The CX Blog

Recently Interactive Insights Group blogged about selling social media to skeptics, luddites, etc--great post, check it out.

IIG points to an article by Decker Marketing on how to sell social marketing to CFOs, and as I was reading it, I began replacing “Market” or “Marketing” with “Support” or “Service” to see how it would read. Not bad, as it turns out:

1. Provide financial leaders with hard facts—give numbers representing the anticipated dollar value of social media Support compared to its cost (ex: anticipated ROI) for your company, cite research on the proven effectiveness of social media Support [My example: social support channels make lifetime customers, reduce internal support costs, build effective and useful KBs, etc]
2. Emphasize that capital expenditures necessary for social Support are often minimal compared to other forms of Support. Investing in social media Support can help companies reduce cost drivers during an economic downturn [ex: Ratings & Reviews result in lower product returns. My example: allowing customers to directly help each other, in moderated/monitored channels, will ultimately result in better support, internal knowledge about product, and lower support costs.]
3. Demonstrate the value to your company of existing social media Support and how new social media initiatives would create more value than (and could possibly replace) stale company practices in place today [My ex: compare real contact cost via traditional channels vs. best practice examples of social media Support. Note social media Support = brand enhancement + support + internal product knowledge]
4. [My Favorite] Explain that social media Support creates brand ambassadors who support others and create good buzz for free—social media Support represents a cost-effective Service alternative that drives actual results and can spur a viral brand campaign
5. Note that social media is here to stay—the proven effectiveness of social media and consumer dependence on it indicate it is here to stay and failure to partake will result in missed opportunities (becoming actively involved in social media will give your company a chance to influence what’s being said about your brand as well as a chance to listen and respond to the current conversation) [Note: this point remains unchanged! Support + Marketing = harmony]
6. Keep tabs on the effective social media Support initiatives of your competitors—it’s important not to fall behind [Clearwire, Comcast, Dell, Cisco, Salesforce, the list grows every day]
7. Identify social media Support tools used effectively by other companies and think of which social media tools will help you deliver what your customers want
8. Show the CFO SEO—For example, present the CFO with Support-specific consumer feedback about your company already on the Web (Google your company) to encourage his/her interest in developing a dialogue with those consumers

Hope you don’t mind this exercise, Sam Decker–your thoughts on how to convince the CFO re social media were just too good to resist–thanks!