3:50 — Peter Waldheim introduces Bazaarvoice‘s Sam Decker and Estee Lauder Companies‘ Marisa Thalberg.
3:51 — Sam kicked off the session that had some great information about how to really get buy-in at the corporate level. Without the kind of buy-in that Sam and Theresa spoke about, I think that it’s very hard to get companies to commit the resources necessary to run the right programs. They both had excellent tips for getting that buy-in done.
3:52 — Sam outlined:
1. Start with something measurable, whatever it is (hint P&L impact)
2. Make the program relevant to others’ day-to-day jobs
3. Establish a communication approach
3:55 — Peacocking — launching the turning point event that people in the organization can’t miss
Woodpecker — getting in front of people repeatedly on a day to day basis
3:56 — Marisa Thalberg from Estee Lauder started her portion of the program by reminding us the Estee Lauder herself used to say, “telegraph, telephone, tell a woman.” They were a company that understood social media long before social media existed as a buzz word.
3:58 — She explained that there were 3 main keys to getting buy-in:
1. Addressing concerns of others — Understanding what issues other people have and addressing them upfront go a long way in getting people to support what you’re doing.
2. Disproving worst fears — Other people will have many case studies to tell you why what you’re doing won’t work.
3. Demonstrating Success — Bring back the successes so that you can continue to build. People were very nervous about adding reviews to their sites, but it turns out that visitors are 3x more likely to purchase after reading reviews.
4:05 — Theresa had one of the quotes of the day — “The shadows in the closet aren’t bad when you turn the lights on.” Giving people the right information will help them make the right decisions and will make all of the social media tools people are using seem less scary.
I also liked that Estee Lauder certainly thinks “oneline,” even if they don’t call it that. Theresa talked about how online WOM is great to start collecting and then using for in-store, offline POS, etc. I don’t think nearly enough companies are looking to connect their online and offline efforts this way (that’s what I call being “oneline”) More companies should be looking at how they can do a better job at connecting those experiences.
Love this live coverage? It’s all thanks to the fantastically fantastic blogging of David Polinchock.
