customer community
Send this page to a colleagueData quality news
Social media is 'extremely powerful' interaction tool
Aug 1 2012, 13:30 PM
The internet has become one of the most powerful tools in the world over the course of the last 15 years.
Both companies and customers have benefited from the introduction of online shopping, enabling homeowners to purchase items from across the globe without even leaving their own property.
More recently, social media has entered the spotlight, with websites such as Facebook and Twitter collecting millions of subscribers, opening up fantastic opportunities for businesses to establish a single customer view.
Communication between businesses and the public was previously restricted to in-store visits, phone calls or emails, but now these interactive platforms allow for consumers to stay easily up-to-date with their favourite stockists.
Gareth Jones, Chief Thinking Officer at thechemistrygroup.com, has advocated the use of social media among businesses, describing them as "extremely powerful customer interaction tools".
However, Mr Jones claimed that the services demand authenticity and transparency, adding that many organisations have taken a "brave step" by engaging with their consumers.
He gave the example of Skype, where a community has been established to facilitate easy communication between users and the company's product development team.
"Basic product and service feedback, the opportunity to fix issues and create a better experience right through to getting customers to innovate for you and co-create products and services for you are just some of the benefits that can be realised from using social as a way of improving customer interaction," Mr Jones outlined.
Despite the burgeoning popularity of social media, businesses that have not yet introduced the platforms to their marketing drives should not rush into such a move.
Kate Bussmann, Author of A Twitter Year: 365 Days in 140 Characters, advised companies to guarantee that they allocate a designated amount of time and resources to a social media campaign.
Ms Bussmann also warned against embracing too many platforms and recommended firms to focus on just two.
As well as this, Mr Jones summarised that companies which ignore the rise of social media will "fall behind", emphasising the importance of the services.
-
See how
Contact
Data Management (CDM) can benefit your marketing.
- Download our product brochures
- See our products in action - watch our demos
- You can also call us on 0800 197 7920 or email us direct
