I dig Jeremiah Owyang’s blog. The guy is wicked smart, usually spot-on with everything he says, and when it comes to digital media analysis, I can’t think of anyone who does a better job (Forrester Research really scored when they landed him). But last week, one of his posts stopped me dead in my tracks – not because he got something wrong, but because he got something so painfully right: Large consulting firms (as in the “Big Four”) are joining the social media gold rush and already looking to plant their victory flags in the enterprise space. (My words, not Jeremiah’s.)
What that version of Social Media strategy, implementation, training, execution and measurement will look like is everyone’s guess. But before we get too far into this discussion, watch this little video to get into the spirit of today’s topic:
Here’s a link to Jeremiah’s post about Social Media and the enterprise space: Click here.
The part that really jumped out at me was this point:
Large consulting firms are preparing to offer million dollar packages to enterprises for change management and social integration systems.
Incidentally, when I first read that post, I started rapid-fire-DM’ing Jeremiah on Twitter about it, but after a string of about 30 140-character comments, he politely suggested that I stop blowing up his inbox and just write a blog post about it – so here we are, and as you can tell from my relaxed demeanor in the video, I have chilled a bit about the ramifications of this whole Social Media gold rush debacle.
Even so, for the purposes of this discussion, let’s take a few steps back and put the Social Media bandwagon in perspective for you:
Prologue – Social Media becomes the marketing world’s newest buzzword. Twitter starts to explode. Everyone with half a brain sees the writing on the wall: There is money to be made in Social Media. The gold rush begins.
Phase 1 – Independent business consultants (mostly marketing consultants) start rebranding themselves as “Social Media Consultants” or “Social Media experts.” In some extreme cases, even “Social Media gurus”. They spread like locusts… By November 2008, you can’t throw a cat without hitting at least two or three Social Media experts. The epidemic reaches catastrophic proportions.
Phase 2 – Marketing firms, ad agencies and a few PR outfits start to look into this whole Social Media “thing”. Billings are shrinking and clients are asking “hey, do you guys also do Social Media?” Many of these firms stretch the truth and say “yes”. Agencies and Marketing firms now start billing clients to launch blogs, Twitter pages and Facebook groups with absolutely no concept of what they’re doing. (Overheard in the men’s room: Where does the ad go?” and “How do you write a 140-character press release anyway?”) Web analytics people get brought in to measure clickthroughs, impressions and web traffic from social sites to prove effectiveness. This methodology fails to impress. Ineffective strategic planning, poor execution and a lack of measurement insight result in Social Media getting a bad rep in the business world.
Phase 3 – Large Consulting firms jump on the Social Media bandwagon. Better late than never, right? There’s money to be made after all, and since they’realready the experts in everything else, why not Social Media as well? Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy… is it.
And that’s just the rub: How many people in the world really know how to strategize, implement and execute a Social Media program for a company (large or small)? I can think of maybe 50-100 in the US, and that’s stretching it.*
Now tell me how many people in the US know how to actually measure the effectiveness of Social Media programs? (Not just impact on X, but actual R.O.I.?) You can probably count them on the fingers of one hand. Maybe two.**
*/** It won’t stop thousands of people from claiming that they can do it, but we all know where that conversation is going. ‘Nuff said.
So back to my point: If we know pretty much who belongs to the small community of truly Social Media-savvy professionals we just mentioned, and only two or three actually work for the “big four,” then who is putting these million dollar social integration packages together?
Whom within the big four is building these programs?
Whom within the big four is capable of training clients and implementing these programs/packages? Of customizing them for each individual client? For each brand, market,company culture and distinct business objective?
Whom within the big four is capable of executing on any of this? (Listening outposts, Customer Support, customer engagement, online reputation management, blogging, HR, PR, promos, true social web integration, community management, etc.)
Whom among them actually knows how to set up real measurement methodologies that look beyond web analytics? (Back to the R.O.I. discussion again.)
Will it be some guy with a digital communications background who read a few white papers about Social Media and follows a cookie-cutter methodology that a few analysts and MBAs put together, or will it be a team of Social Media-savvy pros with extensive hands-on experience (and a relevant presence) in the Social Media space?
Right now, though the latter would be 1,000 times preferable to the former, it seems pretty unlikely. What seems most likely (unless you guys prove me otherwise) is that the large consulting firms Jeremiah mentions in his post are mostly winging it, just like the rest of the Social Media hacks looking to take advantage of the Social Media gold rush.
If you disagree, that’s perfectly okay. Actually, I hope that you can prove me wrong. This is one of those rare times when I truly hope that I’ve assumed the worst and completely missed the boat. So if you want to prove me wrong, please do – and here’s how: Give me names. Tell me who the big consulting firms have hired to put these packages together and help deploy them for their clients. It’s that simple.
Once we know who they are, my quick little assessment of their “worth” in this space will be simple: Are these people we know? People who actually live and breathe this stuff? People with an ounce of credibility in this space? People who have been doing this in some way shape or form for more than… six months? Not just analysts, mind you (I know some great ones who fit the bill) but practitioners. The folks who actually DO this stuff.
If so, great.
If not, the enterprise space is about to be taken for a very expensive ride… and I don’t think I am alone in thinking that the stakes (economic, professional and contextual) are too high for this sort of nonsense to go unanswered. So… in the event that I am right, that large consulting firms are about to launch blindly and clumsily into the world of Social Media consulting, how do we come to their rescue?
- How do we make large consulting firms realize that they have a wealth of resources out here in the real world who cold help them actually bring their social integration packages to life?
- How do we make them understand that it is in their best interest to reach out to many of you and seek your help, advice, insights?
- How do we give them visibility to who you are and what you have to offer, and give you the kind of access ?
- How do we bring together large consulting firms with a need for expertise in this field with those of you who have key pieces of the Social Media puzzle they so desperately need to be effective in this space?
Am I being naive? Is this type of logical partnership strategy too much to expect from organizations that aren’t in the habit of asking for help? I don’t think so: We aren’t talking about ERP and CMS here. This isn’t a vendor-driven discussion. This is not about technology or systems integration. This is about something far more organic than that. Change Management and Social Integration don’t quite plug into a company culture as well as conventional enterprise products plug into an IT infrastructure.
So how do we fix this? How do we bring everyone to the table to actually make this work? Do we create yet another conference? Do we set up closed-door meetings with these firms in which we discuss likely candidates with specific skillsets so they can create talent pools for various contracts? Do we create a forum using the various tools at our disposal to discuss issues or trouble-shoot with them? You guys tell me. What do you think?
The forum is all yours.
Brand Building and Online Marketing Blog 
So, you scared everyone off with this? No comments?
The thing with social media in the enterprise space is that it is hard. Much harder than consumer focused social media. There are political, budgetary, regulatory, legal and other factors which can kill your project with a sideways glance.
There are some super smart folks at SAP where I work that are trying to negotiate all this … and get things happening. Here is one example, but there are many others:
http://ablebrains.typepad.com/ablebrains/2009/02/evolution-enterprise20-and-integrating-conversations.html
And maybe, just maybe, I’ll have more to share with you soon 😉
Gavin, you’re one of the guys I would include in that group (albeit not in the US).
I completely understand regulatory and compliance hurdles getting in the way, and THAT is where large consulting firms can actually bring value already. But that’s one very specific aspect of this.
Less than a year ago, I was building the framework of a SaaS strategy for a US IT distributor and none of the “experts” working for large consulting firms we were paying to advise us had a clue as to how to really help us. They mostly wanted to talk about ERP and other heavy footprint products but couldn’t think from either a breadth of product (portfolio) perspective or from the perspective of the SMB market (the long tail) that was our bread & butter. After a few dozen calls and meetings, it finally became clear to everyone (not just my team) that they simply didn’t have the hands-on experience to turn their mostly theoretical knowledge of SaaS to applicable practical business solutions we would be able to work with.
THAT’s my fear. Do consulting firms know how to work with enterprise-size companies? You bet. But do they actually know how to work with Social Media at a level commensurate with a) the fees they want to charge, and b) the needs of their clients? I seriously doubt it. UNLESS folks like you are actually managing these programs for them. Not just analysts, but marketing-savvy folks who have also been in the trenches for years doing this. 😉
Olivier,
You are spot on with this post. Thing is; however, this “gold rush” mentality happens in every perceived, well…gold rush.
We could be talking tulips, dotcom, real estate, financial derivatives, chasing stimulus dollars or social media. There is always a bubble bursting and a bubble building. I’m guessing the SM bubble will grow bigger and there will be survivors (those that create real, measurable value). There will also be many casualties (those that jump into business for a quick profit without understanding how to create real, measurable value). The task for SM prospects is to recognize the difference.
My biggest concern is that Social Media will become mostly just another push channel for most companies who could have benefited from the full range of its superpowers. 🙂
But yeah, you’re right about your gold rush observations. (Unfortunately.) We’ve seen it all happen before and we will see it happen again.
That said, I don’t really feel like letting it happen this time around without putting up a hell of a fight.
Olivier,
Russell has a great point. As Thomas L. Friedman points out in “Hot, Flat, and Crowded,” there is a lot of hype in a bubble, but there is also a lot of growth and investment that wouldn’t be seen without the bubble.
I don’t say this to justify the actions of these large consulting firms, but more to point out the massive opportunities out there for the small firms that are doing it right. When the bubble bursts, only the strongest, proven “social media experts” will survive.
Well that’s my point: I think it’s great that the large consulting firms are getting into SM. They need to. But if they fake it, if they just go for the easy score instead of actually striving to build the strongest, most effective programs, then a) where’s the value, b) what separates them from the other hacks other than size? I just want to make sure that they at least attempt to get it right.
As much as I hate to admit it, many small firms who know how to do this can’t really scale their services to enterprise clients. So some of this collaboration, dialogue and honesty has to prevail at some point.
Great comment, Chris. 🙂
I absolutely think this will happen. I don’t know that dialogue will help nor will trying to work out partnerships. Big consulting companies are already taking on social media and wrapping it into services they already offer like software (now community platform) development. The only recourse any business has is the same as with any other business challenge-be better, take a more personal approach and don’t be afraid to be more innovative.
Yep. You’re right. But I’m not giving up on logic and common sense winning over ego quite yet. 😉
This is such an important topic.
1. Companies don’t have a clue (most social media peeps are interns or not using social media themselves and execs are scared stiff to use or deploy)
2. Interactive agencies are starting to get it but most think it’s a technology or campaign approach
3. Large consultencies are no where to be found (with IBM being the exception, they eat their own dog food then package and sell)
4. Large Tech is just that…pimping their stack under the veil of social media.
There is a lot to learn in this space and really only advertisers are starting to figure it out. Can argue that some SocMed vendors are doing enterprise type work, but having an internal facebook for employees that doesn’t integrate into ERP, CRM, CMS, etc platforms doesn’t cut it.
Employees have been paid premiums for a long time for their “expertise” now giving it up in a social network seems counterproductive to most. having partner channels sharing thoughts on who has best integrations is not how it used to work, having politically strong research departments trashed to make way for 10k people focus groups pre-buying products being requested is not very exciting to the research dept.
There are lots of organizational changes that need to happen to enable the industry to move forward fast. Will be interesting to watch and in the meantime we have to experiment with integrations and successes that help organizations understand what’s possible. We’re flying under the radar right now, but can’t imagine that will last much longer. I’ve helped companies move markets and it’s painful but possible.
Jason, you just rocked my world with those 4 points.
Olivier,
As you know, I mostly agree with you here, but I’m curious about who some of your 50-100 pros who get it are? Can you offer some examples for perspective?
I heard some pretty smart marketers at CM Summit this week who clearly get it, like P&G’s Lucas Watson; Lenovo’s David Churbuck; AmEx’s Lou Paskalis; Floor 64’s Mike Masnick; Intel’s Deb Conrad; RIM’s Brian Wallace; and Federated Media’s Jon Battelle. They understand social as part of a bigger picture, one of several channels as opposed to a definitive vehicle, and spoke to specific successes, lessons learned and how it’s not necessarily an area that’s appropriate for every company to be in.
As for large consulting firms vs. smaller consultants, my personal preference would be to hire in an experienced marketing professional who gets social as opposed to contracting out for a siloed option of any size, as I believe a direct, personal investment in the success of the brand/organization is critical for making a real commitment to social media.
–Guy
With all due respect to Deb and Lou (who may have a firm grasp of Social Media’s importance in the brand management mix and can probably oversee the development and management of digital programs in their sleep), they still aren’t the folks who will truly roll up their sleeves and build out programs from the ground up. They’re the folks who decide to invest in Social Media based on specific objectives and then hire people who can help them build these programs for their companies and/or clients. Though Lucas and Dave have similar roles now, they seem to have a bit more “hands on” experience with that. Different backgrounds. Different paths to arrive at similar roles. And different skillsets as a result.
Last week, Kristi Colvin suggested that perhaps it’s time to start categorizing roles and competencies within the Social Media space. Merely being smart about SM isn’t enough. Some people are strategists and directors while others are better suited to be community managers, crisis managers, customer support specialists or brand insights analysts. You have thinkers, do-ers and a few more layers in between. It’s important, moving forward, to start thinking along those lines. 😉
I think where you and I tend to miss each other is in our definition of social media; mine is simple while you seem to prefer something more…complex?
I see it fundamentally as a group of technological tools that are best implemented as an extension of CRM, and tied to a clear marketing and PR strategy — listening, interacting, collaborating, facilitating; the ultimate goal being increased brand affinity leading to increased/repeat sales and measurable ROI.
Where I do often see a need for consultants is on the IT side, in the socialization of existing assets to make the above easier to do, to scale, and to measure. Many (most) of those tools are freely/cheaply available, and using them effectively is largely a matter of common sense, but integrating them into existing systems is easier said than done.
Thank God I work with solos.
No, really. Solos are early adopters, much more flexible and proactive, and just generally more fun than corporate entities. When you think about it, at its core, it makes no sense — it’s just people, right? Individuals? Shouldn’t they all norm out to some kind of law-of-averages middling ground?
No, and common sense tells us that’s true, of course. My solos are keen to embrace whatever works. But it has to work — whatever “work” has been defined for them as being in whatever context, that is.
I find myself skeptical about corporate implementation of the strategies I help solos with. There’s just no way corporate culture will embrace concepts like transparency, value-giving (instead of puffed-up sales message) tweets, relationships and partnering.
I don’t doubt for a second, though, that at least a few corps will throw tons of money at any consultant that can convince them they know “The Secret” to social media.
Yep. I am always amazed at how many people still fall for the “magic pill” trick. Snake oil v.3.0. Crazy.
I like your point about solos. Well put. 🙂
Love the 28 Days Later reference!
Another good one. Thanks. Wondering your reaction to the case study I sent you?
of course i have something to say on this 🙂
the best way to implement a social media campaign is to have it executed across departments. there can be a central social media team/panel that is comprised of members from the various business units at any company (i.e. marketing, communications, pr, bizz dev, etc,.) this is what dell does and why they rock the social media space. they have people implement that are already involved in those business units. they don’t outsource of hire someone to tweet for them.
i think the problem also has to do with how social media is defined. most people think twitter, facebook, etc. social media is not about one tool or platform, it can be a micosite or an iphone app. social media is about how all of these tools or platforms work together to achieve business objectives.
i also find it interesting that many of the BIG name consultants out there are actually “social media motivational speakers,” that get people pumped up about the space but have absolutely no idea how to roll things out. i’m in the process of creating a strategy for an international company that has local franchisees around the world, find me a “consultant” who talks about that on their blog. sure it’s great to evangelize social media but then when people get excited about it and what to run with it, then what?
this isn’t a game, this is business.
the amount of research that also goes into social media campaigns is severely discounted. why does everyone think that you can just create a twitter or facebook page and call that “social media?” give me a break.
i could probably rant on and on about this, but i wont…yet
Good to see that my “Most Social Media consultants are really motivational speakers with a Social Media theme” a few weeks ago left an imprint. 😀
I completely agree with you. Keep the comments coming, man. 🙂
actually to be honest, i didnt’ even see that post 🙂
While saying there are only 50-100 people in America who can put together a social media program is a huge understatement, I see your point. I think though that all of this is actually a fantastic opportunity because it means that lots of people are going to be learning about this space in the next year – and that many good things will come from the increased connection, even if it takes a few mistakes for people to learn.
The best way is to learn about social media is by doing, and I’d reiterate a comment I heard recently by Dave King talking about businesses in general, at #momomelb “The only ones that are doing badly are the ones who haven’t started.” Big 4 included!
I really want to agree with Dave on that one, but I can’t. MANY companies (and I am talking about some BIG brands here) are “doing.” They’re here. On Twitter or on their own little custom community websites… And not getting anywhere. They aren’t listening, they aren’t engaging, they are only measuring a fraction of what they should, and the thing that scares me is that the guys “in charge” of these programs are too insecure to admit that they don’t know what they’re doing.
I recently spoke with a BIG brand’s Social Media Director about their lack of participation/traction with their SM efforts and the guy assured me that they were exactly where they wanted to be and that they were kicking ass in that space. He told me “we’re trailblazers in Social Media. Nobody else does what we do.”
They have less than 3K followers on Twitter after a year of activity, haven’t updated their feed in weeks, and their only other SM “destination” is a feed of all their brand’s mentions on Twitter. That’s it. Trailblazers of what? Mediocrity?
Yet they have a team of 5 people managing this debacle. That’s at least $300K/year in salaries alone, probably more. That company is going to spend half a million dollars per year or more on “Social Media” and get absolutely nothing out of it except rhetoric from a guy who has found the best damn job in the world: Social Media director for a MAJOR brand (great for the old resume) and a workload that amounts basically to sitting in a chair and collecting a paycheck. What does he do all day? What does his team do with all that time? Unacceptable.
Recently, another large company appointed another hack to be their SM Director. After months on Twitter, he has a total of zero updates, follows 40 people and has six followers. The company’s entire SM presence is on Twitter. Their official account has 64 updates since December, has never replied to anyone and has less followers than my dog. (Not kidding.) I’m sure that as a “Director” he is also making good solid six figures essentially doing nothing.
You would think that their bosses would catch on to this, but they aren’t. And you would also think that some of these folks would be genuinely interested in trying to actually build something for the companies who were suckered into entrusting them with this responsibility (out of professionalism, out of curiosity, out of professional responsibility,) but evidently they don’t. It’s a complete disaster, and I am watching happen across the US.
So again, I love what Dave said and it’s very poetic -I said something similar about five months ago – but the reality today is that most companies are wasting time and money jumping into a pool without bothering to make sure their people have learned how to swim first. That really bothers me because getting into SM and doing well here really isn’t rocket science, and so many people out there (like you) could help in that regard if only you were given the opportunity. Instead, posers, morons and hacks still seem to be getting many of these jobs. (Not all, but many.) I can’t for the life of me figure this out. I really can’t. Are these companies picking names out of a hat? Are they throwing darts at phone books in the dark? What’s the deal?
Thanks a bunch for the comment, Ross. I hope I didn’t scare you with my crazy response. 😀
Well done, Olivier! Very thought provoking, and in my opinion, not naive at all.
There are few actual “experts” in this space as you mentioned, and the fact is that social media is moving so fast, it would be almost impossible for any one person to be an expert across all channels as there are far too many tools to master.
Social Media is about listening and engagement, and it certainly helps to have a large dose of transparency mixed in! I find it hard to believe that any consulting firm, large or small, has all the answers for a major company and could warrant charging a 1M fee at this time. I think that those CMOs need to step back and really evaluate if that is money well spent.
Before hiring any firm or consultant to help address social media, you should make sure that they personally understand it – meaning are they engaged on a personal level? Who will actually be doing the work? As we know in the agency world, too often the people who sell you the goods are not the ones doing the actual work. Ask for a client referral and then pull and independent report on the traction that the client has gotten on Radian6. This will merely give you a baseline. For 1M in fee I would expect a lot more than what you will see with this sort of evaluation.
What I think will happen is that these brands employing consulting firms to push their messages may find that they are blocked on many channels. As with anything regarding social media, it will certainly be interesting to watch as we all try to advance the practice area.
Cheers to you!
Thanks, Nicole. Well put. 🙂
Great post, thoughtful comments!
As the importance of social media in the enterprise grows and it becomes part of their DNA (not quite there yet on a broad basis), so does the need to carefully integrate with the other pieces of the infrastructure. That’s the big four business.
In theory, SM enables enterprises to transition from blasting to a broad audience to targeting for maximum impact amongst those most likely to react (relevance). The trick to me is to move from one program/a few big decisions (who to target, one message, a few channels) to one program/many micro decisions because you want to (and you can) reach out to the right people with the right message in the right way and the answer isn’t gonna be the same for all.
The many micro-decisions, people’s turf, will have to be somewhat facilitated by a logic that processes data coming from analytics, CRM, business rules and optimization technologies.
The proper integration of data, process and technologies to build the engine and power social media marketing to achieve will be critical for success.
That’s why i tend to agree that the big four will play a big role in this even if today, they lack as you pointed out expertise and experience.
Laurent
😀 The “big four” had better figure out that this is about a lot more than just tools and technology.
Olivier –
I love your fiesty-ness and willingness to fight the good fight!
As its been stated in the above comments, yes, we have seen the “hype”, “bubble” before and will likely see many more. It’s the cycle of human nature. That being said, it doesn’t mean that we as business professionals should allow mediocrity and not hold the marketplace accountable – enterprise, consulting firm, agency and individuals alike. There are way too many people “back-seat” driving, when they should be taking lessons from those who have the real-world experience (aka “scars”).
You make an excellent point – this is not rocket science. Its as simple as LISTENING and RESPONDING. No fancy contest gimmicks, BOGO specials, or other typical tactics required. But its amazing how many people and enterprises have failed to get this simple premise right.
Best advice for brands:
1. Don’t venture out into SM unless you’re committed to listening and responding. (Listen more, talk less).
2. Get a guide/coach who has some real battle scars. If they are not able to explain in detail their strategies and or implementations that have been successful AND ones that have not and why – pass them by. A good, juicy war story is always an indicator of a strong foot soldier.
Best advice for consulting firms/agencies:
1. Admit what you don’t know and collaborate with the people who do. After all – we’re living and working in the “social world 2.0”.
2. Test much and test often. Do things in SMALL bites. You’ll learn faster and be able to build long-lasting experiences and relationships with both consumers and partners.
The Web 1.0 DotCom bubble yielded a lot of great lessons – so let’s not ignore history…learn from the past to improve the future.
My 2 cents….
Michelle Batten
@iMWConnect
Thanks, Michelle. Great advice. 🙂
Big firms move slowly. They simply do not have the flexibility to maneuver into to markets / verticals without a lot of huffing and puffing. This works to our advantage. Consultants like you and I moved into this SM space early on for several reasons.
a) We like to experiment and as such are early adapters
b) We have the flexibility to maneuver in whatever space suits us and best serves our clients
c) We have the technical knowledge and the marketing background to make the leap work.
d) And while we are certainly here to make a living, we didn’t make the leap to increase our income, we made it to see who we could help benefit from it.
Once the big 4 jump in full force what will the end result be? Well – let’s take a peek at history. When the web site development was all the rage (chuckling) they jumped in and said they offered web development and graphic design. When online PR sites proliferated, they became online PR media experts. Now that Social Media and Networking look like they are going to stay (still chuckling) they’ve decided to move into those arenas.
If they had done the first two well, I would expect them to bring in the right people to perform the ladder to the level necessary for success. Note: I said IF.
Getting into the SM arena for the sake of earning more revenue is in itself an oxymoron.
The next hurtle to battle is getting their enterprise level clients to let go of the reins and stop pushing their message out. Can even the big 4 convince their clients that micro targeting is going to be more successful as opposed to the current 1 company 1 message mindset? That’s a heck of a leap for any corporation to make. Is it possible? God, I hope so. Is it likely? Not without a lot of kicking and screaming. That’s like asking, do you think GM actually learned something in the past few weeks? Again – I hope so.
Great points, Melissa. My question to you is “who is GM?” Did the Senior management learn anything? No. Why? Because they don’t know how to listen, and even if they did, they wouldn’t know whom to listen to. On the flip side, are there people at GM who have learned a lot from these last few weeks, months and years? You bet. Only they aren’t being heard by the people who desperately need to hear them. Every organization has the knowledge, insight and power to rebuild itself from within. But without a leadership willing and able to listen and truly look for solutions that live outside of their own personal comfort zones and core competencies… they’re doomed. 😉
Oliver – you nailed it! I agree 100%
I agree with your trend analysis — which tracks other management fads du juor — but disagree with your implications. Will the big firms jump into this market with both feet? Absolutely. Should they jump in? Absolutely. Their scale and global reach enables them to add to the knowledge-base about SMM. Are they initially the best source of guidance? No, but the blame lies not with them, but with the clients who don’t vet their knowledge.
Nick, I hear ya, but big firms shouldn’t jump in until they know what they’re doing. All I would ask of them is this: Hire people who know how to do this. At least make an effort to understand all of the ways in which SM plugs into a business, from customer support to customer acquisition and retention to basic online reputation management, and conversation monitoring. (It goes well beyond that as you know, but these would be a good start).
My question again is who is driving the bus? Who is building the programs? Who is implementing them at the client’s place of business? Who is executing? Who is measuring and how? Digital marketing people who earned their bones via online marketing campaigns five years ago? That scares me.
Thanks for the comment.
Here’s part of the issue, as I see it: the consultants and advisers that will fail are the ones that think they can not only preach the why and package the how, but they’re also the ones that think that they can do the execution. That’s just broken.
Reason is that the enterprise companies may need the training wheels and guidance – the consultants – but said consultants need to hand the execution over to the companies to do themselves. It’s their job to help build the architecture and the business case, and WALK AWAY from the execution bit. True engagement on a social scale can’t be outsourced. That means consultancies need to understand and embrace their role as teachers and business advisers, but also their responsibility to drive enterprises to execute (and MEASURE) their own social media work.
A valuable consultant in this space is the one that will be willing to work themself out of a job in the long term. That’s a hard thing for some of them to dig.
Yes!!! I completely agree. Social Media consultants should first teach, then coach, then mentor their clients as their comfort level increases. Absolutely.
Looking forward to 2010 and 2011, what happens when an enterprise space client doesn’t want to build their own internal practice and WANTS to outsource it to some overseas outfit (once purely a call center) that now offers 24/7 social monitoring, Twitter (or other SM) customer support, etc.?
I think the answer to that is to demonstrate to those same enterprise companies how loathed those call center experiences are, and why mechanization flies in the face of precisely the kind of relationships they’re seeking to build.
And frankly, I think it’s the responsibility of a good consultant to say no, there are some things we just won’t do for you for the long term (and explain why). After all, their job is SUPPOSED to be for the good of the business, and I’d hope they’d stand firm in saying we’ll teach you, but you have to drive your own train one day.
I know that’s probably naive. And there are going to be people that not only insist on outsourcing, but there will be consultants that will gladly do it all for them. And they’ll become tomorrow’s stories of the companies that tried to automate and attack social media in bulk. We’ll see where that gets them. 🙂
Amber, you truly are one of the unsung heroes of the Marketing world. 🙂
Sadly, what you just wrote is exactly the kind of nonsense I expect to start seeing in the next 8-10 months at the enterprise level. Not necessarily because the consultants don’t know any better, but because many of their clients still compensate their managers on an outdated P&L model that views a) cost-cutting’s value as being equal to generating new revenue, and b) focuses mostly on short term P&L analysis instead of mid-to-long term trending.
That’s how automation of customer support, sales, etc. began, and that’s what keeps it strong today. (I have stories.)
You’re right: The smarter companies will understand that outsourcing to the lowest bidder doesn’t work anymore, but many will continue on that self-destructive path… and many consulting firms will be happy to collect fees without trying to save their clients.
So sad too… because it doesn’t have to be that way. In many ways, intelligent SM strategies and impact measurement can eliminate the need for this nonsense… but old thinking and lack of real experience is making many businesses and consulting outfits blind to what can be done today vs. two years ago.
Working to change that, one brain at a time. 😉
Olivier,
Just getting back after a couple of days away and I find another lively one here.
I don’t think much of the big consulting companies at the best of times. Having hired a couple and partnered with a couple more I find them to be classic “over promise and under deliver” operators: armed with buzzword gatlin guns they wade in with overblown fees based on name recognition and long outdated reputation; over-staffed with under qualified juniors out of their depth being charged out at exorbitant daily rates; the few good employees (and I wouldn’t pretend there aren’t some) are stretched so thin that they are losing effectiveness and looking to leave.
Having said that, what big consultancies just might be able to do is to lend SM activities credibility in enterprise boardrooms. I’m not saying it’s right (in fact, I’m sure from the paragraph above you realise I don’t) but the fact of the matter is that there are certain segments of the business community that find comfort and legitimacy in hiring big consulting companies, regardless of the ultimate quality (or cost) of the work. I think this is changing but not fast enough.
The reward is legitimacy and faster uptake. The risk is disillusionment in, and a backlash against. But in the end social media will cement its place in business and society because it’s good and important and useful.
But isn’t this the way it always works, with every new technology, new process, new idea?
I know, I’m going to set myself up as a consultant to help companies choose their social media consultants. Or, better yet, a consultant to help big consultancies choose who they should take on the help them establish their social media practices. See, there’s room for everyone. 🙂
Eric, your first paragraph will be quoted often in our super top secret Marketing masses. Probably on Easter… and when we celebrate Peter Drucker’s birthday.
😀
Olivier,
Last month we lost a contract with a multi-multi-billion dollar company to one of the big four consulting firms. We were told that our proposal and approach was far superior but senior management felt more comfortable working with its “big 4” consultant firm. They knew those “guys” and felt that they understand enterprise-wide, global strategic issues.
Notice the words “comfortable” and “felt.” In any category at any time building a relationship of trust wins. (Even if the skills, services or products may be inferior.) And when execs view that they are behind or there are risks involved, they will want to go with a “safe” choice, e.g., large consulting firms vs. boutique firms or individual consultants.
In my experience — and I realize I’m generalizing here — small, boutique firms provide far more creative thinking about what’s possible. The larger consultants provide the discipline, methodology, and executive buy-in to budgets that make the possibilities real.
Thanks for kicking off such an interesting conversation.
Lois
Lois,
Since you threw out an anecdote, I will join in.
An number of years ago, after having spent 10 months working on a sale (a large data management platform) to a French mobile operator, the operator turned around at the point of decision and told me that they really liked our solution but would like to buy it from XXX&Y (big consulting company). They felt more comfortable dealing with the big boys, so we were forced into a partnership of convenience. One in which we were immediately at a significant disadvantage. Plus, the whole project became infinitely more complicated, slower and more expensive (the customer paid more, we got less).
The big consulting company didn’t have a solution like ours and couldn’t innovate like us, but the customer knew them.
We’ve gotten off topic slightly but it all speaks to the concern many of us have about letting big consultants drive the social media bus through the enterprise space.
Eric
Right. So at the heart of this, I see two things:
1. The “big 4” are going to get these projects because they are the “big 4.” That isn’t changing anytime soon.
2.The “big 4” are not as savvy about things like SM as many smaller outfits that have real hands-on experience, and benefit from innovation and problem-solving cultures.
So the solution that kind of jumps out at me is to somehow help train people inside the “big 4” in those areas where they aren’t 100% yet. Not enter into castrated relationships with them, not compete against them, but turn them into clients.
Thoughts?
I think the “big 4″ getting into social media probably isn’t going to make much of a difference to the small guy, because realistically they most likely would have got the projects anyway based on there size. So whatever.
They’ll do it and beat you on the market because their better capitalization gives them staying power & the ability to purchase the skills and talent needed.
Time to sell them your firm + 2 years of your life then move on…
Happened to me in the 90es – had a firm that, like yours, was better, faster, smarter at sourcing and getting things done in China… then the dinosaur monsters arrived (wall mart, home depot etc…). They opened their offices in HK & Shanghai, spent 10s of millions, ignored our recommendations, fucked up a few times, learned and overall have a working (if dysfunctional) system that gets them the flow of goods they need.
Sell when you can.
Well I can’t argue with that. But there’s nothing to sell (or rent, rather) except me. Either they listen to me or they don’t. They can spend $10s of millions building a giant turd that might accidentally work okay in ten years, or they can can spend a fraction of that bringing in people who actually know how to do this and kick ass in a matter of months.
But I hear ya. And I’m not holding my breath. ;D
Most big consulting firms started as accounting firms, and expanded their line of services as new areas of consulting opened up. This is what happened with Enterprise Resource Planning systems in the 90s.
Big consulting firms have deep pockets and one thing they do well is manage knowledge and…..entrench themselves the executive leadership levels, where few social media luminaries are really embedded. When a consulting firm 150,000 consultants on the payroll in 75 countries-many of them with great skills and knowledge, a few hundred millions in cash available to invest for business development, and a good knowledge management system, its easy, once a strategic decision to move forward is made, to assemble a powerful capability in any new area of competency and social media is no exception. There will be plenty of social media people who will take robust 6 figure salaries and benefits to work for these firms, and who will gladly transfer their skills and knowledge. This is what is starting to happen with Big consulting firms entering social media. They also bring a quality assurance that small operators cant match: if the engagement is not going well, they can throw a few dozen additional consultants at it to get it right.
The migration of Big 5 into new areas of competency has happened many times before, and each time, the specialists of the area tended to believe that only they can do it and invariably, the Big firms were successful.
What will this mean for solo or micro-operators? It will be time to specialize, to look for profitable niche markets, maybe even to try to partner ad hoc with these Big firms, something they usually do not like to do, as they prefer to own rather than to associate.
There will assuredly be plenty of markets and projects left that are too small for the big financial appetite of these firms.
I hear what you’re saying, Jean-Marie. But I don’t think that you can compare accounting, ERP, CRM and Six Sigma to Social Media. Different training, different experience, different culture, different values. The only way that the big firms will succeed with Social Media will be by hiring or partnering with the 50 to 100 or so current practitioners with the savvy, experience and skills needed to bring SM to the enterprise space. What worries me is that this does not seem to be what is happening. There is a misconception that web analytics and PR folks with digital experience have the skills to do this, and save a few very rare exceptions, that’s just not the case.
All this to say that the big 5 have an opportunity to do this right… but they haven’t shown any signs yet that they are on the right track. We’ll just have to wait and see. 🙂
Thanks for the comment!
COLLABORATION may be the answer to your question. That’s the reason Social Media is working anyhow…
From wiki:
Collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together in an intersection of common goals.
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