How Social Media Can Boost Your Bottom Line
by Tim Dreyer on January 21st, 2013
By now, everyone has pretty much accepted the staying power of social media. It’s here, and it’s not going anywhere. But social media is a lot like a gym membership—just because you have it doesn’t mean you’re getting the most out of it.
Believe it or not, social media already is having a fairly substantial impact on your bottom line, even if you are not actively engaging in it. According to Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, nearly one-quarter of American adults have posted comments or reviews online about the product or services they buy. So even if you are not turning to social media to talk about your products or services, your customers are.
Just as importantly, customers are 75 percent more likely to purchase from a brand they follow on Twitter. And according to a Bain & Company report, those customers who engage with companies over social media spend 20 to 40 percent more money with those companies than other customers.
In addition, a recent post on Adrants detailed some of the productivity benefits to being a social business—companies using social technologies spend 25 percent less time on email and 35 percent less time searching for information.
The conclusion to draw from these figures is that social media, when used correctly, can have a significant impact on your bottom line. But do you have the tools you need to make it work for you?
No matter how aware a company is of social media’s benefits, without the necessary platform and capabilities to properly engage customers you could be leaving potential sales on the table. You need a social media solution for your contact center that lets you take full advantage of the opportunities that exist in social media and social networking.
How has your company approached the challenges associated with social media? Feel free to share in the comments—we’d love to hear about your experiences!
Read more about social media in customer contact:
- Building a Business Case for Social Customer Care
- Building Trust through Social Media for a Better Customer Experience
- You Care, I Care, We All Care About Social Care
