Where does social media fit in your marketing strategy?

At one point or another every social entrepreneur will confront the question of what role social media should play in their marketing strategy.  And while there is some evidence emerging as to the effectiveness of reaching customers via the likes of Facebook and Twitter, there are no universally accepted conclusions for social entrepreneurs to subscribe to.

Despite the lack of consensus, however, there are some important considerations being fleshed-out in the blogosphere.  For example, Anthony Miyazaki makes some very important observations regarding customer engagement via social media.  Among other valid points, Miyazaki highlights the need for true two-way interaction with customers.  Social entrepreneurs would be well advised to follow his idea for authentic interaction; and not simply racking up “Likes” and “Followers.”

Another important consideration is related to how much you rely and build your business on a social media platform.  For example, if your entire customer engagement process is contained within the Facebook application, guess who owns that data.  You guessed, Facebook.  John Jantsch, the creator of Duct Tape Marketing, gets into this topic on his blog.  Jantsch points out that business owners should not consider Facebook their ‘house.’  He likens the idea of relying on it too much to renovating your neighbor’s house.  And while it can be cool to have a party at your neighbor’s house, the goal is to develop the relationship and invite the party back to your house.

So, how are you implementing social media in your marketing strategy?

Groupon or Moveon: What are the options?

With much of the media attention covering Groupon’s pending $25 billion IPO, many social entrepreneurs may be looking to explore using Groupon’s services to promote their organization.  Even more so, many social entrepreneurs may be taking this time to reevaluate their entire marketing strategy.  We maintain that it is never a bad time to give such questions some critical thought.

So have you jumped on the Groupon daily-deal bandwagon?  Why wouldn’t you?  For many cash strapped nonprofits and social enterprises Groupon’s business model offers a way to advertise to would be customers without putting investing cash up-front.  Sure, your organization needs to be prepared to offer a discount but this expense is not paid until an actual sale is made.  This is great news for many small organizations.

Despite the great news for organizations, Groupon is not an option for many; at least not for a while.  This is because in a given market, your organization may be put on Groupon’s waiting list.  So while it may be a good idea to get on the waiting list now, what other options do you have?  Well according to daily-discount deal aggregator Yipit, there are at least 400 Groupon competitors to choose from.  Clearly there is no shortage of market participants in which to choose from.

The question is how do you choose?  For my money, I say take a look at Google Offers, Amazon’s partner LivingSocial, and Facebook Deals.  Each of these Groupon competitors has much to offer, but I find Google Offers and Facebook Deals to be ones to keep an eye on.  The reason is rather simple: eyeballs.  Google and Facebook in particular have services that already bring many eyeballs to potentially see your organization’s offer.  In addition, they already provide services that many organizations already use.  For example, Google Offers integrates with its existing advertising platform, in general, and with Google Places, in particular.  Not to mention the mobile component enabled by its Android operating system.

So as the general media headlines in the near future may revolve around Groupon’s pending IPO, be sure to not get overwhelmed by the hype and do your due diligence.  Yipit’s blog is a good place to start.

UPDATE ON: Mobile Payments: Where is the market going?

Sometimes it is helpful to look back at where we have been to understand where we are going.  This awareness became apparent to me as I was reviewing a few of my previous blog posts and the blog posts of a fellow blogger.

As you will recall my recent posts have focused on mobile payment systems and facial recognition technologies.  In the case of mobile payment technologies, I discussed the how moving from traditional “money” to “mobile money” simply reflects the next logical step in how society uses its currency.  No major innovative breakthrough here; just a move to a more electronic form of payment.  It is interesting; however, to see competitors from apparently different industries competing in the mobile payment space.  From individual companies like Starbucks, to the mobile phone carriers themselves, to the advertising giant Google; each firm representing different sectors and each is trying to establish a foothold in the mobile payment space.  While I think it will be some time before a given market leader is crowned, it is very interesting that Starbucks’ recent mobile application has reportedly attracted over 3 million customers within a few short months.

In the case of facial recognition technologies, you will recall I discussed one way in which this technology could be used in a Customer Service 3.0 capacity.  For sure, this technology could definitely be put to good use.  However, its uses must be balanced with a healthy dose of privacy controls.

Again, looking back at my posts I made a connection that I didn’t see when originally writing either post.  In both cases, the domain of each topic can be boiled down to electronic data.  With mobile payments, currency is shifting more and more away from traditional, tangible forms of money to an electronic form of money.  With facial recognition technology a camera is used to covert an image into an electronic form and then that electronic data is associated with a real person.

Admittedly, this “electronic data” connection and its potential impact has not been completely fleshed out in my mind yet, but one word just keeps popping into my head over and over.  The word is: GOOGLE!

From the demand-side, many consumers trust Google and store a large portion of their digital life on Google’s servers.  On the supply-side, Google offers low-cost ways for businesses to get in front of potential customers; including its new Groupon-killer Google Offers.  Given that Google has strategically placed itself as a trusted intermediary for so many on both the demand-side and supply-side, it seems logical that they will become the trusted intermediary for mobile payments.

So social entrepreneurs, since so many of us rely on Google’s low/no-cost services to run our organizations, it seems logical to move in the Google direction for your mobile payment systems.  All we have to do now is wait for Google’s mobile payment offering to our respective markets.

Name recognition, facial recognition, and Customer Service 3.0

In a world where many firms offer similar or substitute products, outstanding customer service could be the competitive differentiator that sets your business apart.  And one compelling practice in effective customer service is to know your customers name.  It has been said that “Nothing is sweeter than the sound of a person’s own name.”

So what if you are a business owner that has difficulty remembering people’s names?

 One solution is to learn some memorization techniques or follow some name recognition techniques.  But that is so Customer Service 1.0. 

Another solution is to faithfully use a CRM (customer relationship management) database to keep track of your customer’s names, purchase history, and other relevant data.  To be sure, this is a good idea and should be a tool in every social entrepreneur’s toolbox.  But let’s face it, CRM databases can be difficult to maintain and they don’t travel well.  In short, using a CRM database to help with remembering your customer’s name is so Customer Service 2.0.

Get ready for the arrival of Customer Service 3.0 technologies.  Imagine being able to look up your customer’s name, their social networking information regardless of where you are.  This is one of the many promises of mobile facial recognition software.  Using this technology one could simply use their mobile phone’s camera to immediately pull-up the relevant client data.  Firms such as Viewdle already have products on the market and Apple recently purchased the facial recognition software company Polar Rose, a facial recognition software company.  It won’t be long before additional software applications arrive on the market that are specifically designed with a small business marketers in mind.  These applications will usher in the Customer Service 3.0 era.

Despite the many positive uses of facial recognition software, we at Social Entrepreneur’s Toolbox also recognize the potential negative uses of such applications.  Consumer privacy needs to be addressed by both industry and civil society and best practices need to be developed.  Fortunately, organizations such as Tagmenot are surfacing in the marketplace to help address such concern.

So readers, what do you think are some of the positive ways facial recognition technology can be responsibly used in your businesses?  And equally important, what steps would you take to make sure you protected the privacy of your customers?

Mobile Payments: Where is the market going?

Across industry sectors, entrepreneurs continue to innovate and act as force of change.  In many cases the innovation is very forward thinking and results in the creation of dazzling new products that no one ever dreamed of before.  Other times, however, the innovation is targeted at replacing old and outdated ways of doing things.  One example of this in today’s marketplace can be seen in the mobile payment arena.

Think about it, societies have been exchanging items of value for products and services for a long, long time.  From seashells, precious metals, and paper notes to modern-day MasterCard  and Visa credit cards that don’t even need to be swiped, the medium has changed but the essential function has remained the same.  Today’s flurry of activity in the mobile payment space is simply the next logical step.

So with all the new companies popping up to capitalize on this trend, how is a social entrepreneur to take advantage of the next logical evolution in payment processing?  The key comes down to two simple words: trusted intermediary!  And when it comes to money, banks serve as the most trusted intermediary.  Unfortunately, however, waiting for the banking sector to innovate may take a long, long time.  It just isn’t in their organizational DNA.  MasterCard and Visa have served well as payment intermediaries in the credit card space, but consumers often have multiple accounts at various institutions and an intermediary that only interacts with one of the consumer’s accounts just won’t fly in the marketplace.

Enter Google and the wireless carriers themselves.  Google stands to capitalize on its large user base and its integration in so many internet based technologies; not to mention its Android operating system.  In fact, Google has already taken steps to move into the mobile payment arena with its purchase of Zetawire.  The wireless carriers are also jockeying to establish a foothold.  In fact, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile have entered into a joint venture to specifically enter the mobile payment arena. 

All of these companies are viable contenders in the mobile payment arena and social entrepreneurs would be well advised to keep an eye on them.  What would be interesting is if Intuit decides to make a significant entrance into this space.  Given their already trusted relationship with small businesses and consumers alike, their Mint application could be just the perfect smartphone application to capitalize on the mobile payment trend.

What company do you think has the best chance of becoming the market leader?