Social networking and community engagement technology made easy

According to Forrester,  THREE QUARTERS of Australian adults who are online are now using social media technologies. Of that three quarters, one quarter are creating their own content. Almost half of Australian adults online are members of social networks. More the 3.3 million Australians have Facebook accounts. The continual growth of social media use has pushed Australia ahead to now lead the world for time spent each month on social media sites.

With that being said, marketers must take into account the shift that is taking place and begin to build their marketing campaigns around it.  One of the biggest things to consider is effective customer communication and engagement.  In an article written by Don Bulmer he points out:

“Professional networks and business focused on-line communities are quickly becoming a new strategic mandate for many professionals and companies selling in a Business-to-Business environment.  As discussed in previous posts, it has long been known as truth that peer endorsement is the single greatest decision-making accelerant.  Through social media, peer influence cycles are happening at a velocity never before seen, and in many ways, companies are losing the ability to control their messages and their ’sales cycle.’  Decision-making is clearly becoming more social.”

Customer engagement has consistently been a major foundation in a company’s success for years. This applies as much to online social networks as it does to good ole’ fashioned, face-to-face customer service.  However, one important thing social media offers is the opportunity to turn a bad experience into a positive one, if it doesn’t happen at time of transaction.  With so many adults talking online, you can be sure that if someone has a bad experience, people are going to hear about it, talk about it, then base decisions of future use or engagement with your organisation upon that which is being said.

I was having a conversation with a friend last week about this exact issue. A customer that had visited a restaurant last year had a bad customer experience. This customer posted within the last month, on their social site, that they weren’t happy with the food, the service was only “okay,” and they doubted they would return. The restaurant immediately sent a link to the unsatisfied customer to redeem a $25 gift certificate, and invited them back.  Within days, the restaurant’s fans and advocates posted on the site as to why this restaurant was so great because of the efforts it takes to reach out, even if the experience was bad.

“There is nothing more dangerous to an organization’s lifeblood than a group of dissatisfied customers. Yet, often times, an organization may not even be aware of clients’ issues until they have incurred reputation damage or a trending loss in revenue.”

At Community Engine, we understand this. We understand how valuable customers are and how social media impacts the business world around us.  This is the exact reason we built a technology for you to invite your customers, advocates, and fans to interact in one place.  One thing we believe and have posted about before is that by giving the community a place to interact, you are giving a place for an individual to have a voice.  Bulmer agrees:

“Professional networks also offer opportunities to make heroes out of users, enabling them to share best practice and learn first hand from each other. This is especially effective with enterprise level support when the key buyer is a C-level executive: information sharing could result in strategic growth opportunities for all involved.”

There is no doubt the benefits an organisation has by building an effective online platform. This allows for an organisation to bring people in on a way more personal level. That is what people want. They want to know you care about them, listen to them, and that you are willing to make a wrong right if something has gone array.  How are you catering to your community?

posted by Piers Hogarth-Scott in the category Social Media Social networking
Tags: Don Bulmer, Forrester