The document summarizes the key findings of an IBM study on the perception gap between consumers and businesses regarding social media interactions. The study found that while businesses think customers use social media to feel connected to the brand, customers primarily use it for discounts and purchases. Additionally, over half of consumers do not engage with brands on social media at all. The document recommends that businesses focus on encouraging positive customer experiences and advocacy through social sharing with friends/family rather than trying to directly control social conversations.
1. The
Perception
Gap
in
Social
Author:
Mitch
Lieberman
th
March
20
2011
Customers
do
not
want
a
relationship
with
your
business;
they
want
the
benefits
a
relationship
can
offer
to
them.
I
have
been
stating
this
for
a
couple
years,
as
many
people
I
know
have
also
stated
and
written
about.
You
may
or
may
not
agree
with
this,
as
it
has
seemed
like
a
bit
of
a
political
debate,
without
some
really
solid
data
to
back-‐up
either
perspective.
IBM
recently
published
the
result
of
2010
study,
which
revealed
some
interesting
data
points.
I
will
be
cautious,
as
data
can
be
interpreted
differently
from
person
to
person,
but
this
study
is
grounded
in
primary
research,
published
by
the
IBM
Institute
for
Business
Value
and
my
analysis
of
the
report
suggests
that
it
is
worth
considering.
Consumers
were
asked
what
they
do
when
then
interact
with
businesses
or
brands
via
social
media.
I
am
not
sure
which
is
more
surprising
to
me
that
being
part
of
a
community
and
feeling
connected
are
near
the
bottom,
or
that
purchase
and
discount
are
at
the
top.
To
back
up
a
little
bit,
results
also
published
in
the
“Just
over
half
of
consumers
surveyed
say
they
same
report
found
that
do
not
engage
with
brands
via
social
media
at
all
only
23%
of
consumers,
who
go
to
(55
percent).”
social
media
sites,
go
to
interact
with
brands.
They
go
to
interact
with
family
and
friends
(70%).
Another
interesting
point
is
that
while
23%
are
interested
in
interacting
with
brands
22%
actually
go
to
write
a
blog,
that
is
a
finding
which
I
am
going
to
need
to
think
on
for
a
bit.
Finally,
2. The
Business
Side
Gap
The
business
perspective
is
more
interesting,
and
frankly
more
valuable
to
anyone
who
happens
across
this
post.
The
simple
reason
is
that
a
business
needs
to
care
about
what
the
customers
are
saying
and
doing,
not
what
they
‘think’
is
right
or
worse,
portrayed
by
someone
else
who
told
them
the
‘right’
thing
to
do.
OK
businesses,
take
a
look
at
the
listing
your
peers
gave
when
asked
the
why
they
thought
customers
were
following
their
companies
on
social
sites.
The
data
clearly
states
that
businesses
believe
much
more
strongly
that
consumers
interact
with
them
to
feel
part
of
the
community
–
guess
what,
they
really
don’t.
The
consumer
wants
something
more.
The
gap
is
pretty
“Businesses
hoping
to
foster
closer
customer
wide,
almost
as
wide
connections
through
social
media
conversations
as
the
current
NFL
players
versus
may
be
mistakenly
projecting
their
own
desires
owners.
But,
in
this
for
intimacy
onto
customers’
motivations
for
case
it
is
not
a
matter
of
interacting.
Interactions
with
businesses
are
not
compromise
and
the
same
as
interactions
with
friends.”
working
to
get
both
sides
to
see
the
other
perspective.
The
only
real
opinion
that
matters
is
what
your
customers
think,
correct?
What
about
Advocacy?
I
am
not
sure
about
you,
but
I
have
seen
a
lot
of
Senior
Executives
talk
about
“getting
closer”
to
their
customers,
partners,
ecosystem,
prospects
(IBM
2010
Global
CEO
Study
–
88%
want
to
get
closer
to
the
customer).
In
order
to
answer
the
war
cry
from
the
C-‐suite,
marketers
and
executives
(from
this
survey)
believe
the
answer
is
social
media
engagement.
However,
the
data
from
the
consumer
side
suggests
otherwise
–
or
best
it
is
inconclusive.
The
issue
seems
to
be
that
you
(company)
are
already
close
to
your
advocates;
64%
of
stated
that
passion
for
a
brand
needs
to
exists
prior
to
interacting
with
that
brand.
The
answer
to
the
“In
other
words,
consumers
who
engage
already
riddle
seems
to
be
to
encourage
consumers
have
an
affinity
for
that
brand
or
company,
and
to
share
their
mere
participation
via
social
media
may
not
experiences
with
necessarily
result
in
increased
loyalty
or
friends
and
family.
Make
that
easy
and
spending.
But
a
recommendation
from
a
friend
you
now
have
a
better
or
family
member
could
make
a
difference.”
chance
of
encouraging
those
at
the
tipping
point
to
become
advocates
for
your
brand.
I
am
not
going
to
go
retro
and
start
defining
Social
CRM,
been
there,
done
that!
I
am
going
to
suggest
that
you
need
to
start
thinking
like
a
customer,
outside-‐in,
not
inside
out.
It
is
not
about
control
of
the
conversation,
it
is
about
mutually
beneficial
value,
a
fair
exchange.
Social
media
is
part
of
something
we
call
the
customer
engagement
continuum,
aka
consistency
of
interactions
and
touch
points
independent
of
the
channel
used.
A
friend
shared
a
term
with
me
early
this
week,
which
seems
to
fit
“Reverse
Logistics”
–
to
me,
it
fits
here
because
the
perspective
that
matters
is
the
customers.
3. About
Sword
Ciboodle
Sword
Ciboodle
is
an
award
winning,
multi-‐channel
customer
engagement
platform,
designed
for
the
21st
century
organization
to
meet
the
needs
of
the
21st
century
customer.
From
telephone
to
email
and
community
through
self-‐service,
our
customer
experience
fabric
enables
you
to
create
a
consistent,
efficient
and
differentiated
service
experience.
The
customer
experience
fabric
for
many
global
brands,
Sears,
Bally
Total
Fitness,
and
Vistaprint
all
leverage
our
platform
to
construct
a
genuinely
social
and
customer
centric
business.
www.sword-‐ciboodle.com
info@sword-‐ciboodle.com
About
Sword
Ciboodle
Sword
Ciboodle
is
an
award
winning,
multi-‐channel
customer
engagement
platform,
designed
for
the
21st
century
organization
to
meet
the
needs
of
the
21st
century
customer.
From
telephone
to
email
and
community
through
self-‐service,
our
customer
experience
fabric
enables
you
to
create
a
consistent,
efficient
and
differentiated
service
experience.
The
customer
experience
fabric
for
many
global
brands,
Sears,
Bally
Total
Fitness,
and
Vistaprint
all
leverage
our
platform
to
construct
a
genuinely
social
and
customer
centric
business.