Did you hear the song that started to become a hit last year and turned into a monster hit in 2008? That song is played at every conference, Web 2.0 summit and social media meeting of the minds. Nobody knows the exact title but it goes like “Businesses have to stop talking and start doing”. I’m sure you’ve heard that song many, many times.

Most businesses interested in Social Media and Conversational Marketing remind me of people ordering fitness equipment through infomercials: They know they need to do something about their fitness and health. And they order stuff to start talking about really doing it. Yes, they open up the package, are so confused by the instructions that they stop doing anything. Just to continue watching infomercial, still talking about doing something.

People are opening up to the public more and more each and every day. They describe in detail their desires, needs, fears,  anxieties, hopes, etc., etc. Opportunity is growing each and every day for businesses to help these people, build more useful products that tap into these feelings. Have you bothered listening? People tell businesses what they want. Sometimes very clearly. Sometimes not that overt. But they are always telling you what they are feeling.

Business that listen will survive and prosper in this new marketing reality. They won’t see themselves as the hero anymore. Instead, they see people as the heroes and will do everything to expand their superpowers by giving them what they want.

It’ s not enough to think about doing anymore. It’s time to listen and start doing.

It’s Sunday evening. JP Morgan just purchased Bear Stearns for $2 a share. A 97% of devaluation since stocks started trading Friday last week. And this seems to be just the beginning: foreclosures are still on the rise, more people will join the unemployment line and there are certainly numerous financial disasters looming in the future.

Advertising seems to be one of the few industries that is chugging along - business as usual. But the winds of change are evident everywhere we look: People are cutting back on non-existential purchases. The credit card ride of the 90’s and first seven years of the new millenium is offcially over. These societal changes will carry over to the corner offices of all businesses.

Each line item of advertising/marketing budgets will be reviewed, questioned, re-reviewed. And many dollars will be kept as cash to be ready for even worse days. Many of us have been through these times in 2000/2001. If you thought those times were bad, think again. The current economic crisis will stay with us for years to come. And that’s the best time to make your case for Social Media/Conversational Marketing.

Both will be able to stand out as a shining light in the darkness of declining ROI’s and overvalued media buys. Social Media and Conversational Marketing are the future of marketing. Now is the time to make our case and help businesses through these treacherous times.

Good leaders and sales people have known this forever: A sense of connection makes a huge difference. Connections make or break your job interview. Connections help organizations in their collaboration and innovation efforts. Connections help people to feel better about themselves and make it through hard times.

Management 101 focuses on the employee-employer relationship alone. Recognition and respect are the keywords for a mutually rewarding relationship. While businesses continue to build relationships with people, they end up being too focused on transactions and re-purchase rate.

Instead, businesses need to focus on valuable and open relationships with people.
Valuable not in the sense of ROI (It’s a by-product, not the ultimate goal), rather as an understanding of the universal nature of people and the appreciation of individual contribution. Just taking the time and effort to connect with people is a valuable asset for businesses.  Kindness, fairness and social intelligence go a long way to achieve valuable connections.

These valuable connections will thrive in an open environment. An honest and safe place where people can share their opinion in order to gain understanding and develop new ideas. Nothing feels better to humans than being respected and recognized.

Using Jim Collins’ terminology:  Good companies value their employees and encourage open dialogue. Great companies extend this valuation and openness to everybody. You need the employee-business foundation before you can extend this model to your marketing.

Remember: Conversational Marketing is not a tactic. It’s a mindset that will change your business in magical ways.

Looks like a heart, doesn’t it? KevinRoberts would love it.

We heard about the New Economy, the Experience Economy, the Attention Economy and, according to Trendwatching, we live now in the Expectation Economy. Here’s how they define it:

“The Expectation Economy is an economy inhabited by experienced, well-informed consumers from Canada to South Korea who have a long list of high expectations that they apply to each and every good, service and experience on offer.Their expectations are based on years of self-training in hyperconsumption, and on the biblical flood of new-style, readily available information sources, curators and BS filters. Which all help them track down and expect not just basic standards of quality but the ‘best of the best’.”  

This idea has been around for a while: Luxury brands always had to deal with high expectations. If they didn’t perform they were greeted with irritation, indifference or closed wallets. Luxury brands could survive underdelivering for a certain period time since they were one of the few games in town. Since luxury brands have become ubiquitous, they need to perform on a higher level. And, even worse, the expectation benchmarks are increasing every day: Once Virgin introduced Upper Class, all domestic First Class experiences just felt cheap. How would you feel flying Virgin today when you experienced the new suites on Singapore Airlines with stand-alone beds?

The big difference from yesterday’s luxury expectations to today’s Expectation Economy is how common high expectations have become. From your 2 minutes on hold with a call center, to exploring a website or utilizing the return policy: Companies need to overdeliver every time. Or they face the wrath of the consumer. BusinessWeek calls them ‘Consumer Vigilantes’:

“Meet today’s consumer vigilantes. Even if they’re not all wielding hammers, many are arming themselves with video cameras, computer keyboards, and mobile devices to launch their own personal forms of insurrection. Frustrated by the usual fix-it options—obediently waiting on hold with Bangalore, gamely chatting online with a scripted robot—more consumers are rebelling against company-prescribed service channels. After getting nowhere with the call center, they’re sending “e-mail carpet bombs” to the C-suite, cc-ing the top layer of management with their complaints. When all else fails, a plucky few are going straight to the top after uncovering direct numbers to executive customer-service teams not easily found by mere mortals.

And of course, they’re filling up the Web with blogs and videos, leaving behind venom-spewed tales of woe. “There’s a certain degree of extremism that’s popping up, [a sense of] I’m going to get results, whatever means necessary,’” says Pete Blackshaw, executive vice-president of Nielsen Online Strategic Services, which measures consumer-generated media. “Companies can brush these off as being atypical, mutant consumers, or they can say there’s a very important insight in [their] emotions.”

Behind the guerrilla tactics is a growing disconnect between the experience companies promise and customers’ perceptions of what they actually get.“  

This cleary indicates where traditional marketing/advertising has its biggest problem today: It used to be okay to lure people with beautiful imagery and promises of a better life. People knew it was a promise nobody could deliver. They were attracted by glossy $2 million commercials and knew they would get the key in a dreary dealership. It was disappointing but, hey, what can you do?

Not anymore.

Businesses need to bridge this huge disparity through new tactics and models. In a perfect world, the make-believe world of traditional advertising  builds an emotional response. This response has to be nurtured through conversational marketing and social media tactics that draw people closer to the product and business. Allows people to express themselves, build relationships.

Businesses have to value conversations equal to transactions. Or as Mark Silver said in response to Doc Searls question “Can marketing be conversational?”

“I believe that many web-based proprietors are trying to re-engage this aspect of ‘marketing.’ But, in order to succeed, the marketer has to prize the conversation as highly as the customer does. And, the marketers has to be willing to say ‘no’ to customers, as much as customers might say ‘no’ to a merchant. This brings a sense of ease, equality and, yes, partnership to the experience.”  

We have move away from CRM to PBRN (People Businesses Relationship Nurturing)

Because ‘Relationships - of all kinds- are like sand held in your hand. Held loosely, with an open hand, the sand remains where it is. The minute you close your hand and squeeze tightly to hold on, the sand trickles through your fingers. You may hold onto some of it, but most will be spilled. A relationship is like that. Held loosely, with respect and freedom for the other person, it is likely to remain intact. But hold too tightly, too possessively, and the relationship slips away and is lost.’ - Kaleel Jamison 

Want to know how to turn customers into fans? How to develop strong connections with people? Just do what Angler’s Boutique Resort is doing. I researched the hotel before, it’s ranked as #1 in South Beach on Tripadvisor. Good start but I remained sceptical.

I arrived in Miami after a grueling overnight flight from Los Angeles, tired and worn out. I requested an early check-in at 8am but I’ve done this many times before and often had to wait until early afternoon to get a room.Arriving at 8am, I was greeted by a host, already expecting me and immediately heading to the room. No wait for paperwork or any other bureaucratic tasks. I was introduced to the amazing entertainment system (linking your iPod to all rooms, making DVD’s accessible throughout the suite - did I mention I was upgraded to a suite?) The host left with my credit card, leaving me time to unpack and get settled. For the first time in my life, I experienced a Hotel Internet connection faster than my DSL at home. The room was setup for an overnight traveler: dark room, bed ready to take a quick nap, temperature perfect for a morning sleep.

Yes, I could rave about the bed, the shower, the amenities. But I can get that from many hotels. Adjusting to the needs of a specific customer, that’s what I want to talk about. These little things felt so thoughtful and opened a space in my heart for this boutique hotel. Add to that a little note left on my bed after turndown service, showing the weather forecast for tomorrow (60 degrees in Miami? Whhh-whhh-whhat?) and you feel so good being a guest in this hotel. And, once I get my work done tonight, I will reciprocate by posting a review on Tripadvisor and Yelp. Love is not selfish. Love is about sharing. How does your business transform customers into fans?

Yes and no.

According to HuffingtonPost, Mitt Romney spent $1.16 million per delegate, a rate that would cost him $1.33 billion to win the nomination. The pundits will give you many reasons for his failure: flip-flopping, religion, track record, etc. The real reason is that he never connected with people in an authentic way. Most people thought he didn’t stand for anything, was not an authentic candidate. His campaign was muddled, never had a real focus and left possible followers shrugging their shoulders.

Compare this to Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’ campaign (If you want to call it a campaign.) The benefit to people was tangible, easy to understand. The premise and science behind was complex but it gave people hope by asking them to change their daily habits. Even though many detractors tried to undermine the climate change movement, they didn’t stand a chance against an audience that believed Al Gore was authentic and truthful when he was communicating his message.  

Marketshare can still be bought: Chevy Malibu showed us exactly that in the last few months. But you need to support your mass reach campaign with platforms that help people start their own mini-campaign within the campaign. This will help move your message from the Cul-de-sac of mass media to the viral world of social media and conversational marketing. Ask Mitt Romney.