Fifteen years ago, buying books or shoes online
seemed novel. But traditional commerce and
e-commerce gradually merged, until there was no
more “online business.” Only business.
A similar shift is unfolding right now with social
technology. Social media’s leaps in the past fi ve
years only hint at what social technology will do
over the next fi ve.
The rise of social business.On a smarter planet, leaders in every industry have
begun taking advantage of social technology,
erasing distinctions between “social business” and
business. Increasingly, your customers and
employees expect you to integrate social into your
core business processes.
A social workforce is a smarter workforce.We humans are social animals, even at work. With
1.5 billion of us using social networks, you don’t
need to convince your workforce of social’s
value—you just need to create a culture that guides
and supports the application of social networking
to your work processes.
When a workforce operates as a network of
communities instead of an organizational chart,
employees can spot and fi ll gaps in their expertise.
They can seamlessly share their knowledge across
departments, across languages, across oceans.
Those aren’t idle fantasies for Cemex, a $15 billion
cement maker that wanted to create its fi rst global
brand of concrete—a task that required the
coordination of stakeholders from each country.
To do this, Cemex didn’t build a new lab. It built
a social business network. Employees in 50
countries formed one active global community
whose collaboration helped launch the brand in
a third of the anticipated time.
IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, Let’s Build A Smarter Planet, Smarter Planet and the planet icon are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. © International Business Machines Corporation 2013.
Turning customers into advocates.It’s taken social media only half a decade to alter
consumer behavior. Social inputs like reviews
and comments may be driving as much as a third
of consumer spending. And it’s estimated that,
by 2022, social technology will enable four out of
every fi ve customer transactions.
As consumers become more empowered, it’s crucial
to use social technology to engage and connect
with your customers.
Italian poultry leader Amadori Group uses IBM
solutions for social business to interpret the
Web as an infi nite focus group. By applying social
listening to online discussions, the company can
creatively and nimbly respond to consumer
sentiment. Social conversation on sustainability
inspired Amadori to introduce greener packaging.
By incorporating social into online experiences to
reach new audience segments, Amadori can turn
customers into advocates.
There’s no business but social business.Investing in becoming a social business—in helping
your workforce deliver an exceptional customer
experience—has never been so urgent. A 5 percent
decrease in customer attrition can boost profi ts
by up to 95 percent. And fi nding new customers
can cost you up to fi ve times as much as keeping
the ones you have.*
Becoming a social business goes beyond building
a social network. It demands capturing and
analyzing the vast amount of data that the network
creates. Using that data can remove boundaries
both inside and outside your company.
And before you know it, there will be no more
“social business.” Only business. To learn more, visit
us at ibm.com/social-business
‘‘Liking’’ isn’t leading.
LET’S BUILD A SMARTER PLANET.
Could you use an extra day of productivity
from your sta each week?Social technology can
increase e� ciency by as much as 25 percent.
The social-technology industry, worth $600 million in 2010, will
grow tenfold by 2016 to $6.4 billion.
By 2014, nearly fourout of fi ve companies plan to invest in social technology to foster internal collaborationand to listen tocustomers.
*Frederick F. Reichheld, The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profi ts, and Lasting Value (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1996).