Handle with care

I believe that the best possible job is one where work is fun and fun is
work. The use of social networking services to engage customers and prospects
being seriously considered by companies of all sizes, is a clear step in this
direction. Market research firm Datamonitor reports that so far this emerging
channel of communication has been used for marketing. But there are smarter ones
that are experimenting services beyond selling.

I see some great advantages, if social networks continue to thrive, and play
a role in business. For instance, if a product or service is good, immediately
all the people in the network get to know. And many of them take peer advice as
genuine, and go for it. On the other hand, a dissatisfied consumer can make all
the network members very wary. Though the social network allows companies to
reach out to its members to explain and sort out the matter, the phenomenon does
put a lot more and a new type of pressure on companies to pull up their act on
all fronts.

What should not be ignored here is that besides the bouquets or the
brickbats, companies can also get a lot of constructive feedback through these
sites. These could be related to so many other things in an organization
including its people and processes.

A passing remark that one often hears is that the consumers have to finally
pay for all the advertisements that we see in the newspapers and on television.
So there is a possibility that ad spend could come down if social networks take
off in a big way. Though unlikely in the short term, many companies could stand
up and actively promote and support these networks, and explore diverting funds
to enhance customer delight with better product and service rather than
marketing campaigns. Obviously, it will be upon these network leaders to ensure
that they do not succumb to corporate pressure.

Social networks will also push globalization and mobility in a big way. Only
a social network of trekkers can convince and motivate a member in Chicago about
a great trek in the mountains near Ranikhet. And if that member happens to be in
Singapore that day, heading for India the following week, he could very well use
his cellphone or laptop to register himself for the weekend trek.

It might be still too early to comment on how great these online social
networks are for serving business objectives. And that many companies are now
hiring customer interaction technology providers, and integrating this into
their contact centers.

One hopes that these social networks will not allow themselves to be misused,
and in the process lose all credibility. That will be suicidal. For those who
want to use these sites to do better business, it is important that these groups
thrive, and do what they had originally set out to do.

Ibrahim ahmad

ibrahima@cybermedia.co.in