Comments on: Social Media Maturity Model: The Singularity Is 5 Years Away

By: Confessions of a Social Marketer: Comply or Die | The Hive

Confessions of a Social Marketer: Comply or Die | The Hive — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:37:20 +0000

[...] subject to. However, this splurge of social network offerings has begun to slow, with the projected plateau being reached early 2012. It seems that consumers’ digital taste buds have satisfied their [...]

By: Joe Andrieu

Joe Andrieu — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:03:21 +0000

Michael,

Indeed. The blurring of the categories you mention is because the conversation is about the individual, no matter how the company organizes itself to engage in that conversation.

So, I’ll still blame the CRM Magazine piece for thinking in the old paradigm, but give you due credit for pointing out how those distinctions no longer apply.

Your last line, “that company may not even be talking at all,” is the most important.

Early in my career, I worked at a company that ALWAYS sent at least two sales people on a call. Why? Because you can’t be listening if you’re doing the talking.

Companies focused on spreading their message, talking about themselves, telling the world how great they are, are missing the opportunity to listen to their customers and learn how to create new value.

By: Michael Idinopulos

Michael Idinopulos — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:21:35 +0000

Joe,
Believe it or not, I agree with the point you’re making. The offending quotes that you cite are all descriptions of *traditional* Marketing, PR, Sales, and Service. As the categories converge in an Enterprise 2.0 world, we are left just with customer conversations. As the examples in my post show, I view those conversations as multi-sided. More often than not they are driven by the customer rather than the company. In fact, that company may not even be talking at all–which is sometimes the best conversation of all.

By: Joe Andrieu

Joe Andrieu — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:00:47 +0000

Wow.

I found this thanks to Ross Mayfield over at SocialText http://www.socialtext.com/blog/2009/08/the-crm-iceberg-and-social-sof.html.

Provocative, but, how can I put it diplomatically? Completely self-absorbed, solipsistic, and disconnected. Well, so much for diplomacy.

Seriously, this quote make it clear you could still use a ride on the Cluetrain:

Four different types of interaction that a company has with outsiders:
Marketing: Talk with market about yourself
PR: Get others to talk with the market about you
Sales: Talk with prospects about yourself
Service: Talk with customers about yourself

Hey! Stop for a minute! Put down the marketing and step away from the computer.

The conversation isn’t about YOU!

You’re not what’s important here.

The customer is what’s important.

So, you might considering talking with your customers ABOUT THEM. And what THEY need. And maybe, just maybe, you could find a way to help.

Now that would be radical.

By: Stephanie Lowder

Stephanie Lowder — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:06:47 +0000

As a long-time marketing communications professional, working now independently, I’ve spent the last 3 months attempting to help a wide variety of clients – from artisan entrepreneur to corporate to trade associations & non-profit – to recognize & leverage the opportunities and address the challenges of social media/mktg.

In our current economy and climate, it’s difficult for organizations to take on this new work, and yet they are beginning to acknowledge or expect that they must.

Likewise, it’s difficult for bootstrappers like myself – between pursuing what few paying gigs are out there, delivering presentations, much pro-bono work, participating in social media venues and self-filtering information – to stay on the crest of the wave of knowledge as the ocean floor roils and shifts.

I found this thread, the original studies, CRM blog & magazine, thanks to a tip from Len Cercone, Social Media Today group, LinkedIn.

All of this setup is to say: THANK YOU! This post, and this complete body of work, offers the most original, credible, and valuable thinking I have found in months of investigation, and I will be urging clients to take advantage of this information and various resources herein immediately.

Finally, and this to Marshall Lager re his post:
THANK YOU for confirming that, in this landscape shifting by the moment: “we’re all still kinda new at this, and there is likely no grand unifying formula… (quoting) June 9 09 tweet, Miko Matsumura of Software AG: ‘I would like a twitter filter that blocks anyone whose profile says ‘Social Media Expert.’ I think I agree, at least for now. If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him. Then twitter about it.”

So, I won’t call you guys “experts”, but I will recommend as best possible info source.