WHAT DEFINES A SOCIAL BUSINESS?
So your company now has accounts on all the major social media channels such as, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Maybe youre even posting to a Google+, Pinterest, Slideshare or YouTube.
These practices, however, are quickly becoming old school as we move beyond the age of social media and fully into the age of the Social Business.
This means using your social networking channels to meet the needs of a new breed of customer - the Net Generation.
According to a recent paper by the Tapscott Group that we sponsored here at SAP, a social business need to:
- Align employee social networking with business objectives
- Use social media as a platform for co-creation and collaboration
- Treat transparency as a top priority
- Enable real-time collaboration both within the enterprise and outside with customers and partners
- Listen to customers and take action based on their opinions and needs
I think the last point is clearly the most important. As the next generation of business leaders, buyers and customers evolve, a social business will be mostly defined by its ability to be responsive to customer demands.
Todays digital natives are well-informed consumers who can cut through the noise that plagues us all in this age of data explosion.
They subject products to intense scrutiny and research, deftly scouring customer reviews and ratings. Theyre not afraid to share their opinions, and they expect to be taken seriously when they have a grievance.
Pithy, informative Facebook posts about your latest and greatest product wont cut it in this kind of climate. Only businesses that can respond quickly and accurately to this next generation can expect to reap the rewards of social media.
Social networking in a corporate environment should now be a listening exercise rather than a post-a-day marathon. Gather information about what your customers are saying so you can accurately gauge sentiment and make the necessary interventions. This generation expects a dialogue, not a lecture.
Simply put, what you have to say to this emerging generation is less important than what their peers have to say. Your customers dont care what a press release says about a product - they only care what other customers say about your product.
Whats more, marketers can respond to customers in real time and use social media as an advantage - to converse, respond and iterate.
The possibilities for success as a Social Business are endless - as long as you listen to what your customer are saying. This is creating a Social Business Imperative. What are you waiting for?
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