Enhancing Customer Response: Social Media Strategy

1. Proposed change in regards to social media based customer response. Learning Team D Alicia Corona, Candace Hall, Stephanie Servi, and Nathan Stoelk AET/560 September 11, 2017 University of Phoenix

2. Proposed Organizational Change Scenario • 2 years of poor customer reviews • Tech savvy consultants initiate change • Create a social media response team to enhance customer satisfaction

3. Brief History and Synopsis • Changes to Sears retail stores • Closing of 8 Sears and 35 Kmart unprofitable stores • Opening of smaller, concept stores

4. Kotter’s Theory • Create a sense of urgency (Spector, B. (2013)) • SEARS stores are closing and online sales are declining due to poor customer reviews • Example: Can lead to employee downsizing • Build a guiding coalition • Store closures and declining sales can negatively impact surrounding economy and employee wellbeing if lay-offs are necessary • Form a strategic vision • Raise employee confidence with training • Promote positive customer engagement • Enlist a volunteer army • Example of SEARS volunteer army duties or benefits…

5. Kotter’s Theory Part II • Enable action by removing barriers • Too comfortable in old ways • Lacking provisions and training • Allow for short term wins • Completed training modules perks • Positive customer response recognition • Sustain acceleration • Continuous improvement monitoring • Institute change • Encouraged for improvement

6. Kurt Lewin’s three-stage model of change: • Unfreeze Crisis: SEARS stores are closing and online sales are declining. • Change Improve Customer Service Quality with training and extensive monitoring Minimize Response Time with additional staff and improved guidelines Redesign online store and implement Social Media campaign to promote incentives • Refreeze Reward good customer service Team-oriented environment Use of social media in the workplace

7. Overcoming Resistance • Involve employees in research • Share what is known about SEARS closures and unsuccessful on-line presence • Inform and educate • Explain the proposed change (creating online response teams and possible concept store) and why • Encourage feedback • Listen to conflict within the different levels of SEARS staff • SEARS employees can provide feedback via a “suggestion box” or “employee suggestion email address” • Equip with the necessary tools for an effective change • Training courses on Good Customer Service and Email/Online Etiquette

8. Strategies to Create Commitment • Focusing on aninclusive change process: • Creating task forces consisting of various SEARS staff levels and departments to achieve mutual engagement • Discuss the challenges and issues with current store closings and declining online sales • Task alignment to redefine roles, relationships, and responsibilities • Create mutual goals and expectations • Create a slogan

9. Use of teams during the change process  Develop teams of SEARS stakeholders • Upper Management & Investors • Employees and suppliers • Customers and community • Give firm milestone deadlines • Challenging, obtainable • Measurable Provide motivation and guidance • Training Stress the importance of team work • -Team building events

10. Different types of motivation • Intrinsic motivation: • Where people are motivated without any kind of rewards system. • Extrinsic motivation: • Where people are motivated with a rewards system. • A leader should do their best to lead in a way where people will intrinsically follow them. • A leader should accept the fact that in most places, extrinsic motivation is necessary. • A good leader • understand that a successful workplace will have intrinsic and an extrinsic rewards system.

11. Extrinsic Rewards from within • There is one particular way that Extrinsic rewards can work from within the company: • SEARS managers can offer promotion from within. • By being promoted, the SEARS employee may feel a sense of pride and loyalty towards the company. • The employee will also feel a certain sense of pride when they get a raise. • This method is the best way to go if possible.

12. Extrinsic rewards from without • There are several other ways SEARS executives can provide an extrinsic reward without a promotion: • SEARS managers can offer a raise to those who are following the change. • By doing this, it will give the worker pride along with a financial award. • Managers can also offer a one time stipend if a raise is not possible. • This will encourage competition within the company and produce better results.

13. Use of shared diagnosis in the change process • Redesign roles, responsibilities, and relationships • - Realign job tasks based on talent • Changes behaviors • - Promote a positive and productive environment • - Encourage open dialogue • Align behaviors • - Retain employees in positions where they are most effective

14. Survey of Change The first step is to create a goal for the change. • Challenging and obtainable • Proposed solution to current issue • The goal must be measurable. • Data collection tools • The goal must be something that can be collected with data. - Measurable and obtainable

15. Measurement The data must be collected and measured. • Collection of data through sales projections and surveys • Are Sears customers receiving feedback on their concerns faster • Have customer responses increased in feedback Must inform the leadership team whether progress is being made or not. • Are the changes producing desired outcomes The leadership team must make the results known to all employees. • Team motivation meetings • Data sharing meetings for notification

16. Motivation • By making visual representation of data, motivation is built. • Leadership can see and feel good about the positive change they are making with the company. • Employees can see where they are making a change and they can feel good about the company. • Employees who are not on board with the change and making progress should be removed.

17. After-action Reviews • After-action reviews provide an opportunity for timely and focused mutual engagement that can lead to quick corrections (Spector, 2009). • Daily reviews of online survey submissions. • Customer Satisfaction Surveys available after online purchases • Random customer satisfaction surveys for new Website visits and registrations • Daily monitoring of Social Media tags and Yelp reviews. • Review trends and hot-topic issues • Prompt responses and resolutions for negative updates or tags on various social media sites (Yelp, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

18. Monitoring Continuous Improvement at SEARS: • Weekly reviews of online trends and customer popular items • Information can be used to determine upcoming sales and hot-pick items • Weekly reviews of Social Media response. • Monitoring followers and likes can provide feedback of change success or acceptance among customers.

19. Conclusion • Initiate tech savvy team to heighten customer satisfaction • Refer to Kotter and Lewin’s Model for change implementation • Monitor change progress • Maintain levels of satisfaction and continuous improvement

20. References Author unknown (2017). Kotter International: 8 Step Process retrieved from https://www.kotterinternational.com/8-steps-process-for- leading-change/. Cawsey, T.F., Deszca, G., & Ingols, C. (2016).  Organizational Change:  An Action-Oriented Toolkit (3rd ed.).  Retrieved from VitalSource bookshelf. Lampert, E. (July 7, 2017). Sears Holdings: Transformation Update. Retrieved from http://blog.searsholdings.com/eddie- lampert/transformation-update/ Peterson, Hayley. 2017. Business Insider: Sears is closing 43 more stores. http://www.businessinsider.com/sears-is-closing-more-stores-2017-7 Sears Holding Corporation (n.d.). Retrieved from http://jobs.sears.com/why-choose-us/history/