It’s pretty obvious that companies these days sense a change in the wind. They know that they should be talking with their customers, but for the most part they still don’t really understand how. Before we all roll our eyes and talk about how they don’t get it, Erica Friedman, President of Yurikon LLC and the ultimate social media marketing maven, and I thought it would be worth taking a look at *why* so many companies don’t get it.

Today, Erica will address the “WHY” part of the equation and in part two, I will discuss the “AFRAID” part of the title.

Six Reasons Why Companies Are Afraid to Talk to YOU:

1. No one ever taught them to play nice with others

Most companies in existence now were born and bred in the time when broadcast media ruled. For many years, companies bought “eyeball” time on TV and, eventually, on the web. In this world, communications were all or mostly one-way. They tell you what you need, loudly and often and through a variety of images and sounds. Many of these companies really, honestly haven’t the vaguest clue how to engage in two-way (or more) conversation.

The Missed Opportunity: Customers who want to feel like they are being listened to, are left screaming at a TV screen.

2. There’s no one behind the curtain

As a customer, we work under the assumption that someone, somewhere is responsible for things like communications. When we send an email, or call the number, we expect that the person on the other side is trained, competent and capable of assisting us. It’s never less than a disappointment to learn that the person on the other end is nothing of the sort. When the customer service email or phone number has no one actually answering at all, it’s a betrayal of our trust. Reorganizations that happen every 18 months mean that the person who was responsible is now no longer with the company. So often the reality is that an intern - or no one - is responsible for replying to that email or answering that phone call. I was sitting in an office one day, waiting for an appointment, when I saw the receptionist pull the plug on the phone so she “could get some work done.”

Reorganizations that happen every 18 months mean that the person who was responsible is now no longer with the company

The Missed Opportunity: Customers who have a question can’t find anyone to talk to; customers with good suggestions go elsewhere.

3) What they don’t know, (they think) can’t hurt them

Companies in regulated industries are required to report on any number of things. Not just inconsistencies and violations, but nearly every communication is monitored. This makes it awkward to engage with clients and customers. Worse, it leads to avoidance behaviors. These companies convince themselves and their regulatory bodies that, if they can’t hear you complain, they aren’t responsible for what you said.

The Missed Opportunity: Companies using this “See no evil, hear no evil, say no evil” method of communication are missing out on critical business intelligence and opportunities for exceptional customer service.

4) They want it to “just work” but don’t know what it does

In 1996, companies rushed to create a “web page” with largely no plan for the thing. Many companies transferred their print marketing materials to the site, and then wondered why people weren’t coming back more than once.

Now companies rush to create a social media presence and still largely have no plan for it. They post multi-media advertisements and sometimes even a coupon, but there’s no engagement of any kind. Sure, we’re glad to see that you’ve teamed up with Singer XYZ to give toys to disabled kids but…what does that mean to us? Unless you’re making a meaningful connection in those spaces, it’s still just a press release.

The Missed Opportunity: People expect to be “social” in a social media space. One-way communications leave an impression of not caring and not listening.

5) Easy Numbers Are Easy

Back in the day when there were three TV stations, demographics worked. At any given time, you knew who was likely to be watching what show - what age group, what gender, what lifestyle.

The Internet has rendered that meaningless for the most part. I might be a 45-year old woman, but my watching and buying habits might be similar to those of a 25-year old guy. There’s no guarantee who is watching what - or where.

Broadcast advertising created easy numbers: Cost for media, projected number of eyeballs, projected number of sales.

When companies went online, the model for media buying remained the same. Sadly, the number of eyeballs didn’t really work, so companies moves to Pay Per Click and similar advertising models. These advertising models are easy numbers - but they aren’t really accurate…or even useful. But because they create measurable metrics, they are relied upon, regardless of the value. There’s no simple metrics for talking with a person, getting to know them and being there when they need you. ROI on PPC might be .02%, but at least it’s measurable!

The Missed Opportunity: People who are talking about your business somewhere are not necessarily looking at your ads elsewhere.

And finally, the number one reason Companies Are Afraid To Talk To You is:

6. People are…Stupid
Companies put thousands of hours into developing Help pages, FAQs, Manuals and Customer Service systems. And, people manage to not use or misuse them in the most *amazing* ways. Disk drives used as cup holders and people who can’t find the “any key” are not just legendary - they were pretty common back in the day. Everyone who has ever done any kind of technology troubleshooting knows that the average user is much further behind the curve than can be guessed at when Help and FAQs are written. Smart users are just as stupid as anyone else - most smart people can’t find the Help page, no matter how well labeled it is. I’m on a popular social networking site where regularly people mistake the public forums for Customer Service and email not only personal information, but also very ill tempered and foul language filled questions and demands to anyone who might be reading. These users are as likely to be Doctors, Lawyers and CEOs as they are to be Joe Blow.

The Missed Opportunity: Wowing a customer with exceptional customer service means understanding where they are coming from and what motivates them, then satisfying their needs - even if it means going off script.

Companies are faced with these and other challenges every day. There are territory wars, and competing agendas. Most large companies suffer from a classic case of the left hand doesn’t even know there is a right hand, much less what it’s doing. These, along with all of the above reasons combine to create a fear and loathing of the consumer that appears almost impossible to get past. In the second part of this series, Sarah will address that fear and bring out some of the issues that can be addressed. Like every problem, once we identify it, we’ve taken the first step to resolving it.

About the Author: Erica Friedman is the President of Yurikon LLC, a social media promotion company focusing on small and “micro” niches. She is the President and Founder of Yuricon & ALC Publishing. Visit her blog, SocialOptimized, where she discusses Social Media Without Delusion.

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