Think of any revolution, they all have similar components: unhappy people, despotic rulers, catalyst events, turbulent times, and uncertain outcomes. Now, think of the current evolution we are experiencing in business: the social evolution. Lots have been written about this being a paradigm shift, or a revolution, or a generational shift -- but little has been done to evaluate these claims.
Is the current social media evolution actually a revolution? Let's evaluate the five components of a revolution outlined above:
Unhappy People - Are customers (people) unhappy? Is there something happening to them that they don't approve? The answer is, in both cases, yes. Customers are unhappy that they don't have a say in how products and services are put together; that they don't get what they want but rather what the organization, in a company-centric action, tells them they need. They are tired of overpaying for under-delivery, and they want change.
Despotic Rulers - Meanwhile, up in the "palace" (OK, the management floor but sometimes confused with a palace) they are mostly unaware of the popular desire. They get their reports (call them NPS or CSAT to give them a name) that tells them that everything is perfectly fine, that customers love them, and they cannot wait to do more business with them. Yet, the customer is not really that much into the company, and they are ready to walk.
Catalyst Events - This one is very easy: the advent of the Social Customer and Generation C, no questions about it. This generational shift is responsible for making customers want to collaborate with the company for better outcomes.
Turbulent Times - Organizations are changing their operations quickly and (in some cases) drastically. Witness Comcast changing their customer service model to add Twitter to it in a very short time, or JetBlue completing a campaign offering unlimited travel within a month in virtually 1/20th the time it would've taken before. Yes, the times they are a-changin', and rapidly and without notice.
Uncertain Outcomes - This one is also easy -- we have no idea where this is going to end up, nor when. The outcome of this social (r)evolution could be another passé management fad, or a totally new way of doing business. Certainty as to either one being the final outcome is -- well, uncertain.
I am starting to sense that in spite of having said for a very long, long time that this Social era is not a revolution -- I may have to re-think that. I can sense three problems with the current business landscape that may just be leading to a revolution.
Organizational Indifference - Let's be honest, in spite of having some case studies that highlight specific organizations that rushed to adopt social media and changed their world, the reality is far different. Yes, Dell sold some $6.5MM through Twitter, but it represented a tiny, tiny, tiny amount compared to their $60BB in revenues. And it is not like the entire organization got behind the effort or adopted social media. Here is another take, a very well written article that talks to why Management could not care less about social media -- one that I happen to agree with. And, as we all know, when the "rulers" are not in touch with what the "people" want, a revolution becomes more possible. And there is plenty of evidence that organizations are not about to change, as stated by Martijn Linssen.
Cacophonous Congnoscenti - The pundits, analysts (counting myself in there), press, and just about anyone with a blog is making a lot of noise about the social (r)evolution. As I said before, there has been a lot of discussion on whether we are talking about a revolution, evolution, paradigm shift, generational shift, business transition -- or something else. I won't point to any specific posts because I don't want to single anyone out as being good or bad. This cacophony leads to very chaotic and turbulent times. When customers, management, and virtually anyone in business cannot agree on a set path - we have trouble brewing.
Customer Insurgence - We saw a similar insurgence when we deployed self-service systems and let customers help themselves. This insurgence continues, except that customers can do more than simple help themselves now - they can aggregate and share power, becoming a force. The Social Customer and the myriad communities in which is manifest is the new form of insurgence: the resistance does not need to be organized underground -- it is being organized in online communities of many flavors.
Is there a solution? No, not a revolution -- that would not be pretty or necessarily conductive to the expected and wanted results. No, the solution is much simpler - embrace the collaborative enterprise. Will it solve these problems? Well, of course I have to say it depends - I am after all an analyst. But let's see what the collaborative enterprise can bring about:
Better Communications - I am willing to bet that if Marie Antoinette knew that not listening to demands for cake would've cost her losing her head, she would've baked a seven-layer "tres leches" herself every night. Alas, the systems were not in place for her to find out what the people wanted, by the time the message reached her level it was watered down sufficiently not to worry her. A collaborative enterprise contributes far better communications, and the knowledge of what each side needs and wants.
More Visibility - Of course, management is not the only group to blame in this. I am also willing to bet that if customers knew that offering customer service via additional channels would've cost more to the company (thus increasing prices) with no or little benefit to them, they would change their demands for Twitter Customer Service to plain-old better Customer Service. A collaborative enterprise provides both sides with far greater visibility that becomes very useful in making decisions to the feasibility of the demands and expectations.
True Feedback - The Holy Grail of satisfaction has long been being able to measure accurately how satisfied customers are. However, not being able to directly observe the reactions following service delivery and relying on a set of questions to attempt to measure satisfaction has never been proven to be accurate. Participation in a collaborative environment allows not only the organization, but also the customers to determine the immediate level of satisfaction by actions, comments, and honest feedback.
Increased Accountability - As we all know from the American Revolution, accountability counts for something (sorry, bad pun) -- taxation without representation was all about accountability and being able to both determine and understand the fate of the money paid in taxes. Participation in a collaborative enterprise brings both sides to become more accountable to each other, and more accountability does indeed lead to less unrest and better chances of avoiding the revolution.
So, what is your take? Am I way off? Am I close to reality? Does all this stuff really matter? Would love to read what you have to say...