Where the friction occurs is mostly here:
When the company intent is communicated solely in the IMMEDIATE CONTEXT of sales, and when the consumer intent is rooted and nurtured BETWEEN sales moments.
The result of that disconnect is:
- Companies focus their interactions on sales as a starting point instead of a result
- Companies attribute lackluster attention for their offer with not enough attention or awareness, so they get louder
- Content becomes myopically focused on products or sales instead of the ambient experience with the company
- Customers resent the one-track-mindset and feel pitched or exploited
- Customers perceptions of the company are based on what they can see and feel most, which is the product pitch
- Customers don’t believe that the company sees any value for them other than a dollar figure, and doesn’t care about them between transactions
Amber Naslund (@AmberCadabra) on the disconnect between company intent and individual intent when it comes to doing business. Of course some companies ARE that one-dimensional, but often they are just not going about it in a way that communicates their complete intent to us ... this is, perhaps the crux of "social business" - show us all a company's dimensions, and its true intentions. Of course the corollary is that we as customers need to (and be able to) communicate our intentions to companies, preferably also not just in the context of a sale.
My shorthand for it: conversation --> relationship --> transaction ...
