Forrester Survey Reveals That Social Media Pays Dividends
Posted by Patrick Murphy on Tue, Jul 19, 2011
A new survey, which was undertaken by Forrester on behalf of Dell has proved that organizations which implement digital listening and engagement initiatives see great business returns in customer satisfaction score, customer loyalty and brand metrics. The study was entitled “Listening and Engaging in the Digital Marketing Age”, and was commissioned to examine the state of social media use among US firms.
Three quarters of organisations monitor social media online
More than three quarters of those surveyed monitor their social media online, take part in conversations and respond to customer feedback, and yet only 20% of those prioritise social media within their marketing plans. Among the top users in industry for social media, were technology firms. 73% of all those surveyed were in fact planning to add employees for the pure focus of listening and engagement initiatives with social media in the next year.
At dell, the senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer, Karen Quintos, says that the process of listening and responding to customers is basic and fundamental. Social media facilitates that requirement. She feels that the key to success is to embed social media through every feature of the organization, sales and marketing are obvious but also in areas like HR, customer service and even finance. This means that dell customers can connect with experts in every area and help them achieve more.
What are the statistics for social media use?
Some interesting statistics: 16% of orgnaizations reward their customers whose ideas they use. 6% claim that their social media listening and engagement are integrated. 50% of companies say while their social media projects are a serious endeavor, they are not a core function. The benefits are many, and 64% of those organisations surveyed are incorporating customer feedback into their products and services. 31% of those surveyed are actually enhancing their sales by offering incentive programs for customers who engage online.
It is clear from these results that social media listening and engagement is becoming an industry standard – across a multitude of industries. While implementing a social media engagement strategy is not a light task, if an organization is willing to put the resources in, the benefits can be huge.
Contact SiliconCloud today to learn more about what social media engagement can do for your business.