Create a Social Business. The Innovation Cycle. Understand the Conversations That Matter Collaboration in the context of social business means several things. First, it means working together, which is pretty obvious. Less obvious is who is working together. Social business implies a collaborative process not only between the business and its customers, which is tough enough, but also within the business itself—across “silos”—and between individual customers. Using the combination of conversations and active listening to guide your business planning process is a logical-but deceptively simple-approach to social business. More often, the processes of organizational change, of breaking down silos, and of appropriately sharing and exposing information quickly and widely present the real challenges. It is critically important not to repeat the business mantra that goes “Our customers are at the center of everything we do” while operating largely without their input and without formally integrating your customer’s experiences, thoughts, and ideas into your internal business processes. Only when this occurs—when customer ideas and inputs are brought into the business or organization in a visible, meaningful way— is it a “social business.” The key to combining listening data, obtained via support forums and similar applications, and other information gathered through direct connection with your customers is that this needs to be connected to your business strategy and the processes that surround it. In other words, traditional marketing is largely focused on market study (both pre and post) that informs a message. Listening—in the simple sense— conveys back to you the degree to which that message was consistent with the actual experience of customers and stakeholders, including in venues that you may not have originally envisioned. For example, an outbound marketing message may claim to be “Created for working mothers like you!” If it also turns out that the fi rm does not equitably promote women within the workplace, this contradiction will inevitably become known, very likely being spread through social channels. This raises the requirements for active listening and the incorporation of customer feedback into your business processes: Without a strategic basis for participation, any involvement in the Social Web will be limited to listening (but not responding) and using platforms such as Twitter or Facebook for talking (as opposed to participating). Neither of these is optimal, and neit...
