A Lesson in Customer Engagement from Shawshank Prison

By Matthew Lees

One night while I was researching and writing a recent report on best practices in crowdsourcing, “The Shawshank Redemption” happened to be on TV. So I watched a bit of it for the umpteenth time. One scene jumped out as particularly relevant to what I was working on. I couldn’t find a way to weave it into the report, but it’s been on my mind ever since.

About halfway through the movie, the protagonist Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) ends up managing the library at Shawshank State Prison. In search of newer materials for his fellow convicts to read, he writes letters, interestingly enough at the warden’s suggestion, to the Maine State Senate. One letter a week. Every week. For years.

Eventually — actually, six years later! — he wears them down. Tired of his never-ending solicitations, the Senate sends him a check for $200. (The film takes place in 1947, so $200 was a tidy sum.) The library district also sends him boxes of books and magazines, along with a note saying they now consider the matter closed, so please, stop writing!

Success!

Surely our protagonist is pleased with the outcome. Well, he is…but he realizes that his persistence has paid off. So, with a twinkle in his eye, he says to a friend “From now on, I send two letters a week instead of one.”

I love that line.

Nothing succeeds like success, and the Main Senate and library district made Dufresne successful in his letter-writing campaign. (I’m admittedly focusing on this nice little moment in the movie, ignoring the harsh reality and horrid conditions under which Dufresne lives, although he does meet with success again later in the film.)

What did the Maine Senate do to deserve the increased volume of letters from the Shawshank librarian?

They listened and they took action.

Isn’t that what your customers (and business partners and employees) are looking for from you?

Crowdsourcing programs aren’t the solution to every problem, but they can be a great way to help you listen to your customers, and help them tee up their most important ideas, wishes, and requirements, so you can take action. For such programs to work, you need to engage people who not only have good ideas, but also the perseverance and determination to make things happen. If you’re running a crowdsourcing program (or managing an online community) your biggest wish should be to find and involve as many people as you can who have these characteristics in common with Andy Dufresne.

Like Dufresne, when people see how their actions generate positive results, they tend to repeat those actions. We hope your customers don’t need to be as determined as he was — your crowdsourcing efforts should see results in time frames closer to six weeks or six months than six years — but showing them how their input is making things better for your business, and, in turn, for them, too, should lead to both increased participation and a more effective and profitable business.

At least…I hope.

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What’s Happening

Impact Interactions president Mike Rowland to present “Moving Beyond Counts and Traffic – Social Media Measurement That Works” at iStrategy meeting in Chicago, September 16

 What is the value of a follower on Twitter or a fan on Facebook? What about a Community member? Too often marketers use traffic metrics or counts of followers as a proxy for value. In his presentation, Social Media expert Mike Rowland will focus on providing a clearer methodology for using and understanding social media to drive business objectives. The link to iStrategy’s Chicago Meeting can be found here.

Impact Interactions and Cisco launch Community Hall of Fame to recognize top members

Our team has been helping Cisco with the Cisco Support Community (CSC) since its initial creation as the Networking Professionals (NetPro) Community in 2000. Over the past ten years, the value provided to Cisco by its community members has been significant. To recognize the top members and employee contributors, Impact Interactions and the CSC Management team designed and launched the CSC Hall of Fame. Recognition and “MVP” style programs are an effective tactic to engage and retain members. To learn more about how a program like this can support your efforts, please contact us.

Impact Interactions presents B2B Social Media Workshops for Partner Channel Marketing in Europe

Following our successful presentation and exhibit at London’s Internet World, the Impact Interactions team is now engaged in delivering several social media workshops on using B2B Social Media to support channel partners and value added resellers (VARs) lead generation efforts. With workshops taking place in Paris, Munich, and Milan our team will work with over 40 organizations engaged in the technology consulting and implementation industry across Europe. Key concepts covered include the top of funnel build out using social media to extend the reach, nurturing leads using social media and communities, and the best practices in measuring and reporting on social media efforts in conjunction with traditional marketing programs.

Impact Interactions and PDAgroup of Austria Partner to Bring World Class Social Media Services to Companies in Europe.

We are pleased to announce a new partnership with PDAgroup to serve our joint European clients. PDAgroup of Innsbruck Austria and Impact Interactions will provide a complete range of services including consulting, moderation, reporting, and social media monitoring for large organizations across Europe. To read more about this exciting new venture, please read our press release. 

Impact Interactions to exhibit and present “B2B Social Media Strategies That Work” at the Internet World 2010 London

Members of the Impact Interactions team will be hosting a conference exhibit at the Internet World 2010 show in London from April 27 to 29. We’ll have our latest whitepapers and social media briefs on using social media and online communities to drive business results. Additionally, our president Mike Rowland will deliver several presentations during the event showcasing Impact Interactions’ experience with global B2B social media projects. The client team from SAP’s partner channel in EMEA working on the Best Performance Challenge will join Mike to demonstrate how social media can enhance partner enablement, lead generation, and sales in a highly competitive industry.

We look forward to seeing you there. You can find us at exhibit area 7067, next to the Social Media Theater. Please stop by and meet our team.

Impact Interactions in the News

Our president, Mike Rowland was featured on Business.com’s Smart Business Results Blog.

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