CRM industry analyst and advisor Brent Leary just wrote about his initial findings from a recent survey, something he calls the Social Customer Engagement index this past week.
This came about from a survey that they asked TheSocialCustomer.com community to participate in in order to help them better understand how companies were using social technologies to support their customers. Also involved in the survey were customer care experts from the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals (SOCAP).
An overview of his experience below:
Seventy-six percent of the respondents came from companies employing greater than one thousand employees (46%), or fewer than fifty employees (30%). Says Brent: “it will make it interesting to compare and contrast philosophies and approaches big companies and small companies are taking with respect to integrating social media into customer service.”
While 55% of respondents from companies with over one thousand employees spent less than $50,000 on their social initiatives, 18% spent over $100,000. Of those spending over $100,000, half of them are spending over $250,000 — or 9% of the total respondents from large enterprises.
He summaries the toughest challenges that came up from the participants in engaging customers on social networks:
-Getting management buy-in: (40%)
-Determining appropriate key performance indicators/metrics: (51%)
-Understanding customer expectations: (49%).
A whitepaper of the survey results is coming soon, which will provide an in-depth look at how companies are adopting and using social tools to better serve and support customers. Follow them along on Twitter as well.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
