Engagement; A Lost Art
December 23, 2009 by ebrown
Filed under Social Media Marketing
We speak of Engagement with the customer today as if that is something new, but it really is just a Lost Art. I grew up in a small rural farming community in mid state Ohio. My father was a home builder. We lived on a small farm that my grandfather and father sort of farmed.
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
The closet town was a few miles away. Way before 24/7 grocery stores, the ones that used to close by 6:00 PM and just sold groceries, AND they bagged AND carried your groceries to the trunk of your car. The owner of the store was also the head butcher. Whenever we would go to the grocery store my folks were always greeted by first name, seemingly by everyone in the store. But the piece I remember the most was that the store owner “Knew” our family, all of us, and knew lot’s of things about us, including exactly how my dad liked his cut of meat.
The biggest takeaway from all of this was the Experience, in a time when creating that happened as a part of the business exchange, and not a targeted strategy.
Are Those Days Gone
Certainly lots 0f Brands are working hard to create and execute a Customer Experience. Will the days of the grocer knowing the cut of meat ever return, well, maybe.
Think about Amazon, Netflix, iTunes, they all know me pretty well, and they know individually other of our family members, at least based on our preferences. They have enacted a different form of Engagement, and I can even reciprocate with comments and reviews.
We Are Connecting Again
We returning to those old days of Engagement, albeit it may not look exactly the same. Think about blogs, (we do that here at Digital Sherpa you know, LOL) Blogs allow a two way conversation, and a rich interaction with the followers and commentators, and Your Customers, and Your Competitors Customers.
And there is another thing, a pretty important one too, the Internet allows like minded folks to connect and organize at hyper speed, literally with a single click. It does that by scanning for “keywords and phrases”, henceforth that whole world of SEO (Search Engine Optimaxzation) has unfolded.
The Internet, allows your Company Blog to be a super charged Outreach Machine. Provide some great and value driven content on your Blog, and guess what Shows Up, Engagement!
E,
You really think Amazon knows you like the family grocer through this different form of engagement? Are you suggesting an algorithm really understands you to the point of influencing engagement? I think they know you well enough to get you to participate with them in an artificial way but to suggest engagement – it’s just not.
You spoke of 10,000 hours from Outliners [I think you meant Outliers] applying to developing this engine – it’s applies to developing engagement as well. Most people can’t even get the difference between a Fan Page and a profile right and we are talking engagement?
I agree 1000% it is where we are going but 10,000 hours equates to ten years of consistent practice, failing and fine tuning. That’s 10 years for the avid user. Likely more for the passive user. Even with the advent of hyper-connectivity and the ability to move things along a a more rapid clip – most people won’t see true engagement for some bit of time – certainly not in 2010. What they will see is stimulated participation but even then that will be for a select few that really take it seriously.
Thanks for the material – it’s fun to read.
M
The one constant in life is CHANGE. Just as how we get and receive goods and services have changed over the years, so does how the successful companies ENGAGE in their prospects and customers. For most businesses, it’s no longer just local…It’s regional, national and global. Great post…got me thinking about my own business and how I engage.
David, Good Evening, Thanks for stopping by,
Sometimes things change all around us, yet we hardly notice it until it is gone, think TV Towers for instance, now, for the most part it is all cable and satellite, Full Service Gas Stations, verses Self Serve. Albums to Eight Tracks to Cassettes to CD’s to nothing tangible-Digital Music
And, No one asked us, it just changed,
Happy New Year!
Hey Mike, Thanks for taking the time to comment,
I actually DO think that certain companies know and engage with me more accurately than the grocer. There is much more digital knowledge.
Engagement in the business sense can mean just having an accurate understanding of my wants and needs, and match things up. I am not suggesting that an algorithm replaces contact. However sometimes too much emphasis is put on human contact, sometimes your customer just wants the information they want and nothing more.
I know we do not agree on the whole Engagement piece. We would love for you, if you are willing, to do a Guest Post for this blog to open some discussion on your views as to what makes for a better Engagement (I actually don’t think we are even on the same page as to what to call it)
Let me know if you are up for a guest Post, we really would appreciate your input.
Merry Christmas to Mike, We need to find some time this year for a scotch and a deeper discussion!
E,
Game on! That is for the idea of finding some time this year – it’s long overdue.
Please know that my thoughts on engagement come from a ton of reading, thought and reflection. It’s not to suggest that it’s a, I’m right, you’re wrong, discussion. I appreciate your position on the matter and understand it as well believe it or not. I just think there is a much deeper thought process here that if applied will be a true game changer…
Thank you for the invite to write something up – I will pen something next week for you to consider.
You and your family have a compelling holiday season!!
M