Web 2.-What?
A recent McKinsey Global Survey, "How businesses are using Web 2.0," shows that, while the business press may be all over the 2.0 trend, companies themselves are still slow to
invest. Among the responses from the 2,847 surveyed global executives:
- 80% use or are planning to use Web services, including software that enables systems to communicate with one another;
- 48% are investing in collective intelligence;
- 47% are investing in peer-to-peer networking, which enables the sharing of music, video and text files;
- Only 37% use or are planning to use social networking;
- 35% report investments in both RSS and podcasts;
- 33% are investing in wikis;
- 32% are investing in blogs;
- 70% of surveyed companies rely on Web 2.0 technologies for communicating with customers;
- 51% use them to talk with suppliers and business partners; and
- 75% rely on the technologies for internal collaboration.
These findings, which were reported in a BusinessWeek article titled, "Executives Remain Wary of Web 2.0," suggest that communications professionals must continue their efforts
to argue that the rewards of online technologies far outweigh the costs. After all, as Medialink COO Larry Thomas said in response to the PR News/Medialink video survey results,
"Specifically, when we are talking about the Web, people need to take a closer look and understand how cost-effective online video content can be."
Can't Get No Satisfaction
As discussed in last week's issue of PR News (4/23/07), customer service is a big deal, and it's not a responsibility to be overlooked or shunned by communicators. That point
is made all the more emphatically by a recently released survey from Genesys, which revealed that, while customer service has improved from three years ago, key pockets of
frustration still remain. Among the findings:
- More than 75% of the 4,300+ surveyed consumers said that they would give more business to a company based on a great contact center experience, indicating that customer
service is a key driver of profitability and satisfaction;
- 76% believe that companies are pushing them to use self-service systems instead of talking to live people;
- 52% are frustrated by having to repeat information they've already provided;
- Rather than waiting on hold, 74% of customers would like to have the option to ask for a call back;
- 86% want e-mail communication, and more than 45% would like e-mail to become their primary communication vehicle; and,
- More than 89% would like to receive proactive communications from companies, by phone or text, regarding products or services of interest to them.
These results reinforce the imperative for communicators to be actively involved in customer service, and they point to a trend of integrating digital communications platforms
into customer service platforms.
Risky Business
According to Aon's first Global Risk Management survey, the increasingly diverse, complex and exotic risks faced by multinational corporations make risk management difficult
and ineffective. The results reveal that:
- The top five risk concerns were: damage to reputation, business interruption, third-party liability, distribution or supply-chain failure, and market environment; and
- More than 50% of respondents said they weren't prepared for the risk they rated as most worrisome - that is, damage to reputation.
Of particular interest to communications executives is Aon global risk consulting managing director Ruth Joplin's comment that "Executives now see reputation as a major source
of competitive advantage. While intangible, reputation is one of the most important corporate assets and one of the hardest to protect."
Haven't PR pros been saying that all along?