Government, Obama, and Apple…What do they have in common?
As Peter Drucker stated, “The goal of all business organizations is to create a customer.” In order to create a customer, a company must offer a compelling, valuable product/service/idea, engage in conversations with the consumers, and concentrate on keeping those relationships. What did government agencies, President Obama, and Apple do to instill Drucker’s belief?
Government agencies are now using social networks to interact with the community. A report by ReadWriteWeb stated that about 66% of agencies are now using social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter. The dissemination of local or federal regulations, laws, debates, elections, etc. on these sites will further engage the American population. This trend started after Obama used social networks to develop meaningful relationships with voters during his election campaign. Other agencies saw the high response and engagement rates, and followed in Obama’s steps.
Another report by ReadWriteWeb stated that during his campaign, Obama gained 5 million supporters in third party social networking sites, had a profile on 15 online communities, had 3.2 million supporters on Facebook, and there were 400,000 blog posts written about him. All of these mediums allowed Obama to get his presence known by all generations.
The number of people who voted in the last election shows the exponential amount of people who were engaged with the Obama campaign because they had relationships with him through social media networks. The Facebook strategy that Obama had for students “was so effective at energizing college-age voters that senior aides made it an official part of the campaign the following spring.” (readwriteweb.com)
Traditionally, college aged students (Generation Y) do not put in the time or effort to research candidates and vote, but the power of social media relationships revolutionized the voting numbers for this generation!
Apple has one of the most loyal customer bases today, due in part to the exceeding value provided, but also to the niche community that Apple created. The strong supporters of Apple products are commonly called ‘Mac Heads’ or ‘Mac Loyalists.’ These loyalists are not brainwashed by Steve Jobs to defend the brand no matter what, “the reality is far more simple and obvious: Apple simply has a large group of very satisfied customers- and that is the secret ingredient left out of nearly every analysis or op-ed piece that mentions these ‘zealots’” (seekingalpha.com).
Apple’s customers do not leave a purchase situation with post-purchase dissonance, they just know that they made the right decision. They believe in the brand, know that Apple cares about their needs, and makes them feel confident in the value that will be provided to them. “Apple’s ‘loyalists’ are no more than very happy, deeply satisfied customers, and their competitors should learn from that” (seekingalpha.com).
Apple constantly researches their customers and their needs, as well as interacts with them in various ways; this is shown in their brand image. Everyone knows that ‘Mac Heads’ are loyal to Apple and stand by their products because of the value and quality. A strong brand with related strong relationships equates to high brand equity. High brand equity then leads to high effectiveness of marketing and advertising, and positive, strong brand images are created.
So what do government agencies, Obama, and Apple all have in common? They all strive to get their customers involved with them through social networks and loyalty program, in order to gain lasting customer relationships.
What other brands, companies, or organizations do you think could benefit from CRM and social media programs that have not engaged in it yet?
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