Once upon a time, customer contact was centralized around the switchboard, and the phone was the preferred method for communication between companies and customers. When it rang, you answered, because it was likely a customer or a potential customer on the other end of the line. Now, the calls are coming through online, via the social phone. – Radian6 CEO, Marcel Lebrun

Jay Baer and Amber Naslund are two thought-leaders in the new media space that I greatly respect. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Amber speak at Blogworld a few years ago and I’ve recently had the opportunity to speak to them both about their new book: “The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter and More Social” (affiliate link).

It’s a book about how everybody in your company is in marketing and everybody’s job is to be out there and be an asset to the community that you’re trying to serve. It’s not a book about how “to do” social media, but rather a book about how businesses can build brand awareness and improve customer support to be more responsive at the speed of now! Because ultimately…

How you respond to customer inquiries and business opportunities on the social web drives kinship, perception, loyalty, and revenue for your company.” – Jay Baer & Amber Naslund

I agree with that statement and it’s something that I experience every day in my role at Diverse Solutions. I also agree that success for companies lies in learning how to “be” social as a company, not learning how to “do” social (there’s a big difference between the two). And that’s exactly what this book is about…learning how to be social as a company. Jay and Amber have outlined 7 key shifts that businesses need to make in order to truly integrate social in a scalable, sustainable way:

• Engineer a New Bedrock – Strip away silos and steward culture change
• Find Talent You Can Trust – Hire and empower a new type of employee
• Organize Your Armies – Organize internal teams for maximum external impact
• Answer the New Telephone – Listen at the point of need
• Emphasize Response-Ability – Travel the Humanization Highway and respond effectively to customer inquiries
• Build a Fire Extinguisher – Plan for, find and manage real-time crisis
• Make a Calculator – Redesign success metrics in a business world that’s increasingly instantaneous

Riddled with case-studies and actionable steps, it’s a great read for any small business who’s interested in navigating the real-time web effectively for maximum impact.

Giveaway Contest:

I have an extra copy of “The NOW Revolution” (affiliate link) to give away. All you have to do is share your one best tip for how companies can begin to “be” more social to better engage with their customers and potential customers on the web. You can either

1. Tweet your response: Companies can be more social by _________________. – http://ow.ly/4ocgn cc: @Ribeezie -OR-
2. Leave a comment with your tip to enter.

You entry will only be counted once (one Tweet or comment per person). Entries will close on Friday, April 1st at 3:00pm PST.

Haven’t read it yet? Pick up a copy: