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A Five-Step Plan for Running Customer-to-Business (C2B)
Esteban Kolsky
Principal and Founder, ThinkJar

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
With the advent of the Social Web, communications patterns between businesses and their customers have undergone a fundamental shift. The old world order—an “inside out” model of information flow from corporation tocustomer—is quickly being replaced by an “outside in” model where customers are in control and are communicating among each other faster than businesses can communicate internally. Across a variety of business functions, people have changed existing business processes and even created a few new ones because of social media. The affected functions include public relations, customer service, marketing andadvertising, market research, product innovation, and sales. These changes have spawned individual initiatives delivering significant benefits to people in those business functions. However, a new operating model is emerging that promises to reshape the playing field: customer-to-business (C2B). C2B is about: • Assimilating information in a systematic way about customers and markets from the outsidein • Operationalizing that information enterprise-wide so that everyone can take action from the same set of data and engage with customers in the most effective way • Partnering with customers and giving them a say in how business gets done The results are faster innovation, greater business agility, and significant competitive advantage. As I prepared to write this paper, I talked topractitioners from the largest brands in the world, consultants working with them, and vendors servicing their needs. Interviewees included Coca-Cola, Daymon Worldwide, HP, Kraft Foods Company, Taco Bell Corp., and others. Unfortunately, the legal departments for these brands don’t allow me to refer to them by name, but I will try to convey their stories in the best way possible. Universally, these thoughtleaders believe that the velocity, volume, validity, and value of the social voice makes it almost unthinkable not to progress down the C2B path. Studying their insights and collective lessons learned led me to formulate five steps that organizations need to take in order to operationalize social media and integrate C2B into their corporate DNA. 1. Establish clear ownership and governance 2.Cross-pollinate as quickly as possible across business functions, and bring in key corporate functions such as business intelligence 3. Create a single source of social media truth 4. Build a social media P&L and use it to manage your business 5. Engage with your customers to co-create and co-market virally

A Five-Step Plan for Running Customer-to-Business (C2B)

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The Big Shift
The Social Webhas created a fundamental shift in how consumers and business buyers develop their attitudes and perceptions about products, services, companies, and brands. The old world order—an “inside out” model of information flow from corporation to customer—is quickly being replaced by an “outside in” model where customers are in control and are communicating among each other faster than businesses cancommunicate internally.

The “Inside Out” Model Was Quite Simple
In the past, interactions between customers and organizations were quite simple: organizations talked to customers when they wanted to communicate a point about their products. The message was controlled and presented under managed conditions through a limited number of channels: advertising, public relations, direct marketing,retail outlets, and direct sales. Responses were planned and followed per design. In other words, when the organization had something to say, it said it and made sure it was heard. For years we managed interactions between customers and organizations this way with some degree of success: actions that were forecast and planned for before the interaction was created were tracked, measured, and...