SALES AND MARKETING
‘SMESNEED TO BE AWARE OF DISCUSSIONS ONSITES SUCHAS TWITTER AND FACEBOOK.THEYHAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVENE, INITIATE DEBATE,
CAPTURE RELEVANT KNOWLEDGE ANDHARNESS THE INNOVATIVE POTENTIAL OF THE COMMUNITY’
In today’s business environment,
the ability to be available online for your customers 24/7 is increasingly seen as a given. As a result, companies of all sizes need to work harder than ever not just to deliver high-quality customer service but also to do so in an efficient and timely manner. For small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) these pres-
sures are particularly intense. It is not easy to maintain and develop customer loyalty in the face of fierce competition from larger rivals with both themanpower and financial resources to be continuously ‘on call’. This makes the delivery of fast and effective customer serv-
ice particularly crucial. In this context, the advent of social- networking sites as a route to effective communication and interaction with customers should be seen as a positive opportunity. SMEs need to adjust to the idea thatmany of their customers
are not only online and in the cloud but are talking about their products and services while they are there. If they have a prob- lem, they are likely to post a comment on Facebook or tweet about it onTwitter. So,businesses are now having to engage with their customers
wherever they are and find a solution in real-time before potential problems escalate.This is a level of service that many customers have grown to expect. In essence,SMEs that are not engaged in social networking risk being left behind and losing business to competitors who respond to issues more quickly. The increasing usage of online sites such asTwitter and Face-
book by businesses as applications for the delivery of customer service is a case in point.The smartest SMEs and the executives who work for them today recognise the value of tapping into ‘the wisdom of the crowd’ to capture the best answers and the most innovative ideas. Often, instead of calling the vendor company directly, cus-
tomers will simply access Facebook, comment on the problem they are having and ask for input, or alternatively they will tweet about it on Twitter in order to draw on the expertise available in the online community. SMEs need to be aware of online discussions on sites such as
Twitter and Facebook and to monitor and track them.Where appropriate, they also have an opportunity to intervene, initiate insightful debate, capture relevant knowledge that makes them look smarter and harness the innovative potential of the community. Today, they can search by keywords that allow them to iden-
tify relevant online discussions that are taking place.They can then develop suitable answers, which can be posted on Face- book sites and sent to whole communities viaTwitter. These answers can subsequently be used to help in the
development of knowledge bases – essentially repositories of key information about a particular issue.These can then be used to proactively address any future issues arising and can even be posted as part of specially developed ‘answers’ or ‘ideas’ forms, which can be published on the company website to support customer self-service.
ON THE BALL
However, to be successful in this area, firms need to be able to respond quickly. If customers have a problemwith a product or service, any delay in responding may result in lost business. It is important too that organisations are able to obtain
direct feedback on the quality of the content they create or approach they develop. They need to ensure that they have a mechanism in place to allow their user community to provide relevant feedback and comments and vote to promote or demote files,web links, documents or ideas.The result will be a more active and involved community and, for the SME, clearer insight into what their customers and prospects are thinking.
WORKING IN THE CLOUD
In the past, the ability to deliver the kind of approach outlined above would have been well beyond the reach of most service organisations and particularly SMEs.Indeed,many such busi- nesses would have seen this kind of activity as a potential threat to their reputation and brand.Today,however, the situation has been reversed – social-networking activity is now rightly perceived as a potential opportunity by most businesses, including many SMEs.
MEASURING ROI
Of course, positive perceptions need to be turned into hard metrics if a compelling business case is to be made for the use of social networking as part of a company’s overall strategy. Using social media brings many soft benefits but can also help to deliver measurable return on investment (ROI). In particular, SMEs can assess how many page views a par-
ticular answers or ideas form is receiving, make an estimate of the proportion of those views – in percentage terms – that leads to self-service resolution and then put amonetary value on that percentage. Driven by new technologies such as cloud computing, the
business model for customer engagement is changing fast. If they wish to achieve a competitive edge, SMEs need to be aware of this and take appropriate action. If they fail to do so, they risk being left behind by their rivals in this increasingly dynamic new world of online engagement.
VOL 3 ISSUE 4 2010 OWNER MANAGER 39
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