Recently,while
monitoring Twitter I discovered a thread from a person working at a
large customer; he was asking questions about alternative solutions to
one of our products.
I reached out to the account team and
informed them of this conversation; they jumped all over it and quickly
found out this person was "just" a systems admin. A comment I got back
was "We have executive sponsorship, so we are good."
This
comment made me realize there is a fundamental mindset shift that needs
to occur. The shift is to understand and embrace the role of "The New Influencer" and to realize that a single person can shape the perception of your brand at a moment's notice.
These
"systems administrators" are likely some of the most connected in the
organization, understand the power of a tribe and how to mobilize it.
They will organize grass roots support and build a persuasive argument
for why things need to change.
If you are of the mindset that
your product is secure because you have top down support, I encourage
you to monitor the conversations taking place about your products and
services. Here is a great post on
a variety of tools that will give you an idea of how many are talking,
what are they about and what is the tone of the dialog.
There
will be a high price to pay for ignoring these conversations and
thinking everything is ok because you have a small group of supporters.
The price could be that you find yourself being replaced by another
solution.
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Content Marketing