There are a vast selection of tools out there that help make sense of  the tools that we are already using…

Came across this one, MentionMapp and have been playing around with it, some interesting connections have resulted.

In essence its a productivity tool that takes the mind maping idea and extends it to Twitter.

Mind mapping is a very powerful tool because it is a reflection of of your brains thought process about any given topic..the map even looks like brain cells..

Market Related Research

When you are trying to get a feel and a picture for what is happening in your market place it can be difficult to see where there are connections. Customer research and competitor research can often get bogged down because you just can’t see where products and customers are connected. Twitter has millions of bits of information and it takes some doing to order it all to deliver effective results.

Hello MentionMapp… This lets you visually monitor your Twitter network. You can see who interacts the most, what they are talking about and most importantly it shows you who are the relevant people to follow on Twitter.

The most recent tweets are used to create the map, there is no indexing of streams to come up with the visualisation…the most talked about conversations are shown with thicker lines…

Thicker the line the bigger the discussion..you can even hover over an edge of the line and you get the number of mentions..

Useful tool? Think so, even if its not going to yield any major impact its certainly fun..

Customer Research Feedback..

Customer research is just not happening, it’s being left on the back burner…

That may come across as a huge generalisation but our experience is that it is true..

The current call to action of Social Media is distracting companies from using the basic tools of communication,one of them being the Telephone..

Let’s not forget that the telephone in the right hands is a weapon of mass discussion…it is a powerful piece of kit that makes all the programming behind FaceBook Twitter and LinkedIn look feeble…it’s the nub of Social Media

In the last week I have had meetings where the main  focus has been to get more Likes,increase Followers and get more connections on G+..there has been no thought to actually talking to existing customers to see what they want or need.

Customer Research is effortless….

That’s because it’s not happening..firms of all sizes seem to be saying they have customer feedback mechanisms in place, that they talk to existing and lapsed customers and that they do this on a regular basis.

Too much energy and vital budget is being focused outwards and not inwards.Marketing like charity should begin at home.

Conducted on a regular basis is should be exactly that.. effortless and rewarding

Listen to your Customers…

Before embarking on any new marketing consider consolidating what you have..

• Get Feedback from existing customers on your product and service
• Segment the customer base by length of relationship with you and find out why they first chose you,why they remain or why they have left
• Build a template of trigger points for each relationship group and use them as the basis for continued research
• Ask direct questions to get honest answers – How can we Improve?
• Don’t be afraid to get uncomfortable feedback – Why did you stop using us?
• Ask if they know anyone who would benefit from your companies product or service.. existing customers are a fantastic source of new business
• Be open about Competitor Intelligence – probe who else offers a similar or better service and product – you might just learn something
• Be up front and ask them to recommend you and say on Social Media sites why they use you and will continue to do so

Look for those new customers but remember to honestly look at what’s on your plate before ordering anything else…

For any further information please email on

socialmedia@customeyes-research.co.uk

      
         
        
   

Social Media has a purpose, it’s a business tool that can help with customer research and competitor intelligence.

 New business needs to handled sensitively,it’s personal…you do your own M.O.T  Market Opportunities Template as you do with competitor research, Market Opportunities and Threats..

Both aspects make you more profitable…and improve the customer experience

As a business tool it needs to be used..you wouldn’t buy a hammer then pay the person who sold it you to come around and knock in a nail for you…. or would you?

You’d learn what the hammer does and then use it and get better at knocking in nails…

So why do it yourself?

1.Only you know what the business really needs..and that is how it will always be..you need to keep control

2.You want to find out what the Social Media Footprint is of a competitor and don’t want the world knowing – less people you tell the safer the intelligence – no need to brief a third party

3. Research needs evolve and can’t be planned…how can you know that you need to look at a LinkedIn profile or interrogate  Signal for current updates? You won’t know what twitter search you need to do to gather intelligence for a meeting until you have got the meeting.

4.Research is 80% confirmation 20% Inspiration… searching Twitter,FaceBook, LinkedIn etc takes you on a journey that only you will know the value of.. the 20% will only be obvious when you’ve hit the AHH that’s how it fits in spot..

5.Save money and time..once you have the tools you won’t need to spend money briefing someone to spend even more of your money on doing what you could yourself…

Having a managed Social Media platform is one thing but research is another – you can’t expect someone else to do your thinking and planning for you…situations change far too quickly and you need to be in the driving seat of new business and competitor intelligence.

If you would like some feedback on what these tools are then please do contact us

socialmedia@customeyes-research.co.uk

This little beauty has been around since 2003 and has changed beyond recognition.

At first the platform was mainly a recruiters play ground..people up loaded their details and recuiters could find the people they wanted. Not much use as a Social Media platform and no use as marketing tool for customer and competitive research.

Ping forward to 2011 and LinkedIn a social media environment that is a must have.

Static Database

For many business people having a LinkedIn profile was what you did..wrote it and forgot about it, many people still don’t get just how powerful it is.

Profiles don’t just sit there any more,badly written, waiting for someone to stumble upon them,it is now a highly interactive energetic environment.

Vital Tool

There is so much you can do on LinkedIn that makes it a must have and must be used tool.

1.Competitor Research – to understand and improve your own marketing  look at what the competition is up to…

View their company profiles,check out their current services get the background on their employees..see where you can imporove on what you offer by doing a Same Better Wow matrix..it’s not rocket science but it will add that thrust to your marketing..

By looking at company profiles you can see who the people are that you need to target..if you need the person at company X who does Digital Media don’t go to their web site look at the company profile…serach fro them on Linkedin, Google them, Twitter search them..get digging

Check out their Twitter profile, how long have they been on there?If they are billed as a Social Media manager and have only been on twitter for a few months then they probably aren’t that good…an opportunity to offer your services perhaps?

2. Influence – get involved with Groups and be seen as that expert, that influencer and “go to “person..Make sure that you are found for what you do by optimising your profile…no good being in a crowded room if you can’t be seen..

Start your own Group..be the key influencer and get the credit and followers – widen your influence and enhance your reputation.

Get that company profile up to speed and make sure that you have enabled the company update facility…this new facilty is great for por posting stories about how good you are…flaunt it..

3.Crowd Sourcing - use the whole platform to mine for treasure..use the Polls facility to ask questions, use Answers to get feedback and see what others are doing.Make sure that you get involved with the Groups that you belong to.

Groups are a fantastic way of testing new ideas and getting fast responses..canvas opinion like never before.

4.Listening and Contributing – by involvement in groups you get to understand the market and the competition..you also get a following…all those that you are LinkedIn with get to see what you post and can jump in and add comments.

You will be found on LinkedIn and people can follow you on other Social Media platforms  if you have a full profile that has all your details.

You can identify exactly who you want to be talking to, connect with them and contribute to the pot of industry comment.

Customer research has never been easier, Answers and Groups give you permission to ask for feedback..get testimonials which tell the world what you are good at..

It’s a New World…

We live in a world where attraction counts for so much more than it did…”Selling by Yelling” doesn’t work anymore.

Sending out wedges of information is not doing what it used to..it is now a level playing field where the little companies can and do compete with the giants..people come to you and you can go direct to the need..

Customers buy when they are ready to and will buy from people that they have a relationship with…LinkedIn allows that relationship to flourish helping them to go to your web site,engage on Twitter and Facebook

How are you using LinkedIn?

This is a brilliant InfoGraphic on how others use the platform

They probably don’t it just feels like that sometimes doesn’t it?

The reason for the question is that this morning I sat open mouthed as a senior figure from a sizeable firm talked about customer research.

The emphasis was on his firm …there was no fleeting reference to any of his competitors,he seemed oblivious that they existed..madness.

An interesting Powerpoint presentation gave nuts and bolts what customers were doing thinking and spending…very good,justified his salary no doubt.

No mention of the competition…This is dangerous for the survival of his operation…

Competitor Research is vital, listening to customers is important watching the competition is crucial…

Why?

• They may be taking business from you ,they may be trashing your reputation
• You may be missing out on contracts by not knowing their strengths and weaknesses
• What do you do the Same,Better? Where do you are they have that WOW moment?
• Who is that company that everyone is mentioning and what do they do?
• If you went out of business tonight where would your customers go in the morning?

What can you do on a regular basis to keep in touch with competitors?

• Little and often mystery shopping – check their service and product offering
• Look at their web sites, are they being constantly refreshed?
• Where do these web sites rank? Higher than yours? if YES then why?
• What’s their Social Media output? Better more focused than yours?
• Check their reputation by chatting with some of their clients…YES talk to their clients…
• Monitor key competitors by running searches..Google Alerts,Twitter and LinkedIn ..

In short if you don’t monitor what is going on you will be left behind…every business needs to grow and that doesn’t just apply to the revenue base its about growing your offering..

Marketing and Social Media go hand in hand,I would be surprised if anyone would say that it didn’t.It may be said that the combination works better for some than it does for others which has elements of truth.

Essentially all companies from whatever sector of what ever size can derive huge benefits form using platforms such as Twitter,Facebook and LinkedIn… Social Media has taken off and every business needs to be part of the conversation.

Most often the key positive factors in having a Social Media campaign are centred around brand building,raising awareness,reputation enhancement,establishing expertise. These are of course important but they don’t cover an area that is often neglected,that of Customer and Competitor  Research.

Customer and Competitor Research

It is easy to overlook the fact that there is free information out there that gets you closer to your market sector.This same information allows you to mine for New Business and gain insights into your competitors that you would never have had before.

New Business

What if you knew how to find the people who currently, as of now,need your service and want to buy that service?

Well you can…Twitter allows you to search for key words and phrases..think of it as Google in reverse..

If you needed a plumber then you might Google “Plumber Town X” and look at the results and phone a couple…imagine if a plumber called you and said they could help with your burst pipe…wow, you’d be amazed..

Searches can be run using Twitter itself and platforms such as Hootsuite..there are simple searches and you can even refine searches with an Advanced search function on Twitter.

Customer Research

By using Twitter,FaceBook and LinkedIn you can ask questions of your customers and conduct effective research.

Simply ask you followers for feed back using a variety of available tools...FaceBook has plenty of platforms that can be used, LinkedIn has Answers for example, in Twitter just ask and you will get responses from your followers..if the post is Re Tweeted then you automatically get a wider potential base of answers.

Competitor Intelligence

Track your competitors by checking their FaceBook pages, interrogate LinkedIn company profiles to see what they have been up to – very useful to see who the key people are in rival organisations.Quick research often gets good results, key people,new hires,new services…

Use Twitter to stay in touch with what competitors are up to. Follow key companies and people,check their lists and see who they are following,using tracking tools of which there are many..

The key to making this work is organisation…use the tools available and make sure that you have the basics in place, Google Alerts,a good Twitter platform such as Hootsuite,with lists and searches organised properly.Follow companies in LinkedIn,Like companies on Facebook,build relationships.

Use your LinkedIn company profile to post updates about what you are up to as a company,a powerful way to supplement your Online activity.

Remember…your Social Media marketing activity will take time to bear fruit,but your Customer Research and Competitor Intelligence will deliver immediate feedback…business intelligence that can be acted upon NOW..

We know what works because we have worked hard at finding out ….practical solutions that gets our clients results.

Not sure how to get the best from your campaigns?

Get in touch and arrange a chat,happy to help…..please contact socialmedia@customeyes-research.co.uk
View Angus Grady ✩Customeyes Research✩0845 6885272′s profile

Is the Voice of the Customer,Voc,really a pointless way to spend money? Does it tell companies anything?

Having recently read this article I’m beginning to get the feeling that some companies don’t have trust in what their customers are saying.It also makes me wonder if the process of understanding the customer is in itself not understood.

The argument that Voc is a rational response to an emotional issue is exactly right.What this article misses is that customer feedback is one part of the equation and not the total answer.There are multiple messages that are being sent by customers.

Customer experience and journey get overlooked.Surveys capture but one part of what they are trying to tell companies.Often that one part is customer satisfaction.

What is needed is more empathy with the customer,correct.

Surveys should if done in isolation look at satisfaction,loyalty and propensity to recommend.These are by far the better metrics to employ.

To understand customers there needs to be a variety of capture methods – groups,interviews and an awareness of  the market context of that customer experience.By taking into account the competitive environment it is then possible to get a better understanding of what the message is.

Surely the point of customer feedback then  is not just to benchmark customer satisfaction? The main point should be to identify your brand advocates and understand them? These are your revenue generating customers after all and the ones that will help to grow your business.

Brand evangelists will propel the brand,satisfied customers just take care of it.

Is that too simplistic a view?

You can beat the big boys....keep trying

A great article in the FT on 23rd November  -”The Value of Being an Underdog” gives hope to those of us who are up against industry Leviathans.

At times all effort seems futile until cracks appear that allow us smaller,leaner outfits to steal an advantage.

Steve Jobs once said “why join the navy when you can be a pirate?”…this approach has allowed Apple to still be seen as a challenger brand,a maverick that delivers great products.

4 key areas were identified as crucial to the challenger approach.

1.Decide what you stand for and stick to it..retain your core principles

2.Craft a compelling story….make sure that you have a consistent bio that grabs attention

3.Build a Lighthouse Identity….Adam Morgans phrase relates to being a thought leader and instigator – don’t navigate by the consumer let them navigate by you..

4.Be Brave…stick with what you believe to be the right way…

There is of course another factor and that is confidence… be supremely confident in the image that you portray and in story you build your company on.

To challenge successfully takes determination and steely nerves and a dose of basic research awareness…

Steve Jobs may think focus groups are a waste of time but the average company can only benefit when undertaking some straight forward business intelligence ground work.

Who is doing what and where?

What does the market place customer have to say about who is in and who is out?

Any nugget can be turned to your advantage…it was after all a small stone that felled Goliath…a small stone that was delivered effectively…

Go get ‘em

Research can reveal some interesting things if you look

Not just a tree....let me know what you see

It is sometimes difficult to see what is in front of you,sometimes even harder to act upon what you’ve seen.

It is easier to ignore or sideline issues until we are ready to face them,that normally means we never will really deal with the issue.

This can have very serious consequences, a leaky pipe often becomes a burst pipe which means gallons of expensive water all over your new Axminster.

The same is true when considering research and cost effective approachs to listening to your customers.

Factoring in a regular customer research budget needn’t be expensive or a drain on resources.Would companies rather spend a small amount of money regularly or lose valuable customers?

The answer seems obvious but very few companies seem to follow this simple maxim.

The 1-10-100 rule applies here.

Every pound that you have spent on research is well invested.If you had to correct a problem then it would cost you ten times the amount to adjust had you not have spent the early amount.

Should an issue go totally unnoticed until very late in your  customer experience cycle then you may end up paying 100 times what you could have paid in the research phase to put it right.At this point you would have lost valuable customers and the viral impact could well escalate out of all proportion.

In any recession or turbulent trading conditions the three must haves are Training,Customer Research and Marketing…and customer research is a crucial element.

The majority of customer experiences are judged on the single criteria of the quality of the customer service.This is valid but not always appropriate.

Customer service should be the end result of  a series of exchanges and not the sole deteriminant of how good a company has performed.

The old adage that “coffee stains on the passenger trays tells me that the engines are not being looked after” is very apt.

If a company can’t get the last part of the equation right then it shows that there has to be an inbalance somewhere else for the answer to be wrong.Too often the key elemnets of the experience and customer touch points are ignored or badly handled.

Take a holiday example.

Olympic Holidays were great at getting me and the family to the hotel which was fantastic.If asked at this point I would have given them 12 out of 10.Great price,great service and attention to our needs.

It all fell apart very quickly.

The Rep was never around to ask if things were OK,excursions were poor and under delivered on expectations and were massively over priced.

On some excursions guests were simply dumped in small towns for hours at a time with nothing better to do than spend money in tourist shops and in local cafes.There was no explanation of what these tours actually would entail merely a promise of something to be savoured.

OK,I know that holiday companies are there to make money and that package holidays are just that,packages of experiences,mostly poor.Choice and free will prevailed and guests did not have to pay too much for too little….but…

A key brand,Olympic Holidays,clearly failed in their handling of the individual customer experiences and ultimately led many guests to change their positive perception of them to a very negative one.

Every facet of the customer journey needs to be seen as important if the overall perception that a customer has of a brand is to be positive and reinforced.Failure to ignore any one part just ruins all the good work that had previously been done to establish the brands position.

Why do companies continue to do this?Taking a customers money in the hope that they will come back again is short termism if not supported by an active intent to please at evey stage of the interaction.