Your social customer

What does that title mean? Customers like to be social? Well, sort of.

It also hints at the new universe that business is in--where customers are connected and empowered and interactive. Customers aren’t willing to sit back and “live with” businesses that treat them poorly or even inadequately. Customers are vocal and involved, and you have to respond or lose out.

A few weeks ago I took a super class on Web 2.0 offered by two CRM (Customer Relationship Management) professionals. They shared the “Social Customer Manifesto.” It’s terrific, and you must read it.

You’ll find this list of customer desires (in their voice) to be very honest and very true. (Follow the link above to find the list) It includes statements like, “I want to have a say,” and “I want to know when something is wrong, and what you’re going to do to fix it,” and, “I want to do business with companies that act in a transparent and ethical manner.” Other comments like, “I don’t want to do business with idiots,” might surprise you, but when you think as a customer you can see the validity of that one. I think we’ve all been frustrated in these situations. I liked the following statement in particular: “I want to shape things that I’ll find useful.”

What could this social customer manifesto mean to your business?

Do a gut check. Do any of the points in this manifesto make you nervous? Are you meeting these customer expectations?

Perhaps some of the manifesto points don’t directly apply to your business, but there are many that will, and now is the best time to start thinking about how to evolve your business. Don’t forget, your competition may be adapting to new customer expectations already.

How can you get started?

One idea is to be open with customers. Be honest always, and let them into your business. The huge upside to your customers “getting involved” is that they will come with terrific ideas that will grow your business and customer loyalty. What does this mean? Show them your plans, tell them what you are working on as it’s being developed, and get their feedback during your development process--not just at the end. (Read the book, “Outside Innovation,” for more ideas about getting customers involved.)