Social networks offer an unique insight into customer behaviour and now companies can access and harness that information.
A leading automobile company was preparing to launch a C-segment sedan for emerging markets. There were already several models by competitors in the same segment. The company wanted to make a splash in the market by offering something unique to ensure that their product was a class apart from the rest. But analysing the existing models of cars from the customer's perspective was not an easy task. That's when the automobile company explored the possibility of using the existing ‘listening tools' to get an idea of what current car owners and potential customers were saying online. During its research, the auto major found out that plenty of car owners were voicing their views on this class of cars on Facebook, Twitter, blog posts, review sites, communities and groups etc.
It was revealed that car owners were dissatisfied with the absence of key features, such as body-coloured bumpers, outside rear view mirrors, key-less entry, factory-fitted in-car entertainment etc., amongst the C-segment cars. Taking a cue from these inputs, the automobile company not only included these key features in their new product, but also reworked its marketing campaign for the new car surrounding these aspects!
The online buzz
Social media and networking platforms serve a higher purpose than just staying in touch or posting pictures; they have emerged as important tools for companies operating in the consumer and enterprise products space for a clear perspective of customers' attitude, their thought process, expectations and criticisms.
The content generated by consumers through any of the social networking platforms, discussion forums or blogs are collectively termed Consumer Generated Media (CGM). CGM is a powerful medium for any company planning to make an impact in the market.
These days, discussion forums relating to any product, be it a mobile handset or an anti-virus solution, are extensively present on the internet. Though the information available on the internet is mind-boggling, there is no clarity on what a particular company should look for. A company needs a specific tool to eliminate irrelevant information and access only what is required by it.
Consequently, the whole exercise of listening to customers on the internet on various social media web sites is now a dedicated domain with several companies offering custom-made tools and solutions for specific requirements. CGM is touted to be the next big wave of business strategy. A growing number of internet users, spurred on by the availability of cheaper web-enabled mobile devices in developing countries will help catalyse the process.
The next big thing
According to Forrester Research, businesses have to move to the next big process in Social Media Listening in order to sustain the customer confidence. “Businesses cannot remain stuck to traditional means of collecting data from social media, which has become a daunting task with ever-increasing data and ever-increasing consumer engagement with social media. Businesses should try to evolve or move into next generation listening platforms, which have much more sophisticated offerings.”
With businesses now understanding the importance of CGM, social media listening tools have evolved from just collecting data to “Social Intelligence”. Organisations today need to make the best use of the unstructured data that is flooding social media and transform it into meaningful data. In order to do this and use the data for analysis and then respond to the data or use it to improve an existing product or develop a new product, organisations need to define the right approach.
Forrester has estimated that by 2015, the worldwide market for social media listening tools is expected to grow to a phenomenal US$ 60 billion from the existing US$ 35 billion, as organisations try to understand the customer at a deeper level even before developing a product.
An organisation should also develop a framework that can track User Generated Content properly. It should also identify who its true brand advocates are; and, should learn about them beyond their interest in their brand. Deeper analysis can lead to better insights about the identity of these brand advocates, their interests and needs, which in turn will be critical for the overall success of a product, when launched.
Web tools
There are several monitoring tools in the market at present. The leading ones being Radian6, Alterian SM2 and BuzzMatrics,etc. Each tool has its own advantages and disadvantages. Some of the tools are not able to completely meet the needs of enterprises because of lack of archiving capability leading to data loss, manual analysis resulting in effort wastage of 80 per cent, inconsistent quality, lack of visibility and control for consumer, lack of transparency and no flexibility to reinterpret data. Therefore, a heady mix of these tools is suggested to go about the SM Monitoring exercise.
However, there are occasions when the listening tools provide data that are irrelevant to a business. Consequently, effectively measuring, interpreting and acting on CGM offers key competitive advantages for today's consumer-centred brands. The vast, unstructured, unprompted online conversation is a powerfully rich source of meaningful insights, intelligence and information that can provide sustainable competitive advantage for organisations.
Organisations are today investing in dedicated teams to listen to this online buzz, analyse it for competitive insights and respond to it to engage better with customers and followers. Social media presents businesses with vast amounts of customer information, as well as a lot of irrelevant discussion. But, by harnessing the right social technologies, mining for insights and taking informed marketing decisions, brands have the opportunity to make the most of social media.
(Kumar leads the New Technologies practice of Defiance Technologies, a Hinduja Group Company. Shamer leads the Digital Marketing offering.)