Part II -- Integrating Social Media into the Marketing Plan: Marketing to the “Tweety-Somethings”

Slalom Consulting Social media has altered the modes of communication and frequency of interaction among corporations, its customers, suppliers and partners. The ageless Tweety-Somethings are having their say. What is less apparent is how social media works within the context of marketing theory and how it helps organizations bring value to the marketplace.

If you are planning on integrating social media into your marketing plan, you have probably heard the now legendary marketing stories of those lucky few who have been able to leverage social media to take their marketing to a new level. Along with CNN, Coca Cola, Whole Foods, Ashton Kutcher, Lance Armstrong and Guy Kawasaki there is, for example, New Orleans-based Naked Pizza, which has about 6,400 followers on Twitter, generated nearly 69 percent of sales during a one-day Twitter advertising blitz, and sees a sustained 20 percent of sales dollars derived from its Twitter presence.

These anecdotal stories are so compelling that they have driven many organizations to jump on the social media bandwagon, creating their own presences without a marketing plan or strategy. In addition, self-proclaimed Twitter and Facebook marketing “gurus” are promoting methods “guaranteed” to attract Twitter followers and Facebook fans to brands and products. In this model, your value as an organization or individual is measured by the number of fans and followers you have -- participate or die! We suggest a more measured approach to integrating social media into your marketing plan.

Traditional marketing focused on the seller and the 4Ps – Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Integrated marketing moved the focus to the customer, where each P must deliver some benefit to the customer. In their classic book “Integrated Marketing Communications: Putting It All Together & Making It Work”, (NTC, 1993), Schultz, Tannenbaum, and Lauterborn proposed that the 4P’s should correspond to the customer’s set of 4C’s – Consumer, Cost, Convenience and Communication. Social media augments this model with a fifth C – Collaboration. Social media, and the innate collaboration that it enables, has closed the loop on the value delivery process by incorporating consumer feedback directly into the process, so organizations can now interact directly and effectively with their customers. Clear examples of this have been customer-support—related interactions -- feedback and complaints about existing products and services, which allow the organization to rethink functionality and product or service features.

Let’s examine the role social media can play in a customer-focused marketing strategy:

Consumer

Social media enables your marketing plan to gather additional consumer profile information. The person who purchases your product may or may not be the final consumer. However, the actual consumer can and likely will provide feedback, to you the seller on Yelp or to his Twitter followers or Facebook friends.
Consumer feedback via the multitude of social media platforms is like an ongoing open focus group, only you did not select the participants. It’s a conversation among consumers about your product and brand. Social media and the tools to listen need to be leveraged as part of your marketing plan’s listening and feedback strategy.
Lastly, consumer-to-consumer marketing (viral marketing) is further enabled by social media. Trusted consumer recommendations drive purchases. Consider closely how person-to-person communications and interactions via social media can be used in your marketing plan.

Cost

While social media is unable to directly influence price setting, it can facilitate immediate and direct feedback regarding the price and value of your product.
Consumers very quickly calculate a product’s price-to-value ratio and even more quickly comment on it. Social media allows consumers to easily relate product experiences among their personal and professional networks.
Consumers compare and contract product features and cost via social media. Your product is being rated and the total cost of ownership (TCO) is calculated with or without your participation.

Convenience

Social media can quickly identify the most convenient method of purchase and support for a product. In addition to the ongoing product rating that occurs, purchase convenience, delivery time and customer support are also rated. Amazon.com has recognized this with its Amazon Prime and Two-Day Shipping service. “Satisfied Member Comments” are already being promoted on the site.
The old adage of an unsatisfied customer tells eight to ten other people is multiplied a thousand times via social media. The social media flames over late Christmas presents serve to remind us that convenience is a total experience.
As painful as it might sometimes be, your marketing plan needs to address convenience of purchase, support and feedback via social media.

Communication

The AMC TV series Mad Men is a throw-back to an era of just one-way corporate communication to consumers. Social media has redefined marketing as a two-way communication. Your marketing plan and initiatives need to prepare for the inevitable conversation with the consumer. Listening to the consumer is now just as important in the marketing plan as getting your message out.
Omnicom reports that eighty-five percent of Americans believe a company should not only be present but also interact with its consumers via social media. Social media marketing is the only place where this consumer need can realistically be met.
Conversations about your product or service are happening in the social media space. The question is: Will they happen with or without you? Your marketing plan needs to ensure you are part of the social media conversation.

Collaboration

Whether its product development and innovation, or troubleshooting an issue, social media has enabled corporations and consumers to work together to find solutions to meet their needs.
Social media has put the consumer in the product-design process and they are demanding to be heard. You ignore their input at your peril.
Marketing plans must be designed to talk with versus talk to consumers -- who are now part of an army of quality control inspectors armed with almost instant feedback tools -- and collaborate with them before, during, and after the purchase.

Whether your marketing plan is based on the 4Ps or 5Cs, it needs to consider effective integration of social media and leverage it not as just another channel but as an essential component of today’s marketing strategy. In addressing the 5Cs, you should examine how and where you participate in social media. Social media allows marketing to reach even more potential clients and most importantly establish a steady state of consumer-to-consumer interaction, feedback and yes, collaboration with the ageless Tweety-Somethings.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it BComm, MBS, PMP, CSM is the managing director of Slalom Consulting, San Francisco. Mr. Kenny has more than 18 years of consulting experience across industries including High-Tech, Aerospace and Defense, Communications, Automotive and Healthcare and has led IT Strategy, Business Process Reengineering, Enterprise Architecture, Business Intelligence, and Supply Chain engagements for a wide array of Fortune 500 companies. Originally from Ireland, Mr. Kenny holds a Bachelors of Commerce and a Masters of Business, Strategic Management and Planning from University College Dublin, National University of Ireland.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it is a senior consultant at Slalom Consulting, San Francisco. Mr. Yen has eight years experience delivering business solutions for Fortune 500 companies. He has a deep knowledge of social media and Web 2.0 Strategy, Interactive Marketing and Marketing Analytics, and IT Planning and Strategy. Mr. Yen holds a Master’s of Science in Applied Economics from University of Georgia, Athens and an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. He is a member of the International Network of Social Network Analysis (INSNA), the Social Media Club, and the Silicon Valley American Marketing Association (SVAMA).