Those we market to with new technology tools should have options and be “ready, willing and able”, as well as, informed of these changes in a language that is sensitive to their “culture”. All the generations have unique requirements btw (‘by the way’ for those who may not know that acronym – and many still do not!).
Customer options for service by channel (channel management) was not teamed up with insightful and responsive pricing that would lead customer behaviours rather than penalise them for not complying (antagonistic approach – do it my way or you die!) combined with effective preparation of the end users and appropriate metrics.
How we offer new tools to our customers (whether simple e-mail communication or full on “you must manage your investments on line and never call us” options to more sophisticated tools) is the “ready” part of the formula. This results in “willing”. The “able” part is the most difficult in the lightening speed changes we are witnessing today as we try to invent new and faster (not necessarily better, more effective and useful) ways to push the customer away to manage work we used to manage for them (service). All generations have unique requirements, that is what we were to have learned by direct marketing!
Therefore, I agree with Derek that age should NOT be a factor, but since the invention of the video player/recorder, the over 50s have been dispensed with as if their splayed fingers and poor eye sight, were never meant to be capable of reading directions written by someone who was not in touch with real people or with pressing and holding the tiny buttons. ((what over 50s learned from this is to keep a ready stable of “friends” under twelve to manage what should not have been a barrier in the first place!)
Early memories of technological failure still makes some shudder and resist pressing more buttons. Those of us who would lead others into using new technologies always struggle with, what I call the “Woops Factor”. This comes from the continual reminders in films, magazine articles and TV exposes that with one touch of a button, all relevant records can be obliterated, as can our identities.
We are told to guard our passwords and never write them down, for instance, yet international standard password conventions are nonexistent, so writing passwords down is mandatory not voluntary unless you are born an idiot savant.
Strangely enough, this morning I was offered the opportunity to submit some insurance details directly on line, yet the technology had a glitch and no decipherable instructions, leaving me no choice other than to dial up a customer support line and wait for 37 minutes to find out that, yes indeed, it was not working and they would have it up and running another day.
On another site, still today, I needed the answer to a question about a format for some material I’m submitting for electronic publishing of my book. My question was simple and the knowledge database did not cover this information. I was repeatedly sent back to a “knowledge database” by a persistent bot who would NOT respond to a number of intuitive key words. I then sent an email to the organisation which was immediately answered by another bot who told me I had to refer to this same be-all-and-end-all knowledge database.
Fad managers (whatever their age) offer the latest and greatest tools because they either need to be seen to make a difference or to make their mark (like a canine marking new territory).
Someone over 50 is just as likely to push “bleeding edge technology” through the pipeline because it seems/is seen to be politically correct and the technical sales rep told them of far reaching cost saving and how they could cut more staff. They may have even attended a nifty seminar that urged them to “act younger than their age and be bold with social media”.
Yet when they install and foist these new tools on the customer, they’re long gone to the next greener pasture and the customer and other business colleagues are left trying to manage with technology that is inadequate for the task or was not promoted and offered in a humane way.
I loved the video you put up Rum, for it shows what I believe is the true power of social media. People are lonely and it offers a way to bridge the gap in this dangerous world. Social media is about one person connecting with another. E-Harmony, one of the more popular dating sites, has been running an insightful ad with some implied answers.
The push back to new these new social technologies comes because of fear of not knowing how to use them, but more profound is the imagined isolation apart from face-to-face contact. We all have this desire to connect, to engage.
“It is one of our deepest yearnings. But connect with what? With whom? This is actually a trio of desires that vary in strength from person to person and from time to time: 1. The desire to connect with ourselves – to know ourselves better; 2. The desire to connect with each other – to communicate; 3. The desire to connect with the natural world”, as Hugh Mackay says in his book, What Makes Us Tick?:
I love using social media because I have seen how they can result in all three of these burning desires.
Conclusion/Recommendation: Carefully consider whether using social media technology is appropriate for business. Customers do want to deal one-on-one with businesses for business, yet they no longer buy/believe that anyone in a business is a friend! I think it may backfire as painfully as CRM has!
If you decide social media technologies are an area to explore for your business, do your homework (seminars, books, articles, those who are experiencing the results of attempts with new technologies) then look closely at the end user and their needs. Ensure sensible and culturally/generationally sensitive communication and training precedes launching (stable/robust) technology, finally mange and measure it with meaningful metrics that are tied to your vision and mission.
