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

1. The Economics of the
Socially Engaged Enterprise
What Separates the
Leaders from the Laggards
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
1

2. The Socially Engaged Enterprise Defined
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

3. 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

4. The Research
4

5. Senior executive perspective from 19 industries
The survey
• 329 respondents
• US and Canada only
• 19 industries represented
C-level Other senior
executives executives
47% 53%
CEO
31%
5"

6. Executives agree that social engagement has tangible economic benefits
Increased market share 81% 17% 2%
Decreased costs 37% 53% 10%
Improved talent retention 58% 37% 4%
Improved speed to market/innovation 65% 30% 6%
Improved product/service quality 68% 28% 4%
Improved collaboration with partners 65% 30% 5%
Improved brand or stock value 67% 29% 4%
Improved marketing/sales effectiveness 84% 13% 2%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%
Advantage No Impact Disadvantage
6

7. Respondents see a particular impact on brand
Improve operating margin 54% 46%
Increase revenue 38% 62%
Increase market share 42% 58%
Increased perceived value of the brand/stock value 34% 66%
Decreased cost of sale or production 58% 42%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%
No Impact Impact
7"

8. The bigger the buy in, the bigger the perceived return
Marketing team 96%
committed to social
engagement 82%
Increased market
Sales team committed to 93% share from social
engagement
social engagement
65% initiatives
No change to
market share from
social engagement
C-suite committed to 79% initiatives
social engagement
45%
Customer service team 87%
committed to social
engagement 58%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 8"

9. Adoption amongst the ‘leaders’ is still nascent
C-suite social media champions 4.8% No change to
22.3% market share from
social engagement
Online listening initiatives 11.1%
initiatives
21.5%
Increased market
11.1% share from social
Relationships with online
engagement
influencers 18.9%
initiatives
7.9%
Crowdsourcing
16.6%
Sales driven social media 6.3%
campaigns 14.7%
Employee use of social media 4.8%
12.1%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
9"

10. Where do executives see the greatest benefits of social engagement?
• Project management
• Innovation "
• Collaboration "
• Efficiency gains
17%
• Cost savings
81%
But only 17 % have
agree that social
engagement has responsibility well distributed
throughout the organisation
tangible benefits
10"

11. There are business benefits
to encouraging customers
to talk publicly – whether
81% positive or negative
agree
" 67%
agree
Responsibility distributed Responsibility assigned
throughout the organisation to one department
11"

12. Most companies see marketing and communications as having the
prime responsibility for social
Marketing and branding"
41%"
Marketing Communications (e.g., Public Relations)"
40%"
Distributed throughout the organisation"
17%"
Sales"
16%"
Customer service"
11%"
Human Resource"
10%"
Research and Development (R&D)"
8%"
Education and Training"
7%"
Centre of Excellence"
6%"
12"

13. Stakeholders speaking out: what’s the value?
69%" 12%" 20%"
Customers speaking
out via social media
increases sales
67%" 12%" 20%"
Suppliers connecting
via social media raises
our game
54%" 21%" 25%"
Employees speaking
out helps us attract
talent
Agree" Disagree" Neither Agree nor Disagree"
13"

14. Is there a problem with finance and HR?
Marketing Today’s leading advocates
Sales
Future leading advocates
The C-Suite
Customer service
Product & service development
Human Resource
Operations management
Finance and accounting
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
14"

15. What are the roadblocks to deeper social engagement?
Inability to prove ROI
45%
Legal or regulatory concerns
33%
An unclear strategy for change
32%
Complexity of organisation
25%
Poor collaboration within the organisation
24%
Lack of employees with appropriate skills
23%
Lack of budget
22%
Lack of engagement among competitors and peers
21%
C-Suite does not see need for change
16%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
15"

16. The development of more robust measurement techniques
Today In 2 years
Don’t measure 28%
10%
Intuition 27%
20%
Key Performance Indicators 24%
30%
Benchmarking 20%
33%
Relevant economic metrics 19%
27%
Don’t know 13%
21% 16"

17. The C-suite is on board
– and is are key to developing a clear, consistent & robust approach
17"

18. Key questions the EIU is currently considering:
• 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?
18"

19. Setting the Context
for our Panel
19

20. Socially Engaged Enterprises
See 4X Better Returns
4x
7.7%
1.9%
LEAST SOCIALLY ENGAGED
MOST SOCIALLY ENGAGED
20

21. 6 Distinct Segments Emerged
Trail Blazers Creators Thrivers
Exceptional 2.7% 22.2% 14.6%
Business No/Low Limited Well
BUSINESS Investments Investment Architected Average
Value Return
High Returns High Returns Proven 7.7% Return
VALUE Returns
Observers Incrementalists Dreamers
RETURNS 18.5% 30.1% 3.9% 11.9%
Limited to Low/No
No Business Limited High
Investments Investments Investments
Returns Low/No 1.9% Scaled Returns Low Returns
Returns
No Social Limited Social Extensive
Engagement Engagement Social
Presence Presence Engagement
Presence
LEVELS OF SOCIAL MATURITY
21

22. The Economics of the
Socially Engaged Enterprise
What Separates the
Leaders from the Laggards
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
22