We First Social Branding Blueprint

Marketplace
MODULE 1

Key  thought:
Prosperity is not the
wealth of a few but the
well being of many.
“It’s  not  the  strongest  of  the  species  that  survives,  nor  the  
most  intelligent  that  survives.  It  is  the  one  that  is  most  
adaptable  to  change.”
Charles Darwin
“Social  and  digital  media  is  a  bullet  train  and  that  bullet  
train  is  not  coming  home.”
Howard Schultz, CEO, Starbucks

MODULE 1 QUESTIONS:

I) New Economy:

“The  biggest  problem  with  runaway  inequality…is  that  it  undermines  the  unity  of  purpose  
QHFHVVDU\IRUDQ\¿UPRUDQ\QDWLRQWRWKULYH3HRSOHGRQ¶WZRUNKDUGWDNHULVNVRUPDNH
VDFUL¿FHVLIWKH\WKLQNWKHUHZDUGVZLOODOOÀRZWRRWKHUV´
Steve Pearlstein, Washington Post

³7KHSHUFHSWLRQWKDWEXVLQHVVPXVWFKRRVHEHWZHHQWXUQLQJDSUR¿WDQGLPSURYLQJWKH
communities  where  they  operate  is  outdated  and  irrelevant  in  our  interdependent  world.”
Bill Clinton

1. Do you believe we are on the cusp of a revolutionary change in business or not, and why?

6 © Copyright 2012 We First

We First Social Branding Blueprint

2. Do you regard the current economic and technological challenges with fear or optimism, and why?

MODULE 1
3. List your top three economic concerns in terms of how they can negatively affect your business.

4. Do you believe greater economic equality is necessary for you and your business to thrive? If so,
why? And, if not, why?

II) Social Technology:

“With  more  countries,  more  customer  segmentation,  more  media,  and  more  distribution  
channels,  companies  and  their  CMO’s  are  waging  a  battle  with  complexity.”
McKinsey Quarterly

1. On a scale of 1-10, rate your readiness for the following shifts in the marketplace:

Data explosion

Rise of social media

Variety of channels/devices

ROI accountability

Corporate transparency/accountability

Shifting demographics

© Copyright 2012 We First 7

 We First Social Branding Blueprint

2. On a scale of 1-10, rate the difficulty of each of these barriers to using social technology:
MODULE 1

Cost

Lack of IT skills

Tools implementation

Lack of leadership/marketing/IT alignment

Lack of ROI accountability

Difficulty of use

3. On a scale of 1-10, rate how important it is for you to increase the use of the following social
platforms/tools/media:

Social media

Customer analytics

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Mobile/tablet apps

Content management

Reputation management

SEO

4. Select three business skills you are willing to invest in over the next year to master social branding:

Enhancing customer loyalty/advocacy

Designing experiences for tablet/mobile

Monitoring the brand via social media

Engaging customers using social media

Analyzing offline/online transactions data

Measuring ROI of digital technologies

Developing social interaction policies

Monetizing social media

8 © Copyright 2012 We First

We First Social Branding Blueprint

III) Connected Consumers:

MODULE 1
“We  are  living  in  the  middle  of  a  remarkable  increase  in  our  ability  to  share,  to  cooperate  with  
one  another,  and  to  take  collective  action,  all  outside  the  framework  of  traditional  institutions  
and  organizations.”  
Clay Shirky, NYU Professor & author, ‘Here Comes Everybody’

“Facebook  didn’t  make  people  brave.  It  just  helped  that  bravery  spread  and  grow.”
Wael Ghonim, former Google employee, Egypt

1. On a scale of 1-10, rate the trust/admiration your customer community has for the following:

Your industry

Your company leadership

Your brand

Your services

Your products

Your customer care

2. Identify three steps your brand can take to build customer trust (for example, more purposeful
and visible leadership, deeper social media engagement, greater corporate transparency and
accountability).

© Copyright 2012 We First 9

 We First Social Branding Blueprint

3. Identify three ways your brand can add greater meaning to your customers’ lives (for example,
clearer articulation of brand purpose, greater social responsibility, contribution to a cause).
MODULE 1

4. On a scale of 1-10, rate how well you currently monitor the following social media for customer
feedback and behavior:

Email

Web browsing/search

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

YouTube

LinkedIn

Foursquare

5. Which phrase best describes how well your brand is prepared for a rise in customer activism?

Unaware and unprepared

Aware but unprepared

Marketing Department aware/social media policy prepared

Comprehensive leadership/employee training and policies prepared

10 © Copyright 2012 We First

We First Social Branding Blueprint

6. Identify the first three steps your brand must take to be better prepared for customer activism:

MODULE 1
Better define your brand and its purpose

Convince leadership of the need for greater social media engagement

Integrate social media across your company

Scale your social media communications team

Establish social media crisis protocol and employee policy

Expand social media outreach to customers

Co-create better products and services with your customers

Demonstrate greater transparency and accountability in brand behavior

Additional Notes:

© Copyright 2012 We First 11