Mark Fidelman of Seek Omega writes about a global company named CapGemini who repositioned their global consulting practice around social business. What follows are a number of valuable takeways on the benefits.
An Enterprise Social Network fosters innovation by replacing worthless focus groups with a digital platform for employees, partners, suppliers and customers to give input on new and existing products.
The author suggested that we are at a significant turning point in communication, a revolution in building online communities to connect with customers to foster loyalty, trust and engagement.
Mobile access to the Enterprise is another benefit from social business processes. The company was able to get their prospect to sign a contract on the spot because he had access to all the back office information. Mobile access to the Enterprise Social Network is a competitive differentiator.
Comprehensive digital platforms bring global synergies while remaining locally responsive. Few companies understand the power of integrating data on a single technology platform. We’ve all experienced a customer service call where we have to dial in our personal information only to have the data disappear once a live agent jumps on the phone. The role of the digital leader is to now meld all of the bits of information they have about their customers and to create better experiences and sales opportunities.
Integrated data and processes help produce a common view of customers and products that is otherwise very hard to achieve. While social interactions are fundamentally a human function, organizations need a digital platform to facilitate social interactions on a global scale. Neither technology or people determines the other, but each shapes the other.