http://www.influxinsights.com/blog/ 2008-09-08T14:55:12Z http://www.influxinsights.com/blog/article/1867/the-death-of-the-faceless-corporation.html Social networks are now becoming corporate and if you are a company there's no hiding. <br><br>This trend means the people behind the company get to show themselves and interact with other human beings in the real world. <br><br>The idea of one-on-one interaction can happen. If you trust your employees you can let them out of their cages and cubicles and empower them to represent your brand in the real world. <br><br>They can solve problems, answer questions, entertain and inform.<br><br>They can become friends with customers and in short, they can be your pure brand ambassadors or the best ads you ever had. <br><br>Of course, this all depends on how brave you are.<br><br>It also depends on how much you value and believe in your employees.<br><br>If they are merely dispensable drones who you believe are stealing from you, you know only by their employee number and zip code, you may have some work to do.<br><br>Welcome to the death of the faceless corporation. <br><br>There is no nowhere to hide and if your people aren't out there interacting, you are missing a massive opportunity. <br><br>It appears that <span style="font-weight: bold;">Zappos</span> gets this idea big time. <br><br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/edcotton/2438855860/" title="Zappos and Twitter by ed100, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3123/2438855860_51833000ab.jpg" alt="Zappos and Twitter" height="382" width="500"></a><br><br>Who else is brave enough to follow its lead?<br><br><br>Posted by Ed Cotton Influx Insights 2008-04-24T14:51:10Z http://www.influxinsights.com/blog/article/1782/zappos--the-secret-is-customer-service.html <a target="_blank" href="http://www.zappos.com/">Zappos</a> is a brand that flies under the radar. <br><br>It's a brand that's been around for close to 10 years and has been building leadership in the somewhat unlikely area of online shoe sales. <br><br>The secret of its success appears to be due to the attention the company places on doing the simple things well, through a corporate culture dedicated to customer service excellence. <br><br>This is explained in a presentation from the company's CEO. <br><br><br><div style="width: 425px; text-align: left;" id="__ss_256107"><object style="margin: 0px;" height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=zappos-lessons-building-a-customerfocused-culture-1202364344232915-2"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=zappos-lessons-building-a-customerfocused-culture-1202364344232915-2" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="355" width="425"></object><div style="font-size: 11px; font-family: tahoma,arial; height: 26px; padding-top: 2px;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.slideshare.net/?src=embed"><img src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/logo_embd.png" style="border: 0px none ; margin-bottom: -5px;" alt="SlideShare"></a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.slideshare.net/Thor/zappos-lessons-building-a-customerfocused-culture?src=embed" title="View 'Zappos lessons: Building a Customer-Focused Culture' on SlideShare">View</a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.slideshare.net/upload?src=embed">Upload your own</a></div></div><br><br>Posted by Ed Cotton Influx Insights 2008-02-10T00:26:25Z