Using Social Media to Foster Customer Relations

I am an avid believer that companies should use social media to create and foster relationships with customers and prospective customers.

I used http://blogsearch.google.com/ to search for blog postings on OrgSync. OrgSync is a company that provides software to Universities and colleges all around the United States. Essentially the software is handed down to student organizations, which then use the software to manage organization information, planning, and event promotions.

I found a posting about a particular university’s launching of this company’s software. I read through the blog post and found a comment about the post stating:

"Where are all the negative comments that have been expressed at OSA meetings and in personal talks with students? Where is the vote tally where the OSA and the senate voted against "org sink" Thanks for making this story as fluffy, cute and one sided as possible."

This is a perfect example of an opportunity OrgSync can use to gain insights on [prospective] customer’s suggestions, concerns, questions or even praise they may have about the company or their software.

Companies need to monitor social media networks, blogs, forums, and product reviews and ratings. This is free and easy access to customer insights that can positively affect a company’s progression and even direct research and development toward an innovative and very lucrative path. Doing this will allow companies to get deep down into what customers really think and if customers are really concerned about something, it gives companies the opportunity to address these concerns and use it as a method of providing good customer service and public relations.

OrgSync also, uses Facebook to provide their software users with an OrgSync Application to conveniently login to their OrgSync account through Facebook without ever leaving the site. Basically, having the application allows your OrgSync account to be embedded into Facebook. This does two things; it is smart on OrgSync’s part to offer this application to its users because it brings OrgSync to a place where its target users are already, Facebook! This means more logins for the company! Also, this application makes it much more convenient for users to check two accounts at once. After a user makes a comment on a friend’s wall they can check their OrgSync messages to see if they have any important messages from their org president!

I think OrgSync is using social media to create a convenient experience for their user. OrgSync will also need to [or continue to] use social media to connect to their core users and gain valuable insights about the user and their user’s opinions, concerns and needs.

*I am an employee of OrgSync! FYI.

Wal-Mart is Surfing on a Database of Advantages & Ethical Dilemmas!

Wal-Mart has tons of shopper history also known as data that allows them to predict “what’s going to happen, instead of waiting for it to happen,” as Wal-Mart’s chief information officer, Linda M. Dillman says in "What Walmart Knows About Customers' Habits."


Because of the insights made from Wal-Mart’s database the company was able to know what to increase in stock when Hurricane Charley hit. This knowledge is power and equates to profit and Wal-Mart definitely uses it as a competitive advantage.

This of course is a benefit for Wal-Mart but to others all this customer data that is being collected raises debates on privacy issues and ethical dilemmas. Your information as a consumer at Wal-Mart is gathered at checkout, recorded, mapped, updated by store, by state and then by region!

Wal-Mart has 460 terabytes of data stored on their customers! The internet has less than half as much data! In most cases this data is stored for indefinite lengths of time.

Wal-Mart uses this data to answer discount retailing’s rabbinical questions dealing with things such as store operation decisions.

Wal-Mart does share some of its data with its suppliers, which I would imagine strengthened their relationship with suppliers. In 2006, Wal-Mart decided to tighten the reigns on their data and announced it would no longer sell its data to outside companies, which in my opinion was a smart idea because in the long run I’d imagine it would hurt the company’s goodwill if anyone abused its data, which would negatively outweigh any revenue they’d obtain from selling the data. The more control they have over the data the less likely their will be abuse of the data by anyone. Most customers have no clue their shopping habits are being monitored as they shop, which also raises questions of whether this data gathering is ethical. Wal-Mart does take reasonable steps to protect personal information. While the company definitely benefits from customers data, so are customers. The efficiency that is enabled by all of the data drives down costs, and in turn is carried over to customer savings. I fully trust the steps Wal-Mart has taken to protect my information because they not only care about my privacy they care about self-preservation and would not want to deal with law suits and decrease their public image.

Wal-Mart is coined the Supply and Command store because of the power its database gives it. Its data enables the company to operate on a level of efficiency that no other company can match!

Lexus HS Hybrid 10- Innovation & Sustainability on Wheels!

“Tomorrow Deserves Nothing Less” states Lexus! They definitely are sparing no expense when it comes to their newest hybrid creation the Lexus HS Hybrid 10. This car is the ideal example of creativity and innovation!! This car first got my attention during my viewing of its TV spot the other night, which in itself is creative, the spot refers to innovative features that cars will “Someday” have, and then showcases Lexus’ features and states “Hello Someday”. (Round of applause for this Lexus spot.)

A few things about this car really excite me and come across as amazingly innovative!

The rims on my current car are terribly scratched. You want to know why?! Because I have this odd desperation to get as close to the curve as humanly possibly when parallel parking! Even if it means scratching my rims! Well, the Lexus HS 10 has an Intuitive Parking Assistant to help with matters as pesky as this! A navigation display and combination-meter indicates obstacles that are detected as too close!! How is this possible, you ask, there are two sonar sensors installed at each corner of the front bumper and four installed in the back!

An even more life-changing feature that adds real safety to an automobile and essentially the life of its driver is the Driver Attention Monitor, Lexus has several features created for their Advanced Pre-Collision System! Its Driver Attention Monitor is mounted to the steering wheel, if the technology detects a frontal collision and simultaneously senses that the driver is not facing forward a warning tone sounds and a flashing light is triggered. Never before has anything of the sort been available to drivers! We all know we are guilty of looking down at our phone or looking over to our passenger, this innovative technology makes perfect sense and adds great value to its owner's driving experience and safety.

When the new Dynamic Radar Cruise Control is activated the Lane Keep Assist system uses a camera and steering torque input to help guide the car down the CENTER of the lane! The same system uses the camera to notify the driver of an unintended lane change and can even help correct this unintentional steering action! Additional honorable mentions are Lexus HS Hybrid 10’s Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management and Traction Control.

Just when I think that there is no more value this car can contribute to someone’s life through creativity and innovation, I read about the body of the car and find that it is made by Ecological Plastics and plant based materials!!! This car is sustainability on wheels! You ask if there is a cherry on top? There sure is, this car is aerodynamically shaped and therefore adds to its fuel efficiency!!

Lexus says their research has revealed that “more than 60 percent of entry-luxury car buyers would have considered a hybrid if available,” the 2010 Lexus HS… is actually the world’s first luxury car available with only a hybrid engine.* Through their research they were able to have insights into customers’ desires and needs and efficiently provide them with those things, creating value in the lives of their customers.

Dave Nordstrom, vice president of marketing for Lexus states, "People want to do the right thing . . . they want great mpg, but they also want the latest in technology, the latest innovations and a car that's fun to drive. This vehicle has it all wrapped up in one."**



* 2009 FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business
** 2009 FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business

Dailly Habits of a College Student

This semester I am taking a break from the 8am classes so I get to wake up on my own instead of having an annoying alarm clock wake me up; my 12:30pm classes are a definite score! The first thing I do after waking up is reach over and grab my BFF AKA my iPhone and I turn on my iTunes. Once I turn on the tunes, I check my email, FaceBook and MySpace notifications… ‘Hmmm, what song is this? Must be a new song that my friend shared with me… sounds good.’ At this point I am exiting my Safari browser and tapping the iTunes icon. You see, in order to skip a song or view the name of the song playing, the iTunes App has to be open. It would be great if I could at least see the name of the song playing at the top of the screen. Once I see the title of the song I tap my safari browser and look up the lyrics to see if the song has real substance… If I like what I read I check out the band on MySpace.

After about an hour on my iPhone – no kidding- it takes me anywhere between 30 minutes to two hours to get out of the apartment and to the bus stop. I’m usually kicking myself for forgetting my sunglasses seeing how the bus stop has no protection from the hot Texas sun. Speaking of the hot Texas sun, its existence is the reason why I take the bus, if I walk to class I’d be extremely sweaty by the time I reach my classroom, not cool at all when you sit so close to your classmates.

If my professor permits, I use my laptop to take notes. I can take notes faster and have better quality notes if I use my Macbook. When studying, I memorize lists better if I write them over and over again rather than using note cards. I rarely study at home and prefer to study at coffee shops, needless to say I spend a lot of money on coffee. As I write this blog, I am accomplishing one of my goals for the semester – not to have FaceBook open, it’s not conducive to having a good study session. As for other distractions, as I write this blog, a million other things are going on in my head. Sometimes I stop what I am doing to write down my thoughts and expect to one day use them when writing my first novel or self-help book.

I greatly appreciate the importance of atmosphere. Whether I am choosing a place to study, party or dine, if the atmosphere isn’t just right, then the experience is not optimal. Even my decision to attend UT was influenced by the great atmosphere.

One last point, I hardly ever buy anything or do anything that I think does not reflect the perception of who I am as an individual.