MGMT 550: Course Project - Business Proposal
Ask Not What You Can do For Facebook, But What Facebook Can do For You
Athena Costilow acostilow@gmail.com MGMT550: Managerial Communication
Instructor: Matthew Benner
02/17/2013

Ask Not What You Can do For Facebook, But What Facebook Can do For You

Executive Summary: The company, Stone Goose Company, is a gourmet chocolate company. Currently, the company does not employ a social media policy. This proposal will address two equally important parts of the new policy, the customer base and the employees. This policy will make sure that Stone Goose is ensuring the future of the company by using all avenues possible to reach the customers. The first section of this proposal will address the customers. It will discuss marketing, customer support, and customer conduct. The second section will address the employees. It will discuss use of social media during working hours, expected employee conduct, and disciplinary action when the policy is violated.
For the purpose of this proposal, social media is defined as “forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos).”
Customers
Before writing this proposal, Stone Goose Company surveyed the online customers, a database of approximately 1,000, and received 700 responses. The survey asked how many used social media, and the prevalent websites they used. Then the survey asked how many customers would like Stone Goose Company to develop social media for contact and customer support. The results are demonstrated in these three charts:

As evidenced in the chart above, an overwhelming majority of the customers, 87.3%, use some sort of social media. The following chart illustrates the social media platforms prevalently used:

As seen here, 10% of the customers use Facebook only, 5% use only Twitter, and 3% use Tumblr. Most interesting about this chart is how it shows the remaining 82% of customers actually use a combination of social media sites, which makes it very important Stone Goose Company address the policy to cover all bases. Lastly, the customers were asked if they would like Stone Goose to start using social media to provide them with an additional avenue of contacting the company:

A vast majority, 85%, believe the company should start using social media. They are eager to connect with the company on this new platform. While it is incredibly easy to set up a Facebook page or a Twitter account for Stone Goose Company, the biggest challenge is deciding what content should be posted. Some good questions to ask are: * How can I monitor all that's being said in the social media arena? * Are there comments that many people express? * Are they generating reactions from others? * Is it a negative concern you can address? * Is it a positive comment you can upsell?
In other words, what does Stone Goose Company want to accomplish with social media? Obviously, the company is always interested in increased revenue for the company, so how can social media be used to promote the company and product?
Marketing
The primary use of social media for Stone Goose Company should be marketing ourselves. There is a variety of ways this can be done. To generate interest, the company should make a point to have exclusive products only available to fans of the social media pages. Exclusive coupons and samples are the easiest ways to promote the company. A bank in Austin, Texas, PointBank, has actually started using social media as a rewards program. It is a small bank, just like Stone Goose Company is a small company. PointBank is launching a platform designed to increase interactions with customers and reward them with gift cards, based on points. Customers can also accumulate points when they share their experiences online. As part of the policy, Stone Goose Company should implement a program like this. Customers can post on the pages with their experiences. They could also accumulate points by a referral process. All social media has a way to share pictures and information. Facebook has the “share” button, Twitter allows “re-tweets”, Tumblr has “re-blogging”, and Pinterest has their “pins” and “re-pins”. All these sharing options allow people to show their friends products that have sparked their interest. Take Susie Q. Susie Q loves one flavor of the chocolate bars. She can use the social media pages to share that flavor with her friends. And when one of her friends orders from the website, Susie can get points and redeem them for a gift card or other reward. As mentioned in the previous presentation, by setting up a reward system, Stone Goose Company can start reaching even more potential customers by using the current customers.
Customer Support Social media gives Stone Goose Company a unique opportunity for customer support. By allowing us to connect with the customers, the company has the ability to address concerns and problems before they grow. And by doing it publically, Stone Goose Company ensures confidence in the brand because there is actual evidence of the problems being resolved and customer satisfaction. To make sure these situations are being handled correctly, Stone Goose Company will need to implement a monitoring process, or a quality assurance process. This team will score each engagement between agent and customer, just like the quality assurance department currently monitors the calls, to make sure the company is providing proper support. By measuring these efficiencies, Stone Goose Company can correct problems at the onset, and notice patterns that need to be addressed. The efficiencies used could include: * Response time - by channel (Facebook, Twitter, Blog) * Response rate - by team and advocate * Time to resolution - social media vs. contact center * Referral rate - NPS surveys * Total Impressions - for each response * Customer retention rate - How many saved relationships? * Purchase rate - How many customers made a purchase as a result?
Stone Goose company can use and calibrate these results to increase the customer service ratings, and polish the image and brand name. Customers will always have complaints. The way Stone Goose Company uses social media to address those complaints will be how the company retains those customers, and will earn referrals to other customers, thereby increasing the revenue.
Customer Conduct Another important aspect of the policy should address customer conduct. The company should be presented in the best light possible. While that does not mean there will not be negative comments, the company should strive to make the customers understand that the page should not be used as a venting forum. Spam is a part of the online world, and those posts should be deleted. Posts with excessive cursing or “flaming” should also be curbed, or deleted. Stone Goose Company’s use of social media is to promote the company, therefore certain behavior should be discouraged, in order to make visiting the platforms enjoyable. Stone Goose should also want their employees to promote us in the use of social media. The next section discusses employees and what Stone Goose Company expects from them and their uses of social media.
Employees:
Surveys were sent to the employees at the same time as the customers, asking how many of the employees use social media, which platforms they used, whether they were on these platforms during working hours, and how they accessed those platforms, whether by their work computer, or on another device (for example, smartphones or tablets). Stone Goose does not have a social media policy outright banning use of social media at work, but to avoid the fear of reprisal, the results were made anonymous. It has been noticed that many of the employees here do enjoy using social media, therefore the company needs to have guidelines in place to make sure the employees are promoting themselves and Stone Goose Company in a positive way. Out of 200 employees, 65% responded, and their results were tabulated. The first question asked how many of the employees used social media:

As with the customers, a vast majority, 90%, of the employees use social media. This is as expected, since social media is so prevalent in the society. The next chart is shows the results of the next question, what platforms of social media did the employees use?

Again, there is a great deal of similarity the survey results from the customers. Very few of Stone Goose Company’s employees only use one social media website. Instead, they use a combination of all of the platforms. Therefore, the policy should address this use of multiple platforms, to protect both them and Stone Goose Company. The next chart illustrates how many of Stone Goose Company employees use or at least access social media during working hours. “Working hours” was defined as the time at the company, between start and end of shift. Lunch and breaks were not considered “working hours”, and specified as such on the survey.

As illustrated, the chart is one solid color. 100% of the employee results indicated they used or accessed social media sometime during working hours. The last chart gives us an idea of how many of the employees are using their work computers to access these platforms, or other devices. There were options for smartphones (iPhone), tablets (iPad, Kindle Fire), or any other device used to access the internet (personal laptops, for example). The employees selected which device they primarily used to access social media during their working hours.

75% of Stone Goose Company’s employees use their work computer to access social media platforms. 10% use their smartphones, and the remaining 10% is split between tablets and other devices (such as laptops). This use of Stone Goose Company’s equipment to access social media illustrates how important it is for the company to implement this social media policy. Stone Goose needs to make sure the employees are representing us correctly, especially once the social accounts are launched. Three vital points that should be included in the policy involving the employees are use of social media during working hours, expected employee conduct, and disciplinary action when the policy is violated. Use of social media during working hours Employees of Stone Goose Company should attempt to limit their use of social media during working hours or on equipment provided by Stone Goose Company. The employees are here to do their job for Stone Goose Company, and it is encouraged they limit their personal calls while at work. By the same regard, unless it is for the benefit of the company (responding to customers, for example), platforms such as Facebook and Twitter should not be used at work. Also, using work computers to access personal social media should be prohibited. While the current network policy does not have a block on social media, once this policy is implemented, the policy should be amended to only allow access either on a time basis (for example, 30 minutes), or for certain users, constant access. However, the employees should be encouraged to limit their personal use. It is tempting during the downtime to check Facebook, or follow up on new “tweets”, but the employees should not be spending more time on the social media platforms instead of their jobs. There are public computers in the break room, and most of the employees do have some sort of phone or tablet to access the internet on their breaks, not during working hours. Employees should also not be using their work email addresses to register on social media websites for personal use. By using their work emails, they act as representatives of Stone Goose Company, and since employees are not authorized to speak on the behalf of Stone Goose Company without explicit permission, by using work email addresses, they are representing themselves as a spokesperson for Stone Goose Company. Expected employee conduct The conduct Stone Goose Company should expect should apply to all levels of employment, from the “front line” to upper management. This point is not just addressed to how employees should conduct themselves, but also how the management should conduct themselves in regard to their employees, and any personal information discovered on social media that does not reflect upon an employee’s ability to do their job. There should be a clear line between “personal” and “professional”. It is unlawful for managers to inquire in the workplace about certain professional information discovered on social media sites. Supervisors and management also have to be careful about who they “friend” or “follow” on the websites. If it is discovered that a manager is friending subordinates in a discriminatory fashion (for example, only members of one ethnic group), there is the impression of at least unfairness, at worst, racism. Therefore, Stone Goose Company should encourage supervisors and management to avoid friending or following subordinates who are in their direct line of supervision. For example, Supervisor A has seven members on his team. While Supervisor A is in the direct line of supervision for those seven employees, he should avoid interacting with them on social media websites, to prevent any sort of accusation of improper conduct. The employees should also be conducting themselves appropriately when engaging in the use of social media. There will be employees who will be interacting directly with customers, and will be acting as representatives of the company. Employees should act appropriately online. They should not be posting confidential information, and should respect financial disclosure law that prohibits posting of information such as stock prices. Their behavior online should be consistent with Stone Goose Company’s policies and practices with respect to ethics, confidential behavior, discrimination, and harassment. They should not post anything that could be construed as derogatory, discriminating, or stereotypical. Nor should they threaten, intimidate, harass, insult, slander, or defame. In other words, Stone Goose Company expects certain behavior from employees while offline in the pursuit of their duties. These expectations will translate to online. Employees should behave appropriately as agents of Stone Goose Company whether on phone, in the stores, or on social media websites. Not complying with this policy and these expectations will result in disciplinary action. Stone Goose Company also owns any social media that is opened in its name. If an employee leaves, any passwords, information, or accounting should be returned to Stone Goose Company at the end of employment. Stone Goose Company employees are also legally liable for their actions and writings while online, and should behave accordingly. Disciplinary action when the policy is violated Employees should expect Stone Goose Company to monitor online activity to guarantee the policies are being followed. As a result, Stone Goose Company reserves the right to take appropriate action in regards to inappropriate or unlawful postings. One important thing to remember is in monitoring social media, Stone Goose Company will not in any way interfere with any employee rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. Section 7 of the NLRA is the principal source of legal protection for employees who engage in workplace protests. The provision recognizes the right of employees to join and bargain collectively through a union; it further guarantees that employees may engage in strikes, picketing and other “concentrated activities” free from employer retaliation or restraint. If the employees are using social media for protests, or other “concentrated activities”, they are protected under Section 7. Stone Goose’s monitoring will only address inappropriate behavior in regards to Stone Goose Company’s direct policies and actions. Management and supervisors should also be careful of the aftermath of reported complaints, to reduce risk of retaliation from the reporter. Management should make sure to follow up with the person who has submitted the violation to make sure the situation is under control, and take immediate intervention if necessary. Stone Goose Company will prohibit any negative action taken against an employee who reports a possible violation of this policy or cooperating in an investigation with respect to a violation. Any employee who violates this policy, or takes retaliation against an employee for reporting a possible deviation will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. Disciplinary action should follow the policies already in place at Stone Goose Company. Currently, Stone Goose Company employs a multiple-step disciplinary process, listed as follows: * First infraction - the violator should be coached by their supervisor. * Second infraction - coaching should occur on both supervisory and management level. * Third infraction - a written warning, placed in the employee’s file.
If an employee accumulates three written warnings in their file, any subsequent infraction will result in termination, and any information such as accounts, logins, and email addresses that legally belong to Stone Goose Company must be returned to Stone Goose Company at time of termination. Summary When implementing a social media policy, Stone Goose Company must not only address the consumers and customers of the company, but also the employees. Due to the widespread use of social media in by both customers and employees, Stone Goose Company must strive to make sure the company is protected while polishing and developing the brand name and company image. Both customers and employees should be encouraged to act appropriately, to present themselves and Stone Goose Company in a positive light. Customers should be encouraged to engage with the company directly so issues and problems may be resolved, and employees should be encouraged to interact with customers in promoting Stone Goose Company and its products. This will work as marketing to increase revenue, by connecting with new potential customers and securing the growth and future of Stone Goose Company. These expectations will also protect Stone Goose Company from legal liability as occurring from actions of an employee, by preventing an employee from acting as an agent or spokesperson of Stone Goose Company without explicit permission and monitoring. With the implementation of this policy, Stone Goose Company will secure the future of the company and its products, leading to a more secure financial future.

References:

Anonymous. Reduce risk of retaliation claims with process for solid complaint follow-up. (2012). Legal Alert for Supervisors, 8(183), 3.

Barron, D. L. (2012). Social Media: Frontier for Employee Disputes. Baseline, (114), 14.

Crowe, P. (2012). 5 Questions to Ask About Social Media Customer Support. Multichannel Merchant Exclusive Insight, 1.

Fischl, R.M., (1989). Self, Others, and Section 7: Mutualism and Protected Protest Activities under the National Labor Relations Act. Columbia Law Review. 89 (4), pp.789-865

Habinsky, J. (2013). Social Media Policy Guide. [ONLINE] Available at: http://img.en25.com/Web/XpertHRUS/FC0024_XHR_201210.pdf?elq=7e00f35426914a6f8801f11ce408367c. [Last Accessed 02/16/2013].

Merriam Webster (2013). Definition of "social media". [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20media. [Last Accessed 02/16/2013].

Stewart, J. (2012). Bank Uses Social Media Rewards to Boost Revenue. American Banker, 177(1), 7.

UrbanDictionary.com (2013). Definition of "flaming". [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=flaming. [Last Accessed 02/16/2013].

Ziskie, L. (2012). 4 Tips to Launch a Social Media Customer Service Program in Your Contact Center. Multichannel Merchant Exclusive Insight, 1.

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[ 1 ]. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Definition of Social Media
[ 2 ]. Phillip Crowe, 5 Questions to Ask About Social Media Customer Support
[ 3 ]. Jackie Stewart, PointBank to Offer Social Media Rewards
[ 4 ]. Lauren Ziskie’s 4 Tips to Launch a Social Media Customer Service Program in Your Contact Center.
[ 5 ]. UrbanDictionary.com: flaming - An online argument that becomes nasty or derisive, where insulting a party to the discussion takes precedence over the objective merits of one side or another
[ 6 ]. Jason Habinsky, Social Media Policy Guide
[ 7 ]. Twitter posts
[ 8 ]. Jason Habinsky, Social Media Policy Guide
[ 9 ]. David L. Barron, Social Media: Frontier for Employee Disputes
[ 10 ]. Jason Habinsky, Social Media Policy Guide
[ 11 ]. Jason Habinsky, Social Media Policy Guide
[ 12 ]. Richard Michael Fischl, Self, Others, and Section 7: Mutualism and Protected Protest Activities Under the National Labor Relations Act
[ 13 ]. Anonymous, Reduce risk of retaliation claims with process for solid complaint follow-up
[ 14 ]. Jason Habinsky, Social Media Policy Guide