Servicing Search: A Better Ad Model?

If you search a typical wireless provider on Google, you'll receive 40 million or more search results. If you filter the query and add the word "service," you'll get roughly half as many results. In addition you'll find 25 to 40 percent of all the indexed content is in the first person, which means it's a form of CGM (define).

The customer service topic drives a disproportionate amount of CGM content creation. This service-centered commentary reroutes itself to curious, unsuspecting consumers via search.In some cases, it may bring consumers closer to the brand; in other cases it pushes them away.

Viewed in this light, it becomes obvious that customer service is about far more than just satisfying consumers. It's equally about priming, positioning, and ultimately painting the brand's public billboard.

In this era of word-of-mouth and search, the stakes for getting the customer service equation right are enormously high. Consumers love to talk about service, and they leave a digital trail in the process. As we ponder media's future and optimizing marketing spending, it may well prove a far more efficient, high-return investment than pouring more money into paid media.

Although there are many levers or activities a brand can pursue to have a material effect on service perception, you should first home in on what I call the I's of customer service: the invitation, the interface, and the interaction.

• The Invitation
  The invitation is about the right first impression. Does the brand care enough to hear my voice? Does it really want my feedback? Is my voice valued?
• The Interface
  The interface gets to the heart of usability, simplicity, and a sense of genuine empowerment. Is it easy to provide feedback? Can I get through the process without a hitch?
• The Interaction
  The actual interaction hits deeper consumer-brand connection drivers. Did the service interface or representative actually address the issue? In what way?

Each of these key dimensions of the service experience affects consumer attitudes and feeling toward the brand. Those feelings, in turn, drive varying levels of advocacy and CGM creation, which in turn finds new audience via search. Remember, you are what they search.

~Servicing Search: A Better Ad Model? By Pete Blackshaw March 20, 2007

Local Social Search Explosion

Sites like Yelp.com believe they have the answer or, rather, that their users have the answer. Not only are the businesses local, so too is the content. With a passionate community of reviewers, local businesses can leverage the power of true advocates in the community. Local searchers can find not just reviews with which they can identify, but also reviewers with similar tastes they can trust.

Sites like Yelp can fulfill several useful roles for small businesses. They're a great way to promote a business before it launches. One San Francisco restaurant had a house full of Yelpers on opening day. Yelp also provides a good CRM (define) feedback loop for businesses to address areas that may not work well for customers.Yelp is also highly selective about the advertisements it will accept -- only businesses with a minimum of a 3-star user review rating are allowed. Though the privately held company has yet to turn a profit, 60 percent of yelpers are between the ages of 26-35, a highly desired demographic for advertisers. This site gives tremendous opportunity to business owners to not just advertise, but get to know their customers and have a truly insider perspective of what they are doing right or wrong.

Another social site Sproose references itself as an interactive search engine, providing peer-moderated, ranking, prioritizing and community networking for consumer use. Search and Vote, basically. Read more on Sproose..

These websites are on the rise and the more sophisticated internet users become the more they will be using these social sites over simple map and listing sites.

The Future of Social Search

Search has officially gone social. It has been known for months that the growing trend in organic search is the social element. From customer reviews to joining mailing lists, organic search has been moving in a direction of growing social networks and better communications with potential customers. Now you can even have your own live personal serach assistant with the introduction of ChaCha.
Here's how it works: Each searcher is assigned a guide to communicate with through an online chat program. The guide asks questions about the query's nature, searches numerous engines at record speed, and returns results as she finds them. Sometimes, she'll request more information to further customize her search. When the user is satisfied with the results, ChaCha encourages him to rate the guide so it can gauge its staff's quality and the user's experience.
ChaCha has taken the social element of search to the extreme and even made it completely personal. Other search engines are sure to follow suit.

What are your thoughts on the future of social search?