Effective use of social media

Before reading this post, watch this 3 minute video case study about Del Monte's use of social media in creating a new product.

I was very impressed by Del Monte's effective marketing strategies for this product development and launch. Here is what I see they did right:

1. They created a place that was attractive for their target audience and potential early adopters.
2. They asked questions about what mattered to their customers.
3. They LISTENED!
4. They immediately incorporated their customers' ideas and turned around a new product in 6 weeks that was well received by the market. That seems like amazing agility for a large company.

Several product development people could have spent months coming up with ideas for new products that may or may not have been what their customers were looking for. However, they used a social platform to actually talk to their audience. I'm sure that Del Monte's Return on Marketing Investment for creating the I Love My Dog site is off the chart, because they listened to what their customers had to say. And, I hope they are still listening for improvements or new product lines. If you create a place for your customers to talk as part of your marketing strategy, make sure you are listening to their conversations.