Posted by Ellen Hoenig Carlson on Wed, Jun 03, 2009 @ 04:52 AM
Soup metric...is the number of people in your social network that you know would bring you soup if they knew you were sick and/or get your back in any other real friend way - to help you feel better OR help your career.
In her blog, Tara Hunt writes: "There is a misconception that there is some sort of delineation between your close-knit friends and those who are in your business network. I believe this is the result of extending the concept of bonded and bridged social ties that was first distinguished by Robert Putnum and more recently extended and discussed in business concepts by people like Ronald Burt. Though I see value in both building close (bonded) ties with people while extending the reach of your network and expanding your loose (bridged) ties, I am perplexed by the notion of dismissing the power of those connections closest to you.
You see...as I've experienced online communities, the same people who would bring me soup voluntarily when I've been sick have also been instrumental in moving my career forward. These are the people who will go to bat for me no matter what. I need these people ESPECIALLY during times like these: an economic downturn. As the number of people who would bring me soup when I am sick grows, so does my career, business and ability to accomplish really great things. Of course, all my close bonds have to start somewhere. They come to me through the looser ties and slowly grow more bonded. However, if I only concentrated on branching out and failed to build and grow deep, strong connections, I wouldn't get very far at all...
Of course I should add that the soup metric has to be reciprocal to work: the soup offer has to work both ways...This number is the only metric I, personally, give a damn about. It's the core of whuffie IMO," says Tara Hunt author of the WHUFFIE Factor: Using the power of social networks to build your business.
So it seems pretty obvious that building deeper relationships with our friends and network is pretty key...engaging, adding value, building trust...
How many of our customers would bring us soup if we were sick? Would help us in times of need?
How many customers would watch our back when we need it? Would continue to support us and even defend us should we make a 'mistake'? e.g. J&J's Motrin campaign, Tropicana's package change, Pfizer's Lipitor Jarvik association, Daytrana patch voluntary withdrawal...
How can we best measure the equivalent of the soup metric for our best customers?
Here are some thought starters for possible measurement:
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Customers that go that extra mile to call or write-in to tell you something positive (or something helpful) about your brand/company? ...Or bring you a new opportunity?
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Customers that speak (or write) to others on your behalf (and without pay)?
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Customers that provide a testimonial on your behalf?
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Customers that consistently return to your website and/or co-create content?
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Customers that have stuck with you even during times of product 'issues and opportunities' you were working through?
How do you measure your soup metric for your best customers? Thoughts?
Photo credit: flickr.com/photos/Daniel Greene
Posted by Ellen Hoenig Carlson on Mon, Jan 26, 2009 @ 09:34 PM
If you're looking for the best "listening platform" to help monitor your brand in today's marketplace, take a look at Forester's new Wave report at Visable Technologies (Courtesy of Peter Kim).
"In response to marketers' changing needs, brand monitoring vendors are evolving to offer a more strategic and comprehensive platform." Forrester defines "listening platforms" as those that deliver insights to shape marketing strategy rather than simply tracking metrics.
"A technology and analytics infrastructure that mines a wide variety of traditional, online, and social sources to extract and deliver insights that shape a firm's marketing strategy."
Evaluating vendors across 62 criteria, Forrester found Nielsen BuzzMetrics and TNS Cymfony to be the two early leaders due to their strong balance of data collection, analytics and consulting services.
With the broad shifts in influence, trust and control of marketing messages from brands to consumers, marketers are forced to do more than just monitor their brands-- They need help:
1) correctly identifying sentiment and key influencers
2) listening across media channels to identify integration points with CRM systems and other traditional customer environments
3) translating data and insights to specific learnings across programs and multiple channels--these consulting services will need to continue to evolve and mature to keep up with client needs.
Those companies and industries like pharmaceuticals-- that are less experienced "listening to their consumers"-- will be best off identifying vendors that provide the strongest consulting services.
And for highly regulated industries like pharma, "listening" is by far the easiest and most productive first step into the world of social media...
Any additional thoughts or suggestions?
...Here's to good listening....