Forward And Commentary
CMO's seeking to avoid the desensitization that comes with the adoption of new media will want to quickly deploy the Six C's of Customer Engagement.
A. Introduction
Social media effectiveness for brands and enterprises will rapidly mirror the trends that email and web sites experienced during the late 1990's to early 2000's.  In fact, social media adoption has passed ubiquitous usage and has mostly begun the process of relevant deployment.  Avoidance of  Phase 4 Desensitization can be avoided by applying the Six C's of Engagement (Figure 1.)
B. Research Findings
Recent early adopter surveys identify five key phases of social media adoption:

• Phase 1: Eager early adopters. Users eagerly experimented in the newness of the medium.   Early adopters attempt to apply the medium to everything.
• Phase 2: Ubiquitous usage. Rapid adoption put the medium in the hands of the masses.  Adoption exceeds 50 million users.
• Phase 3: Relevant deployment. Brands and enterprises apply the medium to the right business use cases and processes.
• Phase 4: Desensitization and fatigue. Inundated with marketing, bombarded with irrelevant content, and tired of the newness of the medium, customers begin tuning out.
• Phase 5: Rejuvenation. Maturation of the medium ushers an improved era of engagement apply the Six C's of Engagement.

The Six C's Of Customer Engagement provide strategies to overcome desensitization and fatigue

1. Community. Location for engagement.
   
2. Content. Topics that drive engagement.
   
3. Context. Relevance that create engagement.
   
4. Catalysts. Events or actions that facilitate engagement.
   
5. Currencies. Monetary and non-monetary exchange of value behind engagement.
6. Cadence. The frequency of interaction

Figure 1. The Six C's of Customer Engagement Overcomes Desensitization And Fatigue

The Bottom Line: Apply the 6 C's of Engagement Or Be Left Behind
The brands and enterprises who apply the Six C's of engagement in the next 6 to 12 months will avoid mass alienation among existing customers and potential prospects.  Application of the 6's should align with existing business processes and lead to quantifiable outcomes.
C. Report Links
The report is part of Constellation's Unlimited Quark library and will be made available for purchase after March 23rd, 2012.
Your POV
What strategies and tactics are you using to drive engagement?  How do you measure success.  Add your comments to the blog or send us a comment at R (at) SoftwareInsider (dot) org or R (at) ConstellationRG (dot) com
Please let us know if you need help with your Social CRM/ Social Business efforts.  Here’s how we can assist:

• Assessing social business/social CRM readiness
• Developing your social business/ social CRM  strategy
• Vendor selection
• Implementation partner selection
• Connecting with other pioneers
• Sharing best practices
• Designing a next gen apps strategy
• Providing contract negotiations and software licensing support
• Demystifying software licensing

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• Tuesday’s Tip: Applying The Five Stages Of Adoption Towards SCRM Projects
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