Track: Social



The Science of Relationship
      Michael Wu, PhD (mich8elwu)
     Principal Scientist of Analytics @ Lithium

                April 24th, 2012
agenda
▪ Introduction: CRM data
▪ Development and maintenance of relationship
  • Anthropology: complementarity between social network and community

▪ Interpersonal relationship and the Dunbar limit
  • Sociology: the attention economy

▪ Customers relationship (with brands)
  • Application: dealing with the Facebook irony

▪ Future work
                                                                     twitter: mich8elwu
         #scon12                                          linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD
what’s  the  “R”  in  social  CRM
▪ What data do CRM system store?
  • Contact record
    •   email, phone, address
    •   twitter, facebook, linkedin?
  • Transaction record
    •   purchase/sales history
    •   order/fulfillment data
  • Support record
    •   support case history
    •   service delivery data

▪ Where’s  the  “r”elationship data in CRM system?

             #scon12
                                                                   twitter: mich8elwu
                                                        linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    3
Today’s  CRM  system


              “R”  ≈  record
             ≠  relationship



#scon12                      twitter: mich8elwu
                  linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    4
where do we find relationship data?
▪ On social media
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin

▪ It’s  a  huge  
  ecosystem of
  tools+services
▪ There are too
  many places to
  look!


          #scon12
                                                    twitter: mich8elwu
                                         linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    5
where do we find relationship data?
▪ On social media
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin

▪ It’s  a  huge  
  ecosystem of
  tools+services
▪ There are too
  many places to
  look!


          #scon12
                                                    twitter: mich8elwu
                                         linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    5
Social is not new!


          Human have been
          social since they
          were caveman


#scon12                      twitter: mich8elwu
                  linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    6
Social anthropology
          perspective of social


          Tech  relationship
          1. Social network
          2. Community

#scon12                       twitter: mich8elwu
                   linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    7
Social anthropology
          perspective of social


          Tech  relationship
          1. Social network
          2. Community

#scon12                       twitter: mich8elwu
                   linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    7
how do social networks form?

A  story  of  how  Bob’s  social          Emeryville
   network was built                        = community

                                                  weak ties
   Bob                                            strong ties
                                              old members
                                              new / casual
                                              members



          #scon12
                                                          twitter: mich8elwu
                                               linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    8
how do social networks form?

                              Emeryville
college                         = community
                                Social networks form
                                naturally within
                                communities as people
                                establishes relationships

                                Social network
                                maintains relationships
                                as people move
           work                 between communities

          #scon12
                                               twitter: mich8elwu
                                    linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    9
what do real social network data look like?




#scon12
                                         twitter: mich8elwu
                              linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    10
communities vs. social networks (on/offline)
▪ Social Network                       ▪ Community
  • Held together by pre-existing       • Held together by some common
   interpersonal relationships           interests of a large group of
   between individuals                   people

  • You know everyone in your           • Most people, especially new
   network (ego-network), people         members, do not know majority of
   who are connected to you directly     the members in the community

  • Each person has only one social     • Any one person may be part of
   network, despite there are many       many communities at any given
   social network platforms              time

  • Structure: Network                  • Structure: Hierarchical,
                                         overlapping & nested

         #scon12
                                                                   twitter: mich8elwu
                                                        linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    11
communities vs. social networks (on/offline)
▪ Social Networks        ▪ Community




       #scon12
                                                  twitter: mich8elwu
                                       linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    12
lifecycle of relationships
               disconnected                           Easy!
       do
                              1. creating        All it takes is
something                        a weak tie       an  “hello”
     bad

                 weak tie
                              2. building
       do                        tie strength
  nothing

                 strong tie   3. maintaining
                                 relationship

            #scon12
                                                           twitter: mich8elwu
                                                linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    13
But what is
          relationship?



#scon12                      twitter: mich8elwu
                  linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    14
the components of a relationship
▪ Relationship: sociology perspective
  • A tie or a connection between two entities (e.g.
      people, companies, cities, or even nations)
  •   Tie strength = strength of the relationship

▪ Granovetter: components of tie strength
  • Time: amount of time spent together
  • Intensity: emotional intensity & sense of closeness
  • Trust: intimacy or mutual confiding (transparency)
  • Reciprocity: amount of reciprocal services

▪ Strong relationships requires more time & attention
            #scon12
                                                                     twitter: mich8elwu
                                                          linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    15
the attention economy
▪ We only have 24 hours a
 day
▪ We only have fixed amount
 of attention


▪ How many meaningful
 relationship can we have?


                                                     via nielsen

       #scon12
                                                 twitter: mich8elwu
                                      linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    16
~150: the Dunbar number (or Dunbar limit)
▪ Prof. Robin Dunbar found a
 relationship between brain
 size of primate species and
 their group size                 148


▪ Extrapolate data from 38
 primate species to human
 neocortex ratio  Dunbar
 number = 148 (~150)
▪ Verified by surveying pre-   we know the human neocortical ratio

 industrial villages/tribes
        #scon12
                                                     twitter: mich8elwu
                                          linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    17
does Dunbar limit still applies in modern society?
▪ Order our relationship from                   wife
                                                   children
 the strongest (immediate                             parents
 family) to the weakest
 (acquaintance)                                        siblings




                                 tie strength
▪ This creates a relationship                             close friends
 profiles for each person
                                                                      acquaintance
▪ In pre-industrial villages &
 tribes, people only know                                 …………
 ~150 people on average                                 16                 ~150
                                                     # of relationships


        #scon12
                                                                       twitter: mich8elwu
                                                            linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    18
does Dunbar limit still applies in modern society?
▪ Dunbar’s  limit  may  not                             wife
                                                           children
  apply in modern society b/c                                 parents
  • necessity for social cohesion is
      substantially lower
  •   communication (an important part                         siblings




                                         tie strength
      of socializing) is much more                                close friends
      efficient

                                                                              acquaintance
▪ But our brain  hasn’t                                           …………
  changed for millennia…
                                                                16                 ~150
                                                             # of relationships


           #scon12
                                                                               twitter: mich8elwu
                                                                    linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    19
we can have more than 150 friends




                             if have fewer strong ties
tie strength




                                                attention shift from
                                                stronger ties to weaker ties



               strong ties            ~150                                     weak ties
                                      # of relationships


                      #scon12
                                                                                 twitter: mich8elwu
                                                                      linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    20
we can have more than 150 friends

                                   We can shift our time/attention around, but the total
                                   amount of time/attention remain roughly the same

                        if have weaker strong ties
                                     area under the                      area under the
tie strength




                                yellow relationship profile    =     blue relationship profile
                                                    attention shift from
                                                    stronger ties to weaker ties




               strong ties                ~150                                    weak ties
                                          # of relationships


                      #scon12
                                                                                       twitter: mich8elwu
                                                                            linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    21
What about the
                           relationship between
                           customers & brands?

   customer relationship < personal relationship
       (with brands)          (with people)
                  always weaker
#scon12                                       twitter: mich8elwu
                                   linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    22
the Facebook irony
▪ Facebook contains a lot of our strong ties
  • By definition, these stronger ties will demand more attention, and will win more
      of your limited time/attention

▪ Irony:  because  Facebook  is  “too good”  at  maintaining  our  
 strong ties, it created problems for itself:
  • In the presence of strong ties, weaker ties
      are harder to develop into strong ones          but  it’s  too  fast  for  your  dog
  •   If you already have strong relationship with
      your customers. Great! maintain them
      with Facebook is the way to go
  •   Otherwise, the strong ties on Facebook will
      hinder the development of weak ties

            #scon12
                                                                           twitter: mich8elwu
                                                                linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    23
How can brands
          build stronger
          relationships with
          their customers?



#scon12                       twitter: mich8elwu
                   linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    24
component #1: time
▪ “time”  =  time  spent  together               desire = mutual
  ≠  duration  of  relationship
▪ “time”  increases  tie  strength                      trust
  if the desires to spend time
  together is mutual                   time
                                                  LOVE
                                                                    reciprocity



                                                 intensity




         #scon12
                                                                 twitter: mich8elwu
                                                      linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    25
component #1: time
▪ “time”  =  time  spent  together               desire = non-mutual
  ≠  duration  of  relationship
▪ “time”  increases  tie  strength                      trust
  if the desires to spend time
  together is mutual                   time

▪ Key: know when your                                               reciprocity

  customers want to spend
  time with you, and be there                    intensity
                                                   HATE
  for them


         #scon12
                                                                 twitter: mich8elwu
                                                      linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    26
component #2: intensity
▪ Customers’  intensity  for  
  brands is much lower than
  their intensity for friends
                                                     trust
▪ It is genetic! We have no
  control over it
                                       time
▪ Tactic: appeal to greater                                      reciprocity
  causes that customers
  have strong emotions for
                                              intensity
▪ Key:  don’t  try  too  hard  on  
  this component

          #scon12
                                                              twitter: mich8elwu
                                                   linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    27
component #3: trust
▪ Transparency creates an
 environment  that’s  more  
 conducive for building trust
                                                     trust
▪ 2 types of transparency
  • brand–customer                  time
   •   blog, twitter, etc
                                                                 reciprocity
  • customer–customer
   •   community discussion forum

                                              intensity




            #scon12
                                                              twitter: mich8elwu
                                                   linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    28
component #3: trust
▪ People trust themselves, so                                      trust
 they tend to trust brands
 that co-create with them
▪ 2 types of co-creation
  • passive: listening + collect customer input   time
  • active: crowdsourced ideation + filtering                                  reciprocity

▪ Key:
  1. Create transparent & authentic                         intensity
       communication channels to
       customers & among customers
  2.   Co-create with your customers

           #scon12
                                                                            twitter: mich8elwu
                                                                 linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    29
component #4: reciprocity
▪ Reciprocity = 2 way
  reciprocal services
▪ Customer              Brands                             trust
  • Make it easy for them to help other
      customers of yours
  •   Reward them properly and serve         time
      right
                                                                       reciprocity
▪ Create a sustainable cycle
  of reciprocity by co-creation
                                                    intensity
▪ Key:  don’t  forget  to  let  your  
  customer help you

           #scon12
                                                                    twitter: mich8elwu
                                                         linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    30
building customer relationship
▪ Customer community
  • Opt-in:  it’s  there  when  the  
      customers want it
  •   May have a great cause                                 trust
  •   Transparent channel
  •   Platform for co-creation
                                               time
  •   Enables reciprocity
                                                                         reciprocity
▪ Customer relationship are
 build the same way as                                intensity
 inter-personal relationships,
 in a community

            #scon12
                                                                      twitter: mich8elwu
                                                           linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    31
Now we know how
          relationships are built,
          can we measure it?




#scon12                        twitter: mich8elwu
                    linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    32
not yet, but each pillar is ~quantifiable~



                                                        how transparent is your
                       how deep are the                                         at what rate are
how much time spent in engagements                      brand to your customers?
                                                                                reciprocal and
your brand community? with your brand?
                                                        how responsive you are mutual services
how much time spent sentiment ratio,                    to your customers?      being carried
engaging & participating emotions                                               out?
                                                        how many inter-customer
on your fan page,
                                                        discussion do you enable?
youtube channel, etc.? hard to measure. But
                         that’s  OK,  b/c  it’s  hard   at what rate are content
                         to influence too               being co-created w/ your
                                                        customers?



   #scon12
                                                                                twitter: mich8elwu
                                                                     linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    33
future CRM
                                    Big challenges:
             Combining the metrics for the 4 pillars
             into a single metric that quantifies the
                            strength of relationship.
                 There are nonlinear dependencies
          between the 4 pillars of a relationship, so
            a simple linear model, such a weighted
                        average,  won’t  be  sufficient.




           Hopefully, future CRM will not only have
          data  on  your  customers’  relationship  with  
                 your brand, but also the strength of
              relationships among your customers.
#scon12
                                        twitter: mich8elwu
                             linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    34
Thank you
          Q&A + discussion


            @mich8elwu

#scon12
                            twitter: mich8elwu
                 linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD    35
#SCON12




4/24/2012   ©2012 SugarCRM Inc. All rights reserved.
                                                       36

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Social: Session 5: The Science of Relationship

  • 1. Track: Social The Science of Relationship Michael Wu, PhD (mich8elwu) Principal Scientist of Analytics @ Lithium April 24th, 2012
  • 2. agenda ▪ Introduction: CRM data ▪ Development and maintenance of relationship • Anthropology: complementarity between social network and community ▪ Interpersonal relationship and the Dunbar limit • Sociology: the attention economy ▪ Customers relationship (with brands) • Application: dealing with the Facebook irony ▪ Future work twitter: mich8elwu #scon12 linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD
  • 3. what’s  the  “R”  in  social  CRM ▪ What data do CRM system store? • Contact record • email, phone, address • twitter, facebook, linkedin? • Transaction record • purchase/sales history • order/fulfillment data • Support record • support case history • service delivery data ▪ Where’s  the  “r”elationship data in CRM system? #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 3
  • 4. Today’s  CRM  system “R”  ≈  record ≠  relationship #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 4
  • 5. where do we find relationship data? ▪ On social media • Facebook • Linkedin ▪ It’s  a  huge   ecosystem of tools+services ▪ There are too many places to look! #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 5
  • 6. where do we find relationship data? ▪ On social media • Facebook • Linkedin ▪ It’s  a  huge   ecosystem of tools+services ▪ There are too many places to look! #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 5
  • 7. Social is not new! Human have been social since they were caveman #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 6
  • 8. Social anthropology perspective of social Tech  relationship 1. Social network 2. Community #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 7
  • 9. Social anthropology perspective of social Tech  relationship 1. Social network 2. Community #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 7
  • 10. how do social networks form? A  story  of  how  Bob’s  social   Emeryville network was built = community weak ties Bob strong ties old members new / casual members #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 8
  • 11. how do social networks form? Emeryville college = community Social networks form naturally within communities as people establishes relationships Social network maintains relationships as people move work between communities #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 9
  • 12. what do real social network data look like? #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 10
  • 13. communities vs. social networks (on/offline) ▪ Social Network ▪ Community • Held together by pre-existing • Held together by some common interpersonal relationships interests of a large group of between individuals people • You know everyone in your • Most people, especially new network (ego-network), people members, do not know majority of who are connected to you directly the members in the community • Each person has only one social • Any one person may be part of network, despite there are many many communities at any given social network platforms time • Structure: Network • Structure: Hierarchical, overlapping & nested #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 11
  • 14. communities vs. social networks (on/offline) ▪ Social Networks ▪ Community #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 12
  • 15. lifecycle of relationships disconnected Easy! do 1. creating All it takes is something a weak tie an  “hello” bad weak tie 2. building do tie strength nothing strong tie 3. maintaining relationship #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 13
  • 16. But what is relationship? #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 14
  • 17. the components of a relationship ▪ Relationship: sociology perspective • A tie or a connection between two entities (e.g. people, companies, cities, or even nations) • Tie strength = strength of the relationship ▪ Granovetter: components of tie strength • Time: amount of time spent together • Intensity: emotional intensity & sense of closeness • Trust: intimacy or mutual confiding (transparency) • Reciprocity: amount of reciprocal services ▪ Strong relationships requires more time & attention #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 15
  • 18. the attention economy ▪ We only have 24 hours a day ▪ We only have fixed amount of attention ▪ How many meaningful relationship can we have? via nielsen #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 16
  • 19. ~150: the Dunbar number (or Dunbar limit) ▪ Prof. Robin Dunbar found a relationship between brain size of primate species and their group size 148 ▪ Extrapolate data from 38 primate species to human neocortex ratio  Dunbar number = 148 (~150) ▪ Verified by surveying pre- we know the human neocortical ratio industrial villages/tribes #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 17
  • 20. does Dunbar limit still applies in modern society? ▪ Order our relationship from wife children the strongest (immediate parents family) to the weakest (acquaintance) siblings tie strength ▪ This creates a relationship close friends profiles for each person acquaintance ▪ In pre-industrial villages & tribes, people only know ………… ~150 people on average 16 ~150 # of relationships #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 18
  • 21. does Dunbar limit still applies in modern society? ▪ Dunbar’s  limit  may  not   wife children apply in modern society b/c parents • necessity for social cohesion is substantially lower • communication (an important part siblings tie strength of socializing) is much more close friends efficient acquaintance ▪ But our brain  hasn’t   ………… changed for millennia… 16 ~150 # of relationships #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 19
  • 22. we can have more than 150 friends if have fewer strong ties tie strength attention shift from stronger ties to weaker ties strong ties ~150 weak ties # of relationships #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 20
  • 23. we can have more than 150 friends We can shift our time/attention around, but the total amount of time/attention remain roughly the same if have weaker strong ties area under the area under the tie strength yellow relationship profile = blue relationship profile attention shift from stronger ties to weaker ties strong ties ~150 weak ties # of relationships #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 21
  • 24. What about the relationship between customers & brands? customer relationship < personal relationship (with brands) (with people) always weaker #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 22
  • 25. the Facebook irony ▪ Facebook contains a lot of our strong ties • By definition, these stronger ties will demand more attention, and will win more of your limited time/attention ▪ Irony:  because  Facebook  is  “too good”  at  maintaining  our   strong ties, it created problems for itself: • In the presence of strong ties, weaker ties are harder to develop into strong ones but  it’s  too  fast  for  your  dog • If you already have strong relationship with your customers. Great! maintain them with Facebook is the way to go • Otherwise, the strong ties on Facebook will hinder the development of weak ties #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 23
  • 26. How can brands build stronger relationships with their customers? #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 24
  • 27. component #1: time ▪ “time”  =  time  spent  together   desire = mutual ≠  duration  of  relationship ▪ “time”  increases  tie  strength   trust if the desires to spend time together is mutual time LOVE reciprocity intensity #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 25
  • 28. component #1: time ▪ “time”  =  time  spent  together   desire = non-mutual ≠  duration  of  relationship ▪ “time”  increases  tie  strength   trust if the desires to spend time together is mutual time ▪ Key: know when your reciprocity customers want to spend time with you, and be there intensity HATE for them #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 26
  • 29. component #2: intensity ▪ Customers’  intensity  for   brands is much lower than their intensity for friends trust ▪ It is genetic! We have no control over it time ▪ Tactic: appeal to greater reciprocity causes that customers have strong emotions for intensity ▪ Key:  don’t  try  too  hard  on   this component #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 27
  • 30. component #3: trust ▪ Transparency creates an environment  that’s  more   conducive for building trust trust ▪ 2 types of transparency • brand–customer time • blog, twitter, etc reciprocity • customer–customer • community discussion forum intensity #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 28
  • 31. component #3: trust ▪ People trust themselves, so trust they tend to trust brands that co-create with them ▪ 2 types of co-creation • passive: listening + collect customer input time • active: crowdsourced ideation + filtering reciprocity ▪ Key: 1. Create transparent & authentic intensity communication channels to customers & among customers 2. Co-create with your customers #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 29
  • 32. component #4: reciprocity ▪ Reciprocity = 2 way reciprocal services ▪ Customer Brands trust • Make it easy for them to help other customers of yours • Reward them properly and serve time right reciprocity ▪ Create a sustainable cycle of reciprocity by co-creation intensity ▪ Key:  don’t  forget  to  let  your   customer help you #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 30
  • 33. building customer relationship ▪ Customer community • Opt-in:  it’s  there  when  the   customers want it • May have a great cause trust • Transparent channel • Platform for co-creation time • Enables reciprocity reciprocity ▪ Customer relationship are build the same way as intensity inter-personal relationships, in a community #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 31
  • 34. Now we know how relationships are built, can we measure it? #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 32
  • 35. not yet, but each pillar is ~quantifiable~ how transparent is your how deep are the at what rate are how much time spent in engagements brand to your customers? reciprocal and your brand community? with your brand? how responsive you are mutual services how much time spent sentiment ratio, to your customers? being carried engaging & participating emotions out? how many inter-customer on your fan page, discussion do you enable? youtube channel, etc.? hard to measure. But that’s  OK,  b/c  it’s  hard at what rate are content to influence too being co-created w/ your customers? #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 33
  • 36. future CRM Big challenges: Combining the metrics for the 4 pillars into a single metric that quantifies the strength of relationship. There are nonlinear dependencies between the 4 pillars of a relationship, so a simple linear model, such a weighted average,  won’t  be  sufficient. Hopefully, future CRM will not only have data  on  your  customers’  relationship  with   your brand, but also the strength of relationships among your customers. #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 34
  • 37. Thank you Q&A + discussion @mich8elwu #scon12 twitter: mich8elwu linkedin.com/in/MichaelWuPhD 35
  • 38. #SCON12 4/24/2012 ©2012 SugarCRM Inc. All rights reserved. 36