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5 Things to Know to Get Customers to Your Online Community...and Keep Them There Download

Passing the Mic: How ampifying the voice of the consumer can add value to your organization Download

KristiGrigsby said:

My early career began in the cellular industry, working alongside a visionary president who assured me, “mark my words. Someday these phones are going to be small enough to fit in your pocket and you’ll take it wherever you go.”

In those days (and yes, I’m aging myself here), the ‘bag phones’ were about the size of the big handbag I’m carrying today, so the thought of ever tucking that phone into my pocket was quite extraordinary.

Cellular phones were little more than an insurance policy…an added peace of mind that, in the event of an emergency, you were ready. Our advertisements focused on the helpless woman stranded on the highway with a flat tire, or the hurried businessman standing next to his broken down car as the radiator spewed steam. With cell phone in-hand, help was only minutes away.

It worked. The thought of instant communication when it was needed the most fueled the initial market demand. But we all knew we were sitting on something much bigger, and it was only a matter of time before the industry exploded. As they say, the rest is history. We all know what happened next.

That feeling of ‘something big to come’ is exactly the same aura we’re operating in today. Social media may still be thought of as a feel-good way of doing business in some circles. In our world, we know it’s about to change everything. As Forrester analysts and co-authors Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff point out in their latest book, we are indeed in the midst of a groundswell with an unstoppable force.

But just as the focus on ‘emergency use applications’ was only a glimpse of the bigger possibilities awaiting the cellular industry, the social media industry holds far more potential than many may realize today. The focus thus far has tended to remain superficial – how many eyeballs and impressions, or what’s the coolest new widget?

Some, like Catharine Taylor and Rachel Happe have begun chiseling away at the cover stories to ask the tough questions that need to be asked: What’s the real value to the enterprise? How can we measure success? The really good news is that those who understand this perspective are beginning to dig deeper beyond the glitz and hype of the latest & greatest to find shining examples of the success we’re all striving for.

Which leads me to my next post. Stay tuned…

Posted: 6/16/2008 5:37:12 PM

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