The Mesh - Lisa Gansky [34]
We can only speculate how much fun Steven had at his performance review at the end of the year. (Clue: the “We Support Steven J. Payne—VP of St. Croix Falls Cinema 8” Facebook page clocks in at 220 fans.) What we know is that in a pique, perhaps unaware of the power of social networks, he very nearly destroyed any faith on the part of his customers that their needs and interests would come first.
Earning and maintaining the customer’s trust has always been important in business. But social and mobile networks have changed the equation, tipping the balance of power considerably toward the customer. In our highly connected world, practically speaking, a brand is defined more by how people experience it, and what they say about it, than what the company says about itself. Movie executives, whose films rise and fall on viral opinions spread through social networks, understand this new reality. When a movie comes out, they anxiously check sites like Skinnipopcorn, which collects up-to-the-second tweets about new releases. Ditto restaurant owners, whose Yelp ratings can float or sink them. Actions and stories about actions are potent, traveling far and fast. They are more relevant than sexy advertising slogans and PR claims harboring unfulfilled promises. In this environment, what people say about your company and your products continually redefines your brand. One commentator calls it the “age of radical transparency.”
The challenge highlighted by the St. Croix Falls Cinema 8 story is that companies and their cherished brands must create and embrace teams, tools, and practices that enable a fresh, responsive, and authentic voice. The old strategy of carefully crafting the positioning and message, and then surgically pushing it out to the “market” to ingest as delivered, is, well, no longer being swallowed. The highly connected, engaged, and vocal world market will in fact shape how products, brands, and companies reshape and refine themselves. Twitter is an excellent example of a company whose product was immature and incomplete upon launch. But the founders had the wisdom to listen to passionate early users of their product to direct features, service terms, and focus. They haven’t looked back since.
Through increased interactions, the Mesh offers more opportunities to win a customer’s trust, and more occasions to put it at risk. Although trust is fundamental to any business, as it is to any human relationship, in the Mesh it’s even more important. Trust is social, which makes all business social; Mesh businesses are hypersocial. When sharing is central to a company’s core ethos, it must be constantly alert to the individual customer’s evolving needs and proclivities.
Once customers’ trust is earned, successful Mesh companies work to win and retain their loyalty anew with each interaction. Unlike a certain Wisconsin cinema, they prove themselves to be reliable, and serious about making good on a promise. They tap data from all sides to pay attention to the market, so that their team is conspicuously awake to new opportunities for keeping the brand and products up-to-date and delightful. These businesses nurture robust networks of trust. They cultivate loyal customers and “discoverers”—the early, vocal, and connected users—build the brand, weather tough times, and attract strong, brand-enhancing partners.
How do you foster trust with your customers, partners, and employees? Are you able to absorb dings when bad things happen? Does each interaction with your company enhance or diminish the trust people have given you? There are seven keys to building trust in the Mesh:
1. Say what you do—manage expectations and revisit them frequently.
2. Use trials.
3. Do what you say.
4. Perpetually delight customers.
5. Embrace social networks and go deep.
6. Value transparency, but protect privacy.
7. Deal with negative publicity and feedback promptly and skillfully.