case studies
You are no longer living in the black-and-white world of statistics. Social Media is the Technicolor land of learning. (We’re not in Kansas anymore...)
Want to see the results from frank's own clients?
In traditional media, marketing and management, results come in two flavors: good or bad, positive or negative, thumbs up or thumbs down. Social Media, on the other hand, opens up a new kind of dialogue that offers up new kinds of learning.
Measurement has a new name: results.
From internal to external, Social Media results are everywhere. Both “positive” and “negative” learnings translate into rich marketing outlets and real stories. “High” and “low” numbers offer insight into a bulls-eye messaging strategy – or the possible need for redirection and refocus. “Successes” and “mishaps” alike create new avenues for community connection, interaction and growth.
Case in point:
Traditionally, ROI speaks of “Return on Investment.” With Social Media, ROI is transformed into “Return on Involvement.” Or: with clearly defined objectives, the more you put into Social Media, the more you get out of it. It isn’t a flip you switch. It isn’t a single tactic in a marketing vacuum. It isn’t something you set and forget. Social Media is a journey into human interaction. It is conversation. It is community. It is frankness. And it offers rich insights that, if recognized, are real opportunities.
Read on for some of our favorite Social Media stories through the lens of the frank “Return on Involvement” measurement model.
Return On Involvement: measures impacted by Social Media
Direct ROI: external results
Increased Sales:
- Stormhoek Wines increased their sales by 400+% after sending wine to bloggers, inviting them to blog about the wine (good, bad or indifferent).
- Burpee Seeds created a daily relationship with customers through RSS feeds on news and coupons, increasing sales 400%.
Real-time Focus Groups reduce R&D Spend, Product Development Cycle:
- Starbucks invites customers to submit ideas, vote on and discuss other customers’ ideas and then the company offers feedback on the ideas it chooses to test.
- Crayola invites kids to submit and comment on new product ideas. (Remember: 98% of consumers indicate “I’d definitely buy a product I helped to evolve.”)
Reduced Help Desk calls:
- HP blog on Vista and HP printers has reduced help desk calls by 40%. (Think: lower staffing needs.)
- AT+T uses chat rooms to support more than one customer call at a time. (Ditto.)
Indirect ROI: external results
Increased Customer Satisfaction:
- HP blog on Vista and HP printers has increased customer satisfaction by 37%.
Increased Conversation through Relationship:
- Burpee Seeds added a ‘comments’ capabilities to their site, increasing site click-throughs by 43%.
24/7 Support Coverage:
- Linksys’s discussion forum offered live setup coverage over the 2006 Christmas holidays after an earthquake in Asia brought down their customer service center. Customers who had purchased Linksys units as gifts were able to find the set-up help they needed right away despite the fact that no formal customer support was available.
- During the April 2009 SoCal ATT outage Twitter was the only way ATT found they could keep customers (including police, hospitals and other emergency personnel) up to date on resolution progress.
Direct ROI: internal results
Decreased Employee Training Spend:
- JetBlue trains employees through its internal portal, where employees can answer questions via discussion forum or wiki, or respond to common queries through the blog.
Decreased Recruiting Costs:
- Prospective Starbucks employees sign up for open positions, RSS feeds, get into direct conversation with current employees through social networking groups, chat with recruiters via discussion forum.
Indirect ROI: internal results
Increase Employee Community:
- Northwest Mutual connects employees through its portal, supporting the organization’s culture even across its work-from-home workforce.
Increased Employee Involvement in Benefits:
- Best Buy’s video contest through their internal portal increased 401(k) enrollment by 40%.
- Sun Microsystems attracts GenX, GenY employees by showing that the organization culture is tech-savvy and up-to-date.