SMB Seattle Kicks Off the New Year with an Ant’s Eye View of Influencer Engagement

Brand management is dead. In the new age of brand promise management, companies have to do more than just listen to customer feedback; they have to operationalize it in the development of new products, features and services. That was the compelling message of Ant’s Eye View co-founder and CEO Sean O’Driscoll (@seanodmvp) to the Social Media Breakfast Seattle audience on January 19^th.

The sold-out event, sponsored and hosted by Real Networks, attracted more than 100 attendees, nearly double the attendance of the first SMB Seattle breakfast in December. An additional 80 people followed the presentation online via the SMB Seattle live stream.

O’Driscoll’s lively presentation focused on how companies can create brand defenders, the people who not only have an affinity for a brand but are willing to stand up for it. According to O’Driscoll, the most passionate advocates are those who believe they played a direct role in the creation of specific products. When they see their suggestions and feedback embodied in products and services, they’re far more likely to engage with others in promoting the brand.

“If you’re brilliant at listening to customer feedback but you never close the loop and tell them what you’ve changed, you’ve completely missed it,” said O’Driscoll.

If you’d like to watch the full presentation, you can find it here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/4087827

Sean’s slides are available via Slideshare at: http://www.slideshare.net/seanodmvp/smb-seattle-antseyeview

Photos of the event can be found on the SMB Seattle Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smbseattle