The Conversation Company: Boost Your Business Through Culture, People and Social Media

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Research shows that consumer conversations, client happiness and empowered employees are the pillars of growth in a successful company. However, many organizations make decisions that contradict these findings and hamper their prospects of expansion.

The Conversation Company will help your organization become a business in which people are the key driver of growth, sharing engaging content and building the company's culture and business objectives. People now expect any brand to have a human 'face' and you need to define a clear set of values for both employees and customers, incorporating them in your marketing so that all company communication reflects the DNA of your organization.

Based on solid research and including interviews and case studies of companies such as Zappos, Kodak, Nokia and Microsoft, The Conversation Company is the key to sustainable success.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Foreword (p. xii)
• Acknowledgements (p. xv)
• Introduction (p. 1)
• Part 1 A world full of contradictions (p. 9)
• 01 Your company has unused conversation potential (p. 11)
• Companies in 'checklist' mode (p. 11)
• It is not just about social media (p. 12)
• Every company is sitting on top of a potential goldmine (p. 14)
• Look everywhere - unused conversation potential is in every corner of your business (p. 18)
• The challenge: build a conversation lever (p. 28)
• Key conversation points (p. 29)
• 02 Your company is full of paradoxes (p. 31)
• The gap between intentions and deeds (p. 31)
• Focus on the positive, not just on the negative (p. 33)
• Companies are full of paradoxes (p. 35)
• Positive word of mouth is important - so why don't we manage it? (p. 36)
• Companies see service as a cost, not a conversation starter (p. 37)
• Companies talk too much: the customer wants proof (p. 41)
• Our greatest enemy: the 'What if...?' question (p. 46)
• The Conversation Company stops the paradox (p. 47)
• Key conversation points (p. 47)
• Part 2 The Conversation Company: culture, people and social media (p. 49)
• 03 The Conversation Company (p. 51)
• The Conversation Company is based on culture, people and social media (p. 53)
• The basis: culture and people (p. 56)
• Our partner: social media (p. 59)
• The social media figures (p. 61)
• The Conversation Company breaks through the paradox (p. 63)
• Key conversation points (p. 64)
• 04 Company culture - the heart of the Conversation Company (p. 66)
• The values of your company: empty words? (p. 66)
• Culture must lead to identification with your company (p. 71)
• Culture has an impact on every part of the Conversation Company (p. 77)
• Help! My company doesn't have a Conversation Company culture (p. 79)
• Key conversation points (p. 80)
• 05 People are your most important source of conversations (p. 82)
• The power of people and new technology (p. 82)
• Internal and external communication form a perfect duo (p. 86)
• Internal: every employee is a spokesperson (p. 89)
• Don't control - facilitate! (p. 91)
• External: your customers would love to help (p. 94)
• The customer in the boardroom (p. 96)
• Let the consumer co-manage (p. 98)
• Key conversation points (p. 100)
• 06 Social media - the ideal partner for the Conversation Company (p. 102)
• Social media bind your staff, your customers and your company to each other (p. 102)
• Mobile internet quickens the pace (p. 103)
• Two dimensions: reach and a structural relationship (p. 105)
• Four Cs: customer experience, conversation, content, collaboration (p. 113)
• And now? Implementation (p. 116)
• Key conversation points (p. 117)
• Part 3 The four Cs for the management of the Conversation Company (p. 119)
• 07 Customer experience, conversation, content and collaboration (p. 121)
• Why these four components? (p. 121)
• How do you score on each component? (p. 127)
• Key conversation points (p. 130)
• 08 Customer experience (p. 131)
• Customers are more than the sum total of your turnover (p. 131)
• Conversation-worthy in every phase (p. 133)
• Learn to manage expectations (p. 136)
• Organize your company for customer experience (p. 141)
• Key conversation points (p. 142)
• 09 Conversation (p. 144)
• Participating; reactive and proactive (p. 144)
• The conversation manager observes, facilitates and participates (p. 145)
• Each profile requires a different conversation approach (p. 146)
• Organizing for your participation in conversations (p. 152)
• Three golden rules for online conversations (p. 154)
• Direct and indirect sales through conversations (p. 155)
• Key conversation points (p. 157)
• 10 Content (p. 159)
• Purpose of a content strategy (p. 159)
• Choose your subjects wisely (p. 160)
• The golden question: which content is conversation-worthy? (p. 163)
• Content planning: projects, updates and campaigns (p. 165)
• Advertising is also conversation-worthy content (p. 169)
• Organizing your content management (p. 170)
• Conversion: from content to leads (p. 173)
• Key conversation points (p. 174)
• 11 Collaboration (p. 176)
• Co-creation scores in the checklist mentality (p. 176)
• The customer enters the boardroom (p. 179)
• Choosing the right people (p. 183)
• Why should customers help you? (p. 186)
• Your role: moderator and participator (p. 188)
• Advantages and disadvantages of Facebook versus own community (p. 190)
• Organize for structural collaboration (p. 191)
• Collaboration is the key to everything (p. 192)
• Key conversation points (p. 193)
• Part 4 How to become a Conversation Company in three easy steps (p. 195)
• 12 Integrate customer-oriented thinking and social media in three steps (p. 197)
• It begins today - and it never ends (p. 197)
• The three steps to integration (p. 198)
• Most companies have hardly started (p. 199)
• Everyone is a marketeer (p. 202)
• The role of the CEO (p. 203)
• Can it be the same for every company? (p. 204)
• So let's go to work - step by step (p. 206)
• Key conversation points (p. 206)
• 13 Step 1: Building up knowledge and the necessary framework (p. 208)
• Before we begin - time for a conversation audit (p. 208)
• Three strategic projects of this phase (p. 210)
• Key conversation points (p. 221)
• 14 Step 2: Choosing and implementing your pilot projects (p. 222)
• Three strategic projects of this phase (p. 222)
• The most important success indicator is the impact of the pilot projects (p. 232)
• Key conversation points (p. 233)
• 15 Step 3: The way to full integration and the lever effect (p. 235)
• Four strategic projects of this phase (p. 235)
• Your change process never comes to an end (p. 245)
• This is it... (p. 246)
• PS - You have (p. 48)
• hours (p. 246)
• Key conversation points (p. 247)
• Epilogue (p. 249)
• Children show the way (p. 249)
• Notes (p. 251)
• About the author (p. 262)
• About InSites Consulting (p. 263)
• Index (p. 264)