So Tech in the Business/Outside the Business

Related Roles/Departments: HR, IT, Ops, Snr Management Related Roles/Departments: Marketing, Customer Service, Brand Manager, Director & Board level, Shareholders The Operational benefits of using Social Tech mainly relate to saving money vs. making money for the business. Social technologies often have a very direct effect on productivity (e.g. the use of collaborative work tools) as well as traditional IT management (e.g. shift to cloud computing, reduce data duplication). There are also a wealth of benefits with regards to human resource from recruitment (eliminating recruiters, global talent pool thanks to remote working technologies, reducing likelihood of wrong hires and promoting the company as a great place to work) to retention by giving employees greater work satisfaction and aiding skills development. All of these areas can have a measurable effect on the bottom line. Benefits Benefits By far one of the most valuble parts of a business is the brand; growing and maintaining a reputation. Social technologies provide both solutions (via online monitoring capabilities) AND challenges (like scalability and ownership), which are worth evaluating to protect and increase the value of the brand. Influence dashboards Cloud computing inc. mobile Digital profiles Realtime monitoring solutions Project and time tracking software Promotional tools like corporate blogs, microblogging and networks (which attract and retain talent) Online sentiment analysis Collaborative work tools and knowledge sharing e.g. wikis, internal social networks, crowdsourcing platforms Social Tech Social Tech Automated moderation software Virtual working technologies Analytics and reporting tools Recruitment and business contact networks Competitor insight tools Higher positivity (+ vs. competitor) Reduction/elimination crisis spend inc. PR, product recall More accurate pricing and/or better profit margins Reduction in staff turnover Acquring customers away from competitors Higher staff retention Reduce staff costs Increase/maintain share price More up-to-date info, more often Metrics Metrics Lower CPA of new hires Reduce spend on independent reports Decrease travel costs SEO metrics like google ranking, keyword performance, organic search traffic, mitigating negative commentary Reduce recruitment time Related Roles/Departments: R&D, Product/Brand Management, Sales, Innovation, Director & Board level Related Roles/Departments: Customer Service, Sales, R&D, Brand/Product Manager, Marketing Benefits Outside Benefits Sitting squarely in business development is the potential for social technologies to not only reduce research/trial time and decrease time to market but increase revenue and market share by using indepth customer insight and even collaborative working to streamline and create products which customers will buy. Crowdsourcing and innovation is increasingly being used by forward-thinking businesses. If the old adage -"it's cheaper to keep a customer than find a new one" is true, then social technologies can deliver increased revenue as well as a reduction in cost to provide the levels of service customers expect - while driving and maintaining customer satisfaction. Online monitoring tools Virtual service tools Analytics tools Realtime monitoring solutions Crowdsourcing e.g bespoke social networks, discussion boards, email fedback generators, idea submission and ranking platforms, wikis SoTech Collaborative problem-solving platforms e.g. message boards Social Tech Social Tech Wikis/crowdsourcing platforms Research/surveys/Q&A tech Online survey/ad platforms Virtual goods & services Social networks and brand communities Decrease time to market Reduction in staff turnover Faster resolution turn around Additional revenue generated Streamline product/services range to reduce costs Reduce staff costs Increase in repeat customer/customer retention Reduction in refunds/returns Metrics Metrics Sales increase Increase in customer satisfaction Reduce market research and user group testing spend Reduction in negative sentiment Increase market share Reduction in Op Ex Related Roles/Departments: R&D, Product/Brand Management, Sales, Innovation, Director & Board level Related Roles/Departments: Customer Service, Sales, R&D, Brand/Product manager, Marketing Benefits Benefits There are a multitide of social technologies available to those guiding the strategic direction of business from insights to innovation. There are numerous stakeholder benefits from management & employees, to shareholders as well the potential for brand awareness and business growth - today and in the future. Customers are at the heart of every business with social technologies having wide ranging benefits on loyalty, avg spend, frequency of spend, referrals and overall customer satisfaction. In addition social technologies deliver deep insight into customer demand as well as the potential for greater customisation. For marketers, much of what they deliver should impact here but with many never measuring the results of their efforts or 'true' ROI. Monitoring Tools Polls/Surveys Incentive and promotional tools & communities Analytics & Reporting tools Communities Open source technologies Paid Media like Paid Search, PPC, Display, Targeted ads, Social Commerce tools Virtual worlds/Metaverses Widgets and Apps Direct mail Social Tech Social Tech Digital and mobile apps Real-time analytics Data analytics, reporting and visualization Brand Owned Channels like blogs, video, image, websites, communities Social CRM software and tools Enhanced comms tools like webcasts, social networks, blogs Micro-financing platforms Customer profiling & tracking tools Earned Media/wOM/viral marketing Collaborative work tools and platforms Reduction in paid media spend Engagement metrics Increase Profit Meet sustainability objectives Increase and/or more targeted reach Measuring effectiveness of campaigns: Reach, Engagement, Positive Sentiment, Negative Sentiment Reduce Cost of Business Win awards Metrics Metrics Returning customers Greater visibility across the business with data and feedback Increase longevity of business/growth Improved flexibility of business Volume of WOM Sales data: acquire, repeat/increase purchase, reduce return, cross sell, friend-get-friend Raise profile of company and individuals SoTech v 1.0 } Shannon Boudjema @shannonboudjema @munkyfonkey @darika BY NC ND Paul Armstrong www.SoTechNow.com Darika Ahrens InfoGraph designed by Hold. www.WeAreHold.com Hold Leadership Development Operational business the ul the business Acquisition and retention Reputation/ Brand Management Customer service