Whether acknowledged or not, social media is significantly impacting business in a multitude of ways. What was once strictly a playground for friends and family to share personal information has morphed into a legitimate business tool. Savvy professional services companies are utilizing social media to strengthen customer relationships, find quality people, generate incremental revenue, and reinforce their brand.

Benefits of Social Media

Perhaps the most direct impact social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn have on service businesses is interacting and sharing information with existing customers. Utilizing these sites and others provide companies an opportunity to “feel the pulse” of their customers. What’s working? What’s not? From the customer’s perspective, what are compelling reasons for doing business with a firm?

Actively managing, monitoring, and encouraging customer input using social media tools will answer these questions, providing critical information that can and should help drive business decisions.

A study completed by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology concluded that companies who have embraced social media are better able to bridge organizational development, or “silo” gaps. As internal, cross departmental interaction increases so do levels of trust, transparency, and ultimately personal accountability.

Companies that encourage employees to express themselves, within certain boundaries of course, via social media reap the benefits as well. When prospective customers see employees who are excited about where they work and the services their company provides, business development efforts are enhanced. Accenture, one of the leading IT service firms in the industry, recognizes the many benefits of social media.

As the Director of Human Capital Kevin Kramer describes it, “People at Accenture are excited about social media and have been using it for years. We are hooked on mobile devices.” To facilitate usage, the company has an internal Twitter network, company blog and a YouTube site.

Additionally, solidifying a firm’s brand and improving customer loyalty results when employees willingly share what a fantastic company they work for. IBM is one of many companies that encourage employees to express their ideas and creativity online for these very reasons.

Social media has become a powerful force for professional service firm’s recruiting efforts as well. These sites are ideal avenues for proactive recruiting efforts, but it doesn’t stop there. When quality people are exposed to positive feedback from existing employees and customers alike, they are certainly more apt to migrate toward those firms. This is especially true as more and more prospective employees are conducting their own due diligence using social media; compounding the importance of these sites as a recruiting tool.

Business Concerns

As service firms explore the use of social media, there are certain best practices that should be adhered to. For example, developing clear, concise policies and usage procedures should be mandatory, as should continual monitoring. These are powerful tools that can either significantly enhance a company’s image and revenues, or cause irreparable harm.

Striking a balance between personal and business usage is part of IBM’s, Oracle’s and Accenture’s policies for the simple reason that productivity can be an issue if left unattended. One way to help mitigate this possibility is to train employees to become brand stewards, something IBM has done and continues to do. 

As Dell learned the hard way several years ago, social media impacts companies whether they choose to recognize it or not. When blogger Jeff Jarvis began his rant in 2005 describing Dell’s lack of customer service, it quickly became an international phenomenon. Within a couple of months thousands had also shared their frustrations.

To Dell’s discredit, they chose to ignore the growing negative sentiment, essentially hoping it would simply go away. Within the year Dell’s customer service ratings dropped significantly. Within two years Dell had forever altered their customer service policies and procedures in response to what began as one blogger’s rant.

How important is social media to your business? Just ask Dell.