Company News

LEARNING OUTCOMES

So far, we have focused on external customers, but social media is clearly useful for internal customers as well. A change in senior leadership, ownership, or other large non-product- or service-oriented announcement, might be best made over social media. In doing company business like this, organizations “cross a divide” between external and internal customers and integrate everyone into an audience interested in the customer experience.

Daniel Newman’s article “Organizational Success Starts with an Integrated Customer Experience” for Forbes, describes this as an “Integrated Customer Service Model.” In this model, customers themselves drive company interaction, and in so doing, they integrate into company business. Loyal customers, particularly ones that drive interest in your brand, may talk about company items on their own social media.

PRACTICE QUESTION

UBER

One example of announcing big company change is Uber’s management crisis in 2017-18. To try to temper a variety of issues that Uber’s former CEO and founder, Travis Kalanick presided over, their new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi released a variety of videos and messages suggesting great change, better pay and respect for drivers, and other efforts to improve the Uber experience. A few examples are below:

In the first video, note Khosrowshahi’s efforts to be approachable, human, and down to earth. While answering how he liked being an Uber driver for a day, he described how difficult it was to drive in San Francisco. “It’s wigging me out a bit . . . oh I missed my turn again!”

Some have critiqued the effort as being disingenuous and contrived while others see it as a very reasonable move to convince customers and drivers that Uber is improving. What’s your sense about it? Were these videos hollow and contrived or a good faith effort to express company improvement?