FIR Interview: Walgreens Social Media Director Adam Kmiec

FIR co-hosts Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz interview Adam Kmiec, director of social media for Walgreens, the largest drug store chain in the U.S. and a Fortune 50 company. Walgreens has engaged in the last 10 days or so in a social media-focused effort to build awareness among customers of alternatives to Express Scripts, the prescription benefit manager through which hundreds of thousands of people pay for the prescription medications. Unable to reach an agreement to renew their contract, Walgreens no longer accepts Express Scripts but using mechanisms like Prescription Savings Club membership (left) to retain customers.

The… Read More »

Zappos sticks to its values in communicating customer database breach

Zappos is a social media darling. The company’s adoption of Twitter, its encouragement of employees to engage online openly during work and CEO Tony Hsieh’s commitment to social channels are all trotted out regularly in articles, books and talks. I’m as gung-ho on Zappos’ use of social media as anybody.

One test remained, however. All of Zappos’ social activities have so far been employed in pursuit of brand building and reputation by linking those activities to the company’s customer service-focused values. But how would the company do when faced with something negative, bad publicity if not an outright crisis?

By midday today, it’s… Read More »

A tale of two organizations’ Facebook responses to crises

Two current crises demonstrate the value of candor in an organization’s social-focused communication efforts. In both cases, nothing the organization says will keep people from being upset and unhappy. But in one instance, the company acknowledged the fact and provided an opportunity for people to vent while at the same time confining much of the discussion to comments on its own Facebook post. In the other, an attempt to minimize discussion has led to a rash of critical comments crowding its Facebook wall.

In one corner is American Airlines, which lost Jack the Cat, a pet being transported on one of its flights. When it was discovered… Read More »

Companies most ready for social business don’t block employees from social media, have fewer crises

Cross-posted from Stop Blocking.

There are great companies, and there are all the rest.

The great companies are places where people want to work, and hence make the list of the top 100 companies to work for. Great companies also tend to be forward-looking. At the Altimeter Group—the analyst firm founded by Groundswell co-author Charlene Li—“Advanced” companies are at far end of the spectrum of efforts to weave social media into their business structures and processes.

Of 144 businesses surveyed for Altimeter’s latest report—Social Business Readiness—only 18 qualified as “Advanced.” The criteria for these organizations include… Read More »

Formal social media processes and structures can minimize or prevent some crises

With a surge in the number of crises companies experience online, you’d think organizations would be clamoring to adopt practices that prepare them for the inevitable kerfuffle and help minimize the damage. Most, though, have failed to take the steps that could diminish or completely avoid a damaging crisis.

That’s the conclusion of the Altimeter Group in its new report, Social Business Readiness. The report, released today, found that the incidence of crisis not only increased from 2005 to 2010, but that the number of crises covered by mainstream media doubled.

(I’ve posted a summary of the report, produced for For Immediate Release… Read More »

FIR Interview upcoming on Altimeter Group’s Social Business Readiness survey

Note: This is a cross-post from the For Immediate Release blog.

Your FIR co-hosts are planning an interview for next week with Altimeter Group‘s Jeremiah Owyang about the release of a new study, “Social Business Readiness.” The study was released today—the presentation is embedded at the end of this post. In preparation for the interview, we’re sharing some of the study’s highlights in this post. Let us know in comments here or in the FIR Friendfeed room if there are any questions you’d like us to ask Jeremiah.

Companies are at various stages of integrating social media into their business processes. (Interestingly, a third of the… Read More »

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