Out and about: Impressions from 2009 Online Conference (part II) - "We can’t do this to Grannie Annie"
Paul Corney, Monday, December 21, 2009

The annual Online Conference often contains a session that challenges. 2009 was no different, the Day 3 keynote from author Charlene Li was thought provoking and entertaining as she illustrated how global corporations use social technology to listen to and interact with their clients.

Thursday had not begun well: the Piccadilly and District Lines were both shut and as a result the session kicked off late to accommodate those who got stuck in a tunnel. So Charlene had her worked cut out to warm up the 400 or so who made it in time.

Charlene’s style is chatty and engaging and her use of images to illustrate stories one I can identify with. She began by recounting the tale of Canadian country singer Dave Carroll who saw his $3,500 guitar being thrown about by baggage handlers while he was sitting on a United Airlines flight on his way to a gig in Omaha, Nebraska. It got broken and despite representations to the crew (who he’d notified at the time) and 9 months interaction with United’s complaints procedure he got nowhere until he did what all good songwriters do, he wrote a trilogy of songs and produced a video about the experience. The first of the videos United breaks guitars was viewed by more than 3 million when it was posted on YouTube illustrating the power social media now gives the consumer to fight back against global corporations who behave in a heavy handed manner.

Ritz Carlton by contrast has an enviable reputation for listening to the customer. When a couple arrived for their honeymoon at a Ritz Carlton resort their room was superb but the view across the parking lot less than romantic. The new bride twittered as such to her friends and within an hour the newlyweds were relocated to a superior suite with sea view. The local management regularly checked to see what their guests were saying in cyberspace and responded with alacrity!

I found this next example the most thought provoking: Comcast is one of the US’ major telecom providers and for many years had a poor reputation for handling customer enquiries. A couple of years ago it set about changing that by using social networks to interact with their clients in an attempt to portray it as a more caring and humane organisation. The transformation gathered apace with its dealing of Anna May (Grannie Annie) a blogging great grandmother from Idaho. Grannie Annie was struggling to get to grips with being a new Comcast customer – her I don’t like Comcast!!!!!!!!!!!! blog had a galvanising effect on the company as it reflected what a lot of middle America thought. Charlene described how the phrase “we can’t do this to Grannie Annie” became the mantra of Comcast’ staff who now had a virtual image for the voice of the customer. Their charm offensive conducted over Grannie Annie’s blog can be tracked on Comcast cares. Really.

It made me reflect how important visualisation is. Sparknow has helped a range of organisations to visualise the client or their colleagues: where they live, what they think about, what interests them and what worries them. We’ve used such techniques as “in their shoes” to help them to envision how they are seen by those they seek to work with. Often it has been a sobering experience: librarians discovered how intimidating it is for a budding entrepreneur to get business advice from libraries; senior postal officers became aware of the impact shift changes would have on the day to day lives of its front line staff.

What stayed with me from Charlene’s presentation: the statistic about the high correlation between superior performing companies and the time they spend communicating with clients. Her Groundswell book has been widely acclaimed, her new tome on Open Leadership – “how to have the confidence to let go and still inspire commitment” due in 2010 promises to be equally stimulating.