Quick Study: Consumers Want to Socialize With Companies; Revenue Potential Falls Short; Biz Travel Spending a Mixed Bag

*Consumers Crave Social Interaction: According to the findings of the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study, nearly 60% of Americans interact with companies

on a social media Web site, and one in four interact more than once a week. This news should serve as further evidence that companies' key stakeholders are online, and they want

to socialize with organizations and brands on digital platforms.

Among the additional findings:

  • 93% of surveyed Americans believe a company should have a presence in social media; and,

  • 85% believe a company should not only be present, but should also interact with consumers via this channel.

When asked about specific types of interactions that interest them:

  • 43% of respondents say that companies should use social networks to solve my problems;

  • 41% want companies to solicit feedback on their products and services;

  • 37% feel that companies should develop new ways for consumers to interact with their brand; and,

  • 33% of men and 17% of women interact frequently (one or more times per week) with companies via social media.

Source: Cone

*Realization of Customer Revenue Potential Falls Short: According to "Precision Promotion: Timely, Targeted and Trackable," the CMO Council's new thought

leadership initiative, companies are still failing to realize their full customer revenue potential. The research, which aims to explore strategies and techniques for customer

revenue optimization, uncovered the following findings:

  • Maximum revenue is still out of reach: More than 76% of marketers surveyed felt that they were not realizing the full revenue potential of their current

    customers. More than 10% claimed to not know at all.

  • Strategy is getting personal: Messaging that is more personalized, relevant and precise is the top strategy marketers will deploy for achieving greater revenue and

    profitability according to 60% of the respondents. Marketers will also look to find new ways to up- or cross-sell current accounts (45%), address under-penetrated markets or new

    customer segments (41%) and will use more efficient channels or alternative media to engage (32%).

  • Bribery won't lead to loyalty: As marketers look for new routes to customer loyalty, providing new inducements and incentives to do business will probably not factor

    into the strategic road map (9% of respondents).

  • Good news for database marketing solution providers: Marketers will be introducing better segmentation, profiling and targeting strategies (60% of respondents),

    adding or improving database marketing systems (49%) and acquiring new analytics capabilities (30%) to better target and engage.

  • Better news for direct marketing solution providers: Marketers also indicate continued investment in personalizing multi-channel communications (30%) and

    individualizing print, email, text messaging, call center or Web interactions (26%).

Source: CMO Council

*Tough Economic Times Make Business Travel Spending a Mixed Bag: Last week, the economy took a historic nosedive, but not before the Association of Corporate Travel

Executives released a survey on executives' business travel spending habits, which reveals that a turbulent economy only plays one part in the decision to spend more--or cut

back--on business travel. Among the findings:

  • 36% of respondents said they'd be spending more on business travel next year;

  • 33% said they'd be spending less;

  • 47% said the No. 1 cause of cutbacks in travel spending is a combination of economic uncertainty and rising fuel costs;

  • 26% cited other reasons, including internal changes and a restructuring of business focus;

  • 31% are cutting back on travel straight across the board;

  • 39% percent are cutting back on internal meetings;

  • 16% are reducing international travel; and,

  • 9% have eliminated training trips as part of their agenda.

Source: Association of Corporate Travel Executives