Part I – Response to the Altimeter SMMS Report and Success Factor #1, Professional Guidance
With the release of the Altimeter Group’s recent report on the social media management system industry (SMMS), enterprise companies now have an incredible resource to both understand the business drivers that lead to the development of these solutions and access an incredibly useful “buyers guide” to evaluate vendors in the space. However, there are three major success factors that we at The Targeted Group have seen directly impact the effectiveness and tangible creation of value with our enterprise clients that are not covered in this report. I would like to cover these in a two part series. The first includes a response to the report and factor #1, professional services or sophisticated consulting guidance, and the second, data analytics and content creation strategy.
Before getting into what was not covered in the recent Altimeter report, let me take a couple minutes to point out some of the most important elements that were covered. As they have done many times before with emerging technologies such as online communities, the Altimeter Group and Jeremiah Owyang have produced a transformational report that truly defines the industry and creates a foundation from which all companies can understand the vendors in the marketplace.
One of the most frustrating aspects of being a vendor in the SMMS market is that the buyers often don’t have a clear idea of what specific problems each vendor solves and therefore, make significant errors in evaluating and choosing solutions. By creating the five specific use cases, the Altimeter Group provides an easy way to differentiate vendors and understand the market better. The second most important aspect of the report is its honest and objective evaluation of the capabilities of each vendor.
We are honored that the Targeted ESP™ platform received their highest rating in the two main use cases that we serve, as well as the second highest ranking in two others. However, I have to be perfectly honest in saying that we had a big sigh of relief when the report was published. The evaluation process was intense and extremely thorough!
When we launched our SMMS solution (the Targeted ESP™- “Enterprise Social Port”) over two years ago, we had a firsthand view of the needs of enterprise clients. We didn’t just dream up a product while writing code in a back room. We were engaged in an intensive strategic consulting effort designed to help one of our large enterprise clients figure out how to leverage the opportunities of social while also protecting their brand and maintaining compliance. Most vendors at that time had built solutions with individual social media channels in mind and there were no vendors that solved the specific needs of large enterprise companies….so we built it. This perspective was critical because it allowed us to view the market from the point of view of the brand and not purely as a software vendor.
This perspective was valuable but it also allowed us to determine one of the most important predictors of success when designing and implementing a social media management system. The success predictor is the ability for the vendor providing the solution to offer sophisticated consulting services. Not just about their product, but in a broader context necessary to understand the business objectives that a brand is trying to achieve. Too many times, companies implement new technologies without scoping out a detailed plan of action and specific strategy that aligns with the rest of the organization. A problem specifically pointed out in the full Altimeter SMMS Buyers Guide. A social media management platform is only one tool in a very large system. The rest of the system has to be organized and coordinated or the entire system will fail…no matter how good the software platform is!
The Targeted Group is one of only a few vendors in the report with over a decade of experience helping enterprise class companies navigate the dynamics of interactive technologies. This capability has proven to be the biggest determining factor for almost all of our clients’ successes. Having helped companies of all sizes and in various industries, we understand the unique challenges of:
Without an experienced team that can draw on years of real-life executions, a brand can easily face huge unforeseen obstacles as they launch into the world of social media management systems. Especially when dealing with large distributed networks of agents, reps or franchisees, these errors can be catastrophic. By having a trusted resource help design and guide the project, the chances of success increase exponentially.
So what is the take away? Take the time to evaluate potential vendors and their ability to take full responsibility for the implementation of their product. Do they offer services beyond training and support on their specific tool or features? Can they offer broad support that can predict a successful launch and ongoing program? Are they willing to be responsible for the success of the entire program? These are just a few very important questions that might help avoid launching a program without the necessary support and guidance.
As mentioned above, the second part of the series will cover two additional success factors. These are the importance of true data analytics and having a detailed content strategy. To learn more about the Targeted Group and our suite of solutions, please call 866-738-8768
Full Report:
Have you ever been to a party and the burgers were absolutely amazing? Not including things that could change your perception like 100 cocktails or a beautiful sunset…they just tasted much better than any others…even the ones that you make. What could possibly be going on? They have the same meat, same buns and same old grill. But they are achieving a substantially different result. What could they possibly be doing? Grilling out is simple…why don’t my burgers taste as good? The fact is that there is an art to cooking…even simple old burgers. Knowledge, experience and skill combine to make one person a brilliant cook…even though they are using the exact same tool.