the economics of the socially engaged enterprise: what separates the leaders from the laggards

The Economics of the Social ly Engaged Enterprise

A PulsePoint Group Study based on a survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit (Wave I - 2012)

Presented at Arthur W. Page Society, Spring Seminar, March 2012

W h a t S e p a r a t e s t h e L e a d e r s f r o m t h e L a g g a r d s

1

The Social ly Engaged Enterpr i se Def ined

It is a new kind of enterprise that actively engages customers in meaningful conversations – enabled by social technologies – so both parties benefit.

This mutual exchange of value is not just about products but about valuable information that builds commonality of interests and a sense of trust.

2

Why Research? Why Now?

1.  Well beyond experimentation

2.  Moving beyond marketing and communications

3.  Some leaders are getting it right

4.  Examples of quantifiable business impact

5.  C-suite on-board with growing interest in business impact

3

The Research

4

5"

The survey •  329 respondents •  US and Canada only •  19 industries represented

CEO 31%

C-level executives 47%

Other senior executives 53%

Senior executive perspective from 19 industries

6

Executives agree that social engagement has tangible economic benefits

84%

67%

65%

68%

65%

58%

37%

81%

13%

29%

30%

28%

30%

37%

53%

17%

2%

4%

5%

4%

6%

4%

10%

2%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

Improved marketing/sales effectiveness

Improved brand or stock value

Improved collaboration with partners

Improved product/service quality

Improved speed to market/innovation

Improved talent retention

Decreased costs

Increased market share

Advantage No Impact Disadvantage

7"

Respondents see a particular impact on brand

58%

34%

42%

38%

54%

42%

66%

58%

62%

46%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

Decreased cost of sale or production

Increased perceived value of the brand/stock value

Increase market share

Increase revenue

Improve operating margin

No Impact Impact

The bigger the buy in, the bigger the perceived return

8"

96%

93%

79%

87%

Increased market share from social engagement initiatives  

Marketing team committed to social

engagement

Sales team committed to social engagement

C-suite committed to social engagement

Customer service team committed to social

engagement

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

No change to market share from social engagement initiatives

82%

65%

45%

58%

Adoption amongst the ‘leaders’ is still nascent

9"

Increased market share from social engagement initiatives

11.1% 18.9%

7.9% 16.6%

4.8% 12.1%

6.3% 14.7%

4.8% 22.3%

11.1% 21.5%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

C-suite social media champions

Online listening initiatives

Relationships with online influencers

Crowdsourcing

Sales driven social media campaigns

Employee use of social media

No change to market share from social engagement initiatives

But only 17% have responsibility well distributed throughout the organisation

10"

81%  

Where do executives see the greatest benefits of social engagement?

17%  

agree that social engagement has tangible benefits

•  Project management •  Innovation "•  Collaboration "•  Efficiency gains •  Cost savings  

11"

81%

Responsibility distributed throughout the organisation

"

Responsibility assigned to one department

67%

There are business benefits to encouraging customers to talk publicly – whether

positive or negative agree

agree

12"

Marketing and branding"41%"

Marketing Communications (e.g., Public Relations)"40%"

Distributed throughout the organisation"17%"

Sales"16%"

Customer service"11%"

Education and Training"7%"

Human Resource"10%"

6%"Centre of Excellence"

Research and Development (R&D)"8%"

Most companies see marketing and communications as having the prime responsibility for social

13"

69%" 12%" 20%"

54%" 21%" 25%"

67%" 12%" 20%"

Agree" Disagree" Neither Agree nor Disagree"

Stakeholders speaking out: what’s the value?

Customers speaking out via social media increases sales

Employees speaking out helps us attract talent

Suppliers connecting via social media raises our game

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Operations management

Finance and accounting

Product & service development

Human Resource

Customer service

The C-Suite

Sales

Marketing

Is there a problem with finance and HR?

14"

Future leading advocates

Today’s leading advocates

15"

What are the roadblocks to deeper social engagement?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Inability to prove ROI 45%

Legal or regulatory concerns 33%

An unclear strategy for change 32%

Complexity of organisation 25%

24% Poor collaboration within the organisation

Lack of engagement among competitors and peers 21%

Lack of employees with appropriate skills 23%

16% C-Suite does not see need for change

Lack of budget 22%

The development of more robust measurement techniques

16"

27% Intuition

24% Key Performance Indicators

20% Benchmarking

19% Relevant economic metrics

28% Don’t measure

13% Don’t know

30%

27%

20%

10%

21%

33%

Today In 2 years

The C-suite is on board

17"

– and is are key to developing a clear, consistent & robust approach  

18"

• How can companies maintain a proactive response to the

ever-evolving social landscape?

• Are companies overly preoccupied with measuring a phenomenon that is in many ways a cultural shift?

•  What are the next steps for companies as they try to develop more mature social engagement strategies?

Key questions the EIU is currently considering:

S e t t i n g t h e C o n t e x t f o r o u r P a n e l

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Social ly Engaged Enterpr i ses See 4X Better Returns

7.7%

MOST SOCIALLY ENGAGED LEAST SOCIALLY ENGAGED

4x

1.9%

20

6 Dist inct Segments Emerged

Trail Blazers 2.7%

Creators 22.2%

Thrivers 14.6%

Observers 18.5%

Incrementalists 30.1%

Exceptional Business

Value Return

Limited to No Business

Returns

No Social Engagement

Presence

Limited Social Engagement

Presence

Extensive Social

Engagement Presence

No/Low Investments High Returns

Limited Investment

High Returns

Well Architected

Proven Returns

Low/No Investments

Low/No Returns

High Investments Low Returns

Average Return

BUSINESS

VALUE

RETURNS

LEVELS OF SOCIAL MATURITY

1.9%

3.9%

Limited Investments

Scaled Returns

7.7%

Dreamers 11.9%

21

The Economics of the Social ly Engaged Enterprise

A PulsePoint Group Study based on a survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit (Wave I - 2012)

Presented at Arthur W. Page Society, Spring Seminar, March 2012

W h a t S e p a r a t e s t h e L e a d e r s f r o m t h e L a g g a r d s

22