Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Social CRM and Women


So,we officially have a new term! "Social CRM" which refers to how we (businesses) integrate customers into the conversation. Paul Greenberg wrote a great blog post on Social CRM on ZDNet that talks about how we address and include consumers in the 'retail' strategy.

So taking this theory one step further, let's contemplate how it is that women amplify the social factor in their shopping and purchasing behaviour? If you buy the fact that the consumer holds significant power and can hurt or help your cause and that you need to incorporate the consumer into your strategy as it relates to product development, marketing and sales, then what specifically do you want to focus on with women?

Paul talks about loyalty vs. ambassadors and I agree. Where it used to be that we looked for loyalty and longtime customer value, we need to be thinking in terms of ambassadors and looking at customer referral value (CRV). Women are 10X the referral source than men. We all know this. So, as businesses, how can we incent and encourage women authentically to represent and refer? And, how can we AVOID creating any customer relations damage (or missed opportunities to connect) that could unearth irrepairable damage?




AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Another female politician opts out


Posted by Cathy Nave


Halleluiah! Sarah Palin has finally resigned! Maybe I should be saddened that a woman is leaving politics no matter the caliber because we have so few women in politics as it is. But I have to say that I’m so glad she is leaving office. It appears that she did a fine job as Governor of Alaska, but I don’t believe she is the right kind of woman to represent women across America. Represent being the key word. Because when you buy into Sarah you were also buying into the possibility that she could one day have run for the highest office. Whether Republican, Democratic or otherwise, Sarah, with all of her down home reliability (for some), just didn’t have what it takes to represent women at large. Michelle Obama, on the other hand, has what it takes.

From the start, when John McCain introduced us to Sarah Palin during the US Presidential race, as the Republican, Vice President Candidate, we were curious but skeptical of Sarah Palin’s capabilities and John McCain’s judgment. In the end the public lost confidence and elected Barak Obama and Joe Binden into office.

But what was it about Sarah Palin that we didn’t like? She was in the media all the time. Overexposure too early? The way she didn’t handle the Katie Couric interview? She tried to extrapolate on her Alaskan Governor and soccer mom popularity and identify with women across America. But ultimately the charm didn’t scale. Probably because we want and need a lot more than charm from our female leaders.

We know that women in politics are regular women but somehow we, the public, hold them to higher standards. We want to see them be better, stronger and rise above everyday challenges and difficulties. We want them to show us the way to the idyllic life, not live among us and try to identify with us. We need to idealize them and to demonstrate to us that we can strive for more and achieve it. We want someone to show us what’s beyond our everyday existence and encourage us to be the best that we can be.
AddThis Social Bookmark Button