Big Business Studies Social Media

Use Social Media at Work courtesy of Will Lions and creativecommons.org

According to a recent survey of 541 executives carried out by  Avanade, a joint venture of Accenture and Microsoft,  found that social media can have tremendous impact on client relationships in businesses. R

The study, conducted by Coleman Parkes Research came to some conclusions that are less than startling to us at BuzzBuilderz, stating that several key themes emerged;

• Social Media technologies have the potential to transform the way companies build and manage relationships with their customers

• Apathy, fear and uncertainty – more than costs – are preventing companies from formally adopting social media technologies
• Social Media technologies are invading the workplace undetected. Companies know this but have no formal plan to manage them

While roughly 60% of those interviewed said integrating social media is not on their agenda. more than 75% of those surveyed admitted that social media was going to come into the business inevitably and undetected (if not managed proactively)

58% of those surveyed stated that senior management didn’t fully grasp the potential that social networking offers both for employees and customers, even though 2/3rds of the companies saw improved customer satisfaction and 64% reported an improved reputation in the marketplace.To me that was a little confusing. If so many people can see their customer relations and reputation enhanced through social media, why wouldn’t that be , by itself, sufficient reason to implement a social networking strategy? Don’t those things almost always translate into more business?

The study indicates that to be the case. In studying the impact of social media on CRM (customer relationship management), 61% of the respondents felt that social media is the next step in “collaborative activities and technology for business”. Four out of five of those surveyed agreed that we need to focus on new ways of communicating with customers as we enter a possible economic downturn, while 3 out of 4 of those surveyed believe that social media would let them add value to their customer interaction.

I have to agree with Avanade’s Vice-president, Mike Pazak who said , “Social media technologies are reaching a turning point – they are no longer lingering outside the domain of IT departments. Companies that do not adapt to these changes or move fast enough will lose customers.”

And those of us who particpate in the conversation will be right there to find them.

However, there are a number of problems to address before social networking is adopted in the marketplace: results of the survey show worries concerning security (76% ), apathy among senior management (57%) and hesitation with regard to new technology (58%).

In any case most companies agree that it will be the next generation of employees themselves who will bring social networking into the workplace.

Tags: Accenture, Avanade, Business, BuzzBuilderz, Customer relationship management, Microsoft, Social Media, Social network