Warning to transit authorities: Ignore social media at your peril Accenture offers seven steps to savviness By Philippe Guittat Accenture
28
June 2012
With consumers growing more complex and demanding than ever, brands and services no longer just need to sell something of quality. They must also create trust-based relationships with their customers and open the lines of communications to initiate a dialogue. In short, consumers want to communicate with those who sell them products and services. Despite this growing trend mass transit agencies for the most part still fail to grasp the importance of implementing social media. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are simply far more than communication channels to transit users. They in fact serve as powerful catalysts for changing the ways customers, transit employees and associates use technology to interact with the world around them. With so many organizations failing to catch up, only a very few — if any — take full advantage of the technology. The social media trend has swept around the world with breathtaking speed and astonishing impact and public transit agencies must begin to implement social platforms as part of their communications. Accenture predicts that leading organizations will soon start applying social platforms and social design mechanics to manage interactions across all communication channels to consumers, fostering greater intimacy with their customers, more efficiently, and with better outcomes. Organizations that have successfully grasped the potential of social media can serve as case
studies for those looking to embark on a new program. Toyota Friend is a network that connects owners with their cars, their local dealership, and with Toyota itself. It allows the car to send an alert for required service, just like a tweet. For users, the new features make their interactions with others richer and easier. For businesses they further solidify the value of social platforms as ways in which businesses must interact with their communities of interest, whether those communities are customers or employees. While Toyota understands the benefits of social media, public transportation has not traditionally embraced it particularly well. It is only now that some are beginning to see how they too can gain from increased communication with their customer base. Transit agencies have started to engage with passengers when there are disruptions to services, in which advisers connect with customers online to help clarify a situation and solve problems. There are certainly barriers to social media that put off many public transportation companies. Confidentiality is a big issue, and many agencies are hesitant to part with old ways and share information online. Then there is the issue of frequency of engagement. Often organizations do not believe they have the time to respond to every post or comment from users. Nonetheless, more companies need to attempt to break down these barriers. Many industries have already broken through by taking small steps in the right direction. As they continue for-
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