4. Whitepaper | Engaging Consumers Where It Matters Most: How to Win Fans and Influence People In Today’s
“Social Customer Lifecycle”
Introduction To reframe the journey and understand consumer touchpoints,
According to global study of 28,000 consumers in 56 countries decision-making processes, and interactions that lead to (or
conducted by Nielsen, online consumer recommendations away from) a purchase decision, we need to factor in the impact
are the second most trusted source of brand advertising, of social media on consumer behavior. In 2012, Forrester
second only to “recommendations from people I know”.1 This Research introduced an evolved model of the customer
means that consumers are looking to information from their experience journey in the paper “How Does Social Media
peers and networked connections, offline and online, to assist Contribute to Customer Experience? Let Us Count the Ways.”
in evaluating and choosing between options while making The model, consisting of eight distinct phases, introduces
purchase decisions. opportunities for brands to invigorate user activity, encourage
discovery, and create engaging touchpoints for consumer
In sales and marketing education, we read about the customer’s interaction through a “new” marketing funnel.
journey through a funnel of brand interactions that lead to the
moment of purchase. Visuals show a sales funnel that is wide The Evolved Social Customer Journey
at top, narrowing as customers evaluate different purchase
options, strip away choices, make changes, absorb information,
and finally buy.
This funnel is outdated with respect to today’s social consumers:
those deeply plugged into social networks, absorbing
information from news feeds full of commentary and opinions
from their extended networks. Today’s consumer creates
reviews for his social networks, reads critiques created by his
peers, and changes his purchasing decisions based on these
Source 1: Framework adapted from : Forrester Research Inc., “How Does Social
conversations. Many times, the brand isn’t involved in any stage Media Contribute to Customer Experience,” January 2012
of the decision-making process. How can this be changed?
In this report, we explore the evolved social customer lifecycle. The new social customer goes through a distinct six-step
journey, spanning pre- and post- purchase decision timelines.
By referencing a new social customer journey framework
The model also accounts for the potential that a customer could
developed by Forrester Research, Inc., we will:
drop-off at any point in the timeline, as well as the opportunity
• take a look at key customer interactions with social media at for brands to re-engage consumers at every turn, potentially
every step leading to purchase, activating loyal brand advocates.
• recommend strategies for brands to capitalize on these Let’s take a deep dive into this new framework.
consumer touchpoint opportunities,
Discover
• and learn from the successful practices of a variety of current
brands making the most of social media marketing.
The Traditional Customer Journey Source 1
The traditional customer journey, or sales funnel, is one
directional. As prospective customers make their way through In the Discovery stage, the consumer is noticing relevant
the funnel, they pass through stages: Awareness, Interest, content that exists within social media channels from peers, or
Evaluation, Commitment, Referral, and (hopefully) Repetition. produced by brands. Consider this phase of the lifecycle a clean
The framework doesn’t account for any type of outside slate— the consumer may not have ever heard of your brand,
influence, like influence resulting from social media interactions. let alone considered buying from you to fulfill a need. Discovery
is a very logical piece of the lifecycle journey that is facilitated
by social media. For example, photos, commentary, reviews,
blog posts, and videos created by friends and members of the
consumer’s network, as well as by brands themselves, each
create opportunities for consumers to discover new brands.
1 Nielsen, “Consumer Trust in Online, Social, and Mobile Advertising Grows,” 2012
2
5. account, discovery is further facilitated for new consumers when
US consumers create over 500 billion
they see social signals incorporated into their search results.
online media impressions
about products and services As a result of adding social extensions to their existing search
ads, HM reported a 22% lift in click-thru rates.
In fact, according to Forrester Research Inc, US consumers Evaluate
create over 500 billion online media impressions about products
and services!2 At an even more granular level, 76% of the
World’s population is connected to not only each other, but also
Source 1
information sources (like brands and websites) through mobile
devices.3 The opportunity for your brand to be discovered by In the Evaluation
a consumer while casually consuming content, across multiple stage, the consumer 36% of US online adults
screens is huge, and not to be ignored. is interacting with are “Critics,” or users who
communities and contribute to ratings, reviews,
utilizing user-generated blogs, and other social channels
content to inform to voice their opinion
Spotlight: HM
decisions. Forums,
HM engages its social communities while simultaneously discussion boards,
creating opportunities for driving discovery. In the example groups, and branded pages are all places that a consumer
below, the fashion brand explores at this stage, observing
supplied a steady stream others’ conversations and jumping
of interactive content in with questions or feedback
tailored specifically to G+. of his own when he requires
Each post was crafted to clarification on a topic.
stimulate response posts The opinions and commentary
and re-shares from users. recorded by real product users
These engagements, while in forums and social media
valuable for the brand, also channels are both plentiful and
serve to create discovery carry significant weight. According
opportunities for new to a survey done by the Deloitte
consumers, when they see Consumer Products group, 36%
friends and networked of US online adults are “Critics,” or
connections posting about users who contribute to ratings,
and reposting HM’s reviews, blogs, and other social
content in their own feeds. channels to voice their opinion.4
While that only accounts for one
Additionally, because
of every three internet users, the
HM turned on social
other two are actively absorbing
annotations for its search
and internalizing these critiques—
advertising Adwords
when asked if user reviews had
ever impacted their purchase
decisions, 58% of consumers say
“sometimes,” and 25% say “often.” 5
2 Forrester Research Inc., “Competitive Strategy in the Age of the Customer,” June 2011
3 Ibid.
4 Deloitte Consumer Products Group, “Global Social Media Adoption,” June 2012
5 AYTM Research, “Product Reviews,” May 2012
3
6. Whitepaper | Engaging Consumers Where It Matters Most: How to Win Fans and Influence People In Today’s
“Social Customer Lifecycle”
Spotlight: Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau
17% of users have bought
The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau is a nonprofit
something based on a friend’s post
organization whose purpose is to promote the Hawaiian
about it using social media
islands to travelers throughout North America. The bureau
uses its active and sizable social media communities to drive
users through the evaluation stage by running campaigns The three-week “Perfect Hawaii Moment” campaign generated
like user-generated-content contests. For example, a recent a 25% jump in engaged users on the organization’s Facebook
photo contest encouraged users to share their “Perfect Hawaii page and more than 500 contestants actively opted-in to
Moment” for a chance to win a trip to Hawaii. In sharing photos further email contact with the convention bureau outside of the
of real user moments (real consumer moments, in this case, social initiative.
since visitors to Hawaii are customers of the organization) these
contests serve as evaluation tools for consumers thinking about Buy
taking a (or another) trip to the Hawaiian islands.
Source 1
In the Buying stage, consumers are converting with social
commerce features built into branded profiles and sites, and
can also share promotions with social networks. In the case of
big-ticket items or products that require a longer consideration
period before purchase, users can convert in other ways, for
example by filling out lead-generation forms, and electing to
sign-up for communication with a brand.
A recent study by Forrester cites a selection of statistics supporting
the influence of social media on user buying decisions:6
• 17% of users have bought something based on a friend’s post
about it using social media
• 40% of online buyers think that social content created by
friends about brands is “a great way to discover sales and
promotions”
• 48% of consumers think that posts created by others in their
networks are “a great way to discover new products, brands,
trends, or retailers”
Spotlight: So Delicious
So Delicious, a dairy-free dessert and milk alternative brand,
executed a well integrated marketing plan over 100 days in
2011. The theme was “100 days of change,” promoting healthful
lifestyles and nutritional choices, with celebrity fitness guru
Jillian Michaels as the spokesperson for the campaign. So
6 Forrester Research Inc., “The Purchase Path of Online Buyers in 2012,” September 2012
4
7. Delicious deployed the integrated campaign in a consistent
manner across traditional, digital, and social marketing. The 33% of users want to follow a brand
company appealed to the social consumer by collaborating with on social media channels because
Sterling-Rice Group to design its “100 Days of Change” Wildfire they’re current customers
giveaway on Facebook. So Delicious wanted to encourage users
to embrace and celebrate positive personal change, create new
brand advocates, and expand its Access
fan base.
Source 1
In the Access stage, users are interacting within support
communities, branded social profiles, and forums. They’re
consuming content created by the brand for its customers in
an effort to become better informed. Consumers accessing
information in forums and support communities are ripe for
brands to impress.
Because the consumer has already purchased the brand’s
product, the “Access” stage is a chance for the brand to reinforce
the customer’s decision, and to reassure the customer that he
made the right purchase choice. If brands do not execute access-
oriented strategies correctly, they may inadvertently trigger
buyer’s remorse, causing the consumer to feel regret for having
purchased items from the brand.
For example, LL Bean recently found itself in a social media
situation wherein a large set of customers that had bought
a specific sheet set had taken to social media channels to
complain that the sheets were unraveling.7 LL Bean immediately
launched an investigation and found that a manufacturing
contractor had added wrinkle-resistance treatment to the
The 100 Days of Change giveaway was an incredible success. sheets by mistake, which was causing the cotton fabric to
Over the three-month promotion period, So Delicious saw a unravel. LL Bean promptly pulled the sheets from its website,
significant return on its investment: it experienced two of its offered new sheets to the affected customers, and destroyed
most successful sales days ever, and ultimately increased its the rest of the ruined batch. According to an interview by the
category share by 60% and sales units by 74%. So Delicious also Wall Street Journal with Steve Fuller, L.L. Bean’s chief marketing
enjoyed a sizable growth in its Facebook fan base which grew officer, “before [social media], it would have taken us months
by more than 1,000%. In total, 100 Days of Change received and months to figure out if something was wrong with the
322,664 entries, averaging 3,226 entries per day. product through returns, if we ever would have known at all.”
7 Wall Street Journal, “Firms Take Online Reviews to Heart,” 2012
5
8. Whitepaper | Engaging Consumers Where It Matters Most: How to Win Fans and Influence People In Today’s
“Social Customer Lifecycle”
A key reason users follow brands on social media channels is to Use
get access to information (and give it, like the LL Bean customers).
According to a 2012 study conducted by Get Satisfaction:
• 33% of users want to follow a brand on social media channels Source 1
because they’re current customers
In the Use phase, consumers are participating in social
• 18% follow a brand for interesting or entertaining content offerings that are baked into the product-related experience.
• 5% want to follow a brand for service, support, or product news While this sounds like a mouthful, examples of socially-
powered brand experiences pervade the internet. For example,
you can read stories on popular news sites such as Mashable
and the Huffington Post while logged in to your social network
Spotlight: Rokenbok
accounts. This feature not only makes for a simpler login
Rokenbok is a San Diego-based high-end robotic and process that saves the user from having to remember another
construction toy company that wanted to find a new platform set of credentials, but also serves as a way for the publisher
and hub for children and families to engage with its brand, brands to access the publicly available information provided
learn about products, watch product demos, and drive online by users in their social accounts for better targeting (by
sales. Rokenbok determined that video is the most effective demographic or psychographic interests).
way to demonstrate products and create access points for
children and their families, so the company created a “Mr. Having social features like this baked into the product
Rokenbok” YouTube channel to host and target product- experience can be uplifting for user interaction. In fact,
related videos. The brand shoots and edits all videos in- according to Facebook, 22% more pages are seen (and for 8
house, and content ranges from education to product demos. minutes longer) by Huffington Post users that log into the site
Rokenbok used YouTube in-search, in-display, and in-stream using their Facebook credentials.8
ads. These ad capabilities allow Including a social
Rokenbok to refine ad campaigns to experience, such as
target the right customers with social annotations in
each video. your digital advertising,
As a result of Rokenbok’s successful also increases click-
video strategy, YouTube is quickly through rates. Social
becoming the company’s most annotations are basically
important advertising vehicle. text notations that let
Rokenbok estimates that half of its you know if someone
customers come from YouTube. in your social circle
also endorses the web
content you’re looking
at. If you’re signed out
of Google+, or there
are people who aren’t
in your circle who’ve
endorsed the content, you’ll see less detailed annotations.
Adding social annotations to Google search ads can lead to
increases in click-thru rates by 5-10%.9
8 Search Engine Land, “By The Numbers: How Facebook Says Likes Social Plugins Help Websites,” 2011
9 Google Inc, 2012s
6
9. Get Support
Social customers will tell
an average of 42 people
about a good customer experience,
Source 1
and 53 people about a bad
customer experience! When consumers are in the Get Support phase, they are starting
conversations and directing feedback/complaints through social
media channels. The proliferation of social media use has also
led to an evolution in the social customer mindset. Today’s
Spotlight: Mashable social consumer is empowered, and often feels entitled. In fact,
50% of all Facebook users and 80% of Twitter users expect a
Mashable, the largest independent news site, likes to keep its
response to a customer support inquiry in 24 hours or less.10
finger on the pulse of how people connect online. In addition to
The days of writing a letter about product dissatisfaction, or
hosting a slew of engaging hangouts and posting fresh content
attaching a paper receipt via snail mail are starting to feel like
daily, Mashable encourages its consumers to use social from
ancient history.
within the site’s pages.
It is critical for brands to respond to users’ support
requests. Not providing satisfactory customer
service can come with a steep price. According to
a Global Customer Service Barometer conducted
by American Express in 2012, social customers
will tell an average of 42 people about a good
customer experience, and 53 people about a bad
customer experience! Dissatisfied customers who
stay that way have stronger voices and further
reach, two factors that can quickly unwind all your
hard won brand successes.
Mashable experienced a huge surge in community growth after
it installed the Google+ badge on its homepage, increasing its
Google+ page audience by 38%. Mashable also uses the +1
button on articles and across the site to empower user sharing
to Google+.
10 Oracle, “Consumer Views of Live Help Online,” 2012
7
10. Whitepaper | Engaging Consumers Where It Matters Most: How to Win Fans and Influence People In Today’s
“Social Customer Lifecycle”
Spotlight: Wildfire (That’s Us!) the purchase decision or dismissing your brand from among a
list of options. This is a persistent threat not only because of the
Here at Wildfire, we sell social media marketing software to
loss of business, but because of the potential of lost consumers
brands of all sizes, across industries and geographies. We know
to negatively influence others in their social networks, by
that customer inquiries can come in through any of our social
creating negative earned media.
channel brand pages, and make it a practice to respond to every
request in a timely manner, no matter where it’s coming from.
Re-Engage
Source 1
To call re-engagement a
phase is a bit of a misnomer.
Brands have the opportunity
to re-engage fans throughout
the duration of the customer
lifecycle. In fact, successfully re-
engaging fans throughout their
journey with a brand can lead
to increased awareness and
affinity, turning out loyal brand
advocates. These types of users
are of incredibly high value to a
brand.
Wildfire did a study to attempt
to quantify this value in 2012—
the Brand Advocate study was
conducted to understand the
impact on engagement that
Off the Path: Persistent Threats and brands with significantly higher
Opportunities within the Social Customer advocate populations saw as compared to brands with average
Lifecycle advocate populations. The study found that over one year,
While the path of the consumer as he travels through Discovery, brands with high advocate populations got 264% more earned
Evaluation, Buying, Access, Use, and Getting Support is usually media impressions than average brands.11
linear, there are also two persistent phases that a consumer
can fall into at any point in time. Re-Engagement builds up loyal
brand advocates ready to spread the (positive) word about the
brand. Consumers can also leave at any point, disengaging from
11 Wildfire, “The Brand Advocate Factor: How Best in Class Brands Breed Communities of Brand Advocates that Supercharge Social Media Campaigns.” 2012
8
11. Leave Conclusion
Social media has made the traditional customer lifecycle model
obsolete. The classic sales funnel— moving prospects from
awareness to purchase— no longer applies in a marketplace
where earned media referrals and consumer evangelism have
serious impact on purchase decisions. Marketers need to look
at new ways to engage with consumers that take into account
all the new sources of information consumers access. We
presented a new framework, adapted from a model created
Source 1
by Forrester Research Inc, that illustrates the eight phases of
the social customer journey, with examples for your brand to
Brands are in danger of users leaving the customer journey emulate in each phase.
while publicly voicing grievances with the brand using social In order to stay current and enable consumers to make
media channels, thereby disconnecting from the community successful purchase decisions, your social brands needs to adapt
and customer base. Naturally, not every customer who marketing plans to account for the new social customer journey.
begins her path on the social customer journey will stay until
purchase, however, it is important for brands to focus efforts
on minimizing the impact of a customer dropping off the
journey, especially in those instances that he is leaving due to
a negative experience.
80% of consumers said that
they changed their mind about
buying a product after
reading a negative review
they found online
Mitigating the impact of a negative user experience can have a
huge impact, as 80% of consumers said that they changed their
mind about buying a product after reading a negative review
they found online.12
12 Cone Inc.
9
12. Mountain View Wildfire is a powerful, easy-to-use social marketing platform that enables brands
Chicago
London to grow, engage, and monetize their audience across social networks.
Los Angeles
Munich
New York City
Paris
Singapore Learn how we can help you today! 888.274.0929 ext. 2 www.wildfireapp.com
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