Seat at the Table

Business Week had an excellent update on the state of blogging but missed a core business lesson – do what’s right for your business, not what all your friends are doing.   The article provides a worth update on how blogging has evolved, is right now and where it might be going.  But like so many other articles on the state of blogging, it fails to focus in on which businesses need to engage in blogging and why.  Instead, it leaves a blanket impression that blogging and social media will transform business. 

While I’m out there every day talking about the importance of social media, I’m doing so by first discussing how to determine if and how your company needs to engage in social media activities.  The world is more complex than simply saying you must do it.  Just as not every company needs to be engaging broadcast media, not every company needs to engage in social media. 

A core example is using social media to listen to the customer.  Easily said but not always clear how to implement.  Apple vs. Dell is a high profile case in point. 

Apple is not known for designing products based on customer feedback; they are good at designing what they believe customers will love.  And while they do talk to and listen to blogs, they do not seem to rely on them to make business changes.  In fact, they’ve sued blogs that leaked secrets (something many other companies are wary of doing) and loud blog complaints often fall on deaf ears (e.g., battery replacement issues).

Dell, on the other hand, had a worsening reputation for PC design, quality and customer service.  They’ve been using social media, blog outreach and other forms of social media driven customer communications to gain a reputation as a company that is listening to customers and improving based on what they hear.  So instead of simply coming our with product and process improvements (a la Apple), they are showing how they listen first and will then, hopefully, execute.

Two companies, same industry, similar customer base, very different approaches.    Bottom line: always seriously consider and pursue a social media strategy but first make sure it’s the right one for your company.