Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)

Social media drives engagement, study finds

The latest survey, entitled 'The Socialisation of Brands', explored changes in communication technology and the ways in which social media affect consumer habits.

Having surveyed some 36,800 social network participants from 53 countries, the study concluded that having a deeper understanding of such consumer needs is the key to creating compelling and successful social media programmes, and that social media is now firmly ingrained in consumers' everyday lives, with more people using these platforms to connect with friends than even the telephone, email or face-to-face meetings.

Perhaps the most significant shift in social media in recent years is the ability of users to engage via mobile devices. Nearly 30% of mobile users now access the internet on their devices. The study noted that smartphone users, who are more likely to be male and of higher socio-economic status, are more often engaging in social media, tearing down the perception that this is a medium dominated by the younger demographics.

However, the younger demographics still prove to be more deeply engaged, using the social media platforms as one-stop shops for interacting with peers. From direct messaging to pictures and information sharing, everything is conducted in a single space. Consequently, the company argues, tapping into that space is increasingly more valuable to brands, with social media communities often proving to be more valuable than traditional brand web sites.

"It is vital for businesses to understand this new wave of interactive digital branding," said Jeannette Liendo, global campaigns director for the corporate marketing group at Microsoft. "New conversation engines are emerging every day, and a company must be able to leverage them by saying something meaningful. Clearly the market's traditional media spend is continuously shifting to digital so - at the minimum - brands need to invest more in 'social listening'."

In fact, of those consumers who had joined a brand community, 72% said they thought more positively about the brand as a result, 71% said they are more likely to buy the brand, 66% said they felt more loyal to the brand, and 63% said they had encouraged others to join.

These figures suggest that the "socialisation of brands" represents a major shift in how brands are communicating with consumers, and that this is a trend that is likely to continue for some time.

More details and findings from the study have been made available for free download from UM's web site - click here (PDF document; no registration needed).

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)