As in a marriage, honest two-way communication is needed in the customer-company relationship to ensure great customer experiences. Unfortunately, companies aren't listening well. On the flip side, customers too need to do a better job of expressing their expectations.

Recently, I had a conversation with a colleague about the customer, their expectations, and how that may match, or not match, what the company intends to provide. In this conversation the parallels of the customer-company relationship and marriage became apparent. We start the relationship with some sort of contract, or vows.  Some interactions, such as buying a TV, have explicit terms; others, such as buying bread, not explicit but present. Often, we bring to the new relationship an entire set of assumptions and preconceived notions about the company and our relationship with it.

Customers Have Unspoken Expectations Even in Explicit Transactions

When you look at it from the company’s point of view, it’s a business transaction.  The company provides  XYZ in exchange for money.  But as a customer I expect ABC and possibly even LMNOP. Unfortunately, we never speak about my expectations nor what the company was willing to provide.

In a complex relationship like the bank and a mortgage services provider, these assumptions are often numerous and erroneous, often resulting in missteps and numerous incidents of poor customer experience.  Continuing reading this article in full >>>

Download:  SCI-Ramquest User Pres Diversification 2010 v2

Statistics

• In a September study completed by NetProspex, the banking industry was the #3 out of 50 industries with very active social media engagement. Engagement is measured as employees participating in social media, e.g. reading, learning, posting, sharing—not  using it to market the bank.
• Of the largest 100 companies in the Fortune 500, nearly 80% use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or corporate blogs to communicate with customers and other stakeholders.
• Among small businesses, 1 in 5 are integrating social media into their business processes, with Facebook and LinkedIn being the most popular sites.
• And business to business employees are social. Of the NetProspex Social 50 companies, 42% were business to business companies.

Definitions

• Wikipedia Entry for Social Media
• From econsultancy, 34 Definitions of the term “social media”
• HubSpot Blog, The Ultimate Social Media Glossary
• About.com, Social Media Marketing Guide

Websites

• Mashable – The Social Media Guide
• The Wall Street Journal: All Things Digital
• Fast Company – Where Ideas Meet People
• TechCrunch – Group Blog About Web 2.0
• SmartBrief on Social Media, newsletter

Helpful Articles & Deeper Resources

• Inbound Marketing University, Sponsored by Hubspot
• Crowdsourcing: Feeding on the Power of Social Media, Networking and Its Relevance, from National Mortgage News
• Consumers See Social Media as a Way to Connnect, from MBA Newslink
• LinkedIn: Marketing Yourself, Marketing Your Company, from TAVMA Newsletter
• Q&A: Frank Eliason, Citi’s New Social Media Guru, On the Right Approach to Twitter and Facebook and the Tools That Help, from Bank Systems and Technology
• Twitter and Social Media Etiquette, from FruitZoom

People to Follow on Twitter

Big or small, national or regional, these companies are good examples to follow and provide valuable pointers and information for re-tweets. There’s also a sampling of news outlets and reporters who are good to connect with online.

@DocuSign
@austinnotary
@RealEstateBabbl
@insideREnews
@FirstAm1031
@titlehub
@JesStewartTitle
@pickfordescrow
@FirstAmDataTree
@KathyBurger
@Bellco_CU
@SalalCU
@peoplesbankwi
@NavyFederalHelp
@cumagazine
@HousingReporte
@ISMG_news
@TalonTitle
@FiveStarInst
@SunshineSigning
@AskSunTrust
@Wachovia
@Ask_WellsFargo
@BofA_Help
@MandrienConsult
@kwri
@iwantTSS
@TheTitleReport
@AmerBanker
@usbanker
@CookeonCUs
@NatMortgageNews
@ScotsmanGuideED
@HousingWire
@NatlMortgagePro

Of course, we would also recommend @SCIvision and @RaelinM

Let us know what you think! Do you have an article, Website or Twitter account that we should include on this list of resources? Comment below and we’ll be sure to include it!

Since 2004, the RamQuest User Group (RQUG) has been providing an opportunity for users to be heard and communicate with one another. Each conference offers unique opportunities for Ramquest users to gather and share ideas, discuss current issues and help define the future of the Ramquest products, while at the same time, gaining insightful knowledge on how to be more efficient and productive at their jobs.

Crowdsourcing. Tweet. Wiki Wart. These are just a few social media buzzwords and I, as well as most of my colleagues, have a vague notion of what they mean. For a seasoned “road warrior” like me, asking me to use social media is akin to asking a Viking to give up his battle ax for a pistol. Yes, it may be more powerful, but I really didn’t understand how to use it.

Then our SVP of Marketing explained social media without the buzzwords, and the light bulb went on. Social media is no different than what we do every day and have done for the last 40 years—it’s just on a computer or mobile phone. It’s old-fashioned, Dale Carnegie-style networking in the digital age.

Here’s how she explained it:

1. Twitter, a website that provides 140 character status updates, is like a conversation around the water cooler. Short but powerful snippets of information.
2. LinkedIn, with detailed profiles and the tracking of contacts, is similar to a trade show exhibit hall where you meet and greet all your trade industry colleagues and swap business cards.
3. Facebook can be compared to the friendly, sometimes raucous, bar conversation that happened after official convention hours.

Will social media replace in-person networking? No. Never. But I will now supplement my networking with social media tools. No matter the stage of our career, we must adapt to reach our audiences and grow our business.

Today, you’ll find SCI on Twitter, Facebookand LinkedIn. Drop by our website www.skalstadconsulting.com and connectwith us. Become an SCI “Tweep” – that is a mutual follower of SCI on Twitter. You’ll also find a helpful list of definitions that will explain those social media buzzwords.

Many business owners think of social media as Facebook, a place where people chat with friends and waste time at work. Organizations have taken to blocking access to all social media channels, but this move can hurt your organization more than help it. The little boost you may gain in productivity will be lost in lack of competitive intelligence and keeping abreast of industry trends.

Social media is not just for marketing. It’s an extremely valuable tool that can help your managers and executives throughout the company:

• Human Resources can use social media to verify potential employees’ backgrounds. In addition to checking Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, also do a search on a site like SocialMention.com to see more results.
• Training programs can leverage a wealth of education resources including videos, Power Points, and articles by “re-tweeting” the best to a private list of employees. Checkout Slideshare.com for valuable resources.
• Marketing can go beyond promoting your company; it can also be used for competitive intelligence. You can see what your competitors’ customers are saying in places such as the Groups on LinkedIn.com.

Social media is the ultimate, super connected, 24-7 networking resource that provides invaluable business intelligence and learning resources, as well as effective outbound marketing opportunities.

Learn more by purchasing the October Research webinar “The Money Network: Using social media to drive title and mortgage business” at the October Store www.octoberstore.com.

And, if you Tweet about this webinar by using the hashtag #SCIwebinar, we’ll give you a free social media marketing assessment. See our website for details.

Your company can also use technology and networking to gain greater business intelligence and control of market share. Let the team at SCI show you how to use social media to bring out your inner Viking and dominate your competitors.

Read the following to get started:

My & My Tweeps Crowdsourcing. Tweet. Wiki Wart. These are just a few social media buzzwords and I, as well as most of my colleagues, have a vague notion of what they mean. For a seasoned “road warrior” like me, asking me to use social media is akin to asking a Viking to give up his battle ax for a pistol. Yes, it may be more powerful, but I really didn’t understand how to use it.

Social Media: Embrace It, Don’t Block It
Many business owners think of social media as Facebook, a place where people chat with friends and waste time at work. Organizations have taken to blocking access to all social media channels, but this move can hurt your organization more than help it. The little boost you may gain in productivity will be lost in lack of competitive intelligence and keeping abreast of industry trends.

To receive your Free Assessment from SCI – Skalstad Consulting Inc., please email us the following information to analysis@skalstadconsulting.com.

• Name
• Title
• Company
• Phone
• Email
• Type of Assessment: Learning, Marketing, Human Resources or Business Profitability
• Any additional comments or information you would like to share.

Learn more about SCI. Visit our website at http://www.skalstadconsulting.com/

In a September study completed by NetProspex, the banking industry is in the Top 10 out of 50 industries with very active social media engagement. Engagement is measured as employees participating in social media, e.g. reading, learning, posting, sharing—not  using it to market the bank.

This makes even more of a case for industries servicing the financial services companies to begin marketing on LinkedIN, Facebook and Twitter.

Here’s an excerpt of the article and a link to read it below:

A new report from NetProspex ranks industries by the degree to which their employees are involved in using social media, and “advertising & marketing” ranked second only to “search engines/online portals.”

Filling out the top 10 in the standings of most social of the 50 industries measured were “banking,” “traditional media (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines),” “toys & games,” “human resources & recruiting,” “information technology,” “software,” “consumer electronics” and “retail apparel.”

Full Article: Top 10 Industries that Rank High for Social Engagement http://bit.ly/cpb78b

Source: http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3i776b1668d474ee36c3d85bf31a7f69f0
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