Apparently, Sam is sending me back to school.
Sam Lawrence, CMO of Jive Software is one of our customers, and he's reviewed the service that he's received from Forrester and another analyst firm. One of scored a "C-", and the other scored a "B", read his report card to find out who scored what and why.
Customers in every industry (even the Analyst industry) are being empowered by social media tools, they can directly talk to each other, share experiences, and make decisions –often without the marketer or sales person present. I've been preaching this on my blog and in presentations and at my former employers for nearly 4 years.
Is this a disruption? Absolutely.
I advise my clients that the key is for the company to be an active part of the conversation in their marketplace, this is where customers, prospects, and partners will be. I was in a NY taxi when I saw this on Twitter, but pointed to it instantly (Carter says that was the right move), and wasn't able to respond in the comments, but tweeted it, and I think my colleagues quickly saw it, two of them commented before I was able to get online, and Rob, who was with me at the event also commented.
More important that being part of the conversation, companies need to listen and when appropriate, act on the feedback. So now I need to go back to school (a "B" isn't good enough), study up and find out what it's going to take me to get an "A" from Jive and other customers.
Aiming for the honor roll, we'll keep at it 'till we do.
