Chapter 6
Marketing, Sales, and Service, Step 2
Converse with Your Customers
Social media tools have changed the way that we communicate. The seemingly innocuous chatting, creating, sharing, and collaboration made possible by the social web has ushered in a new communication paradigm that is dramatically different from the broadcast paradigm that has dominated the communications landscape since the advent of radio and television. The widespread adoption of this new communication paradigm has important ramifications; as NYU professor Clay Shirky observed, “When we change the way we communicate, we change society.”1 And he is absolutely right.
Social destinations are the new town greens, playgrounds, and neighborhoods. Whether they are accessed via computers, smart phones, or other portable devices, social environments are rapidly becoming primary centers of activity for people, the place that they shop, plan, learn, work, communicate, and hang out.
Without stepping outside a door, consumers can meet up with friends, find a spouse, secure a job, go to work, earn a degree, or participate in a virtual hajj if they are so inclined. They can share their views and record their experiences with text, video, audio, and photos. Consumers with GPS-enabled phones can tap into location-based social environments like Foursquare and Gowalla to find a Chinese restaurant, McDonald's, or an obscure history site wherever they happen to be. They can even receive mobile coupons from retailers at the ...
