...

Why Netflix failed as a social business

2012-01-04T17:13:12Z

Today's podcast is an excerpt from a discussion between Dr. Natalie Petouhoff and I on Netflix -- and why it failed as a social business.

Our thanks to Focus.com for allowing us to replay excerpts from our 10-week Roundtable series on Simplifying Social Business. We based the Focus roundtables on our ebook series of the same name.

(If you want to watch/listen to the full discussion rather than an excerpt, you can download the file here. Select Episode 1 - The Proimse of Social CRM, part 1.)

Now, here is today's podcast...

When Is The Right Time to Launch A New Corporate Initiative?

2011-12-27T16:00:16Z

The article title is a common question asked in the business world.

Larger companies might not struggle as much with the answer because of their more extensive resources. But for small- to medium-sized companies, getting the answer right is of paramount importance because of the demand on more limited resources.

I advise my clients to start by doing a SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis.

This valuable insight can help you initially prioritize among competing initiatives. You can undertake a SWOT analysis before building a detailed business case for an initiative. And it has the advantage of providing information that can later be used in the construction of the business case.

Here are example questions you can ask to build the SWOT analysis: