Gartner Customer 360 Social Revelation

I just got back from Gartner Customer 360 and WOW, what a busy event! J&P Cycles was awarded a Silver Gartner & 1to1 Media CRM Excellence Award for Social Engagement.  Also I was asked to participate in a social and digital marketing panel with the Director of Ecommerce from Verizon, which was an exciting opportunity to discuss the hottest customer experience topic right now.

Hands down, social engagement was the single most talked about topic at the event. How do we start? What do we measure? What are other companies doing? Who “owns” it? These questions really dominated conversation and speak to the impact that social is having on the business landscape. Organizational leaders from all departments are starting to agree with more frequency that it takes the entire organization to provide a positive customer experience. And it’s about time.

My words of advice when it comes to your company’s social engagement strategy:

• It’s your story to write – There is no magic formula. Every organization has core competencies and beliefs that got them to where they are, and should lead them to where they want to be. Embrace your core competencies and reinvent the way you deliver that message to your existing and new customers. Make it relevant and interesting.
• Don’t be afraid – There is no time like the present. At this point it’s not a matter of if and when, it IS happening now. Start small and build from it, but don’t over-analyze and wait. Think dog years. The concepts for engaging customers in unique ways are being developed, tested and implemented right now, and appear to be happening AT LEAST 7 times faster than before.

As a leader with 20 years of experience in contact centers this event triggered a significant revelation for me.  Social is bringing back power to the customer.  Contact center and other department leaders at all levels have been jumping up and down for years, screaming from the rooftops, providing data, and begging for resources to improve overall customer experience. We’ve been pointing out flaws in organizational process effectiveness through the voice of the customer, all while trying to dodge political landmines and maintain solid interdepartmental relationships. Customer interactions have always been the most important aspect of business, and for a long time many have taken this fact for granted.

Again, the Social Revolution is truly bringing real power back to the customer, and I for one, gladly accept the new challenges born from this refreshing way of thinking. 

I would love to hear other contact center professionals viewpoints on social customer engagement, so please share!