EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE
Social Media Usage Integral to Success
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hile preparing the cover story for this issue of Office Technology, I asked interviewees to comment on the rise of social media as a means to connect with current and prospective customers. While social media appears to be the preferred means of communication among Millennials, it is frequently used by every generation in the workforce. Although space did not allow me to address the topic of social media in the cover story, it is an important component of the office technology industry transition that is now underway. Following are a few comments on the topic shared by the interviewees. I believe you will find them of interest. Randy Dazo, InfoTrends: n “Obviously, we have Facebook and Twitter, the social media giants of today, but there are now other social media options, such as Instagram, that some in the newest generation to enter the workforce are embracing; Facebook is not necessarily the way they communicate anymore. Today, there are a lot of new avenues that we have to be in touch with and continue to examine.” n “The whole social media space and understanding the new generations are areas we definitely need to focus on and embrace. If we don’t, there are going to be other competitors out there that will steamroll over us.” Matthew Vied, Lexmark: n “How do you leverage social media to drive incremental business? We are all trying to figure that out. But the big thing companies have to realize is they can say as much as they want to on social media, but if they do not have the digital customers following them, they are speaking to no
one. So, a big priority is to have a strategy for gaining additional followers. Otherwise, you are speaking to an ‘empty room.’” Phil Boatman, Lexmark: n “If a customer has a tremendous experience and tweets it, that can spread quickly. But, what if the customer has a bad experience or just has a moment of frustration and tweets something negative? What if that comment ‘goes viral,’ so to speak? In these cases, you need to rectify that by all means necessary as quickly as possible. This may include asking for some positive tweets from existing customers.” Terrie Campbell, Ricoh: n “Those who have a Millennial mindset do not want to be sold to; they want to be spoken to and dialogued with as part of the process. If you think about that from a dealer perspective, you realize that when a dealership is not in dialogue with prospects, it is potentially not seen as a viable option. I see a lot of dealers moving in this direction. They understand this intuitively. It is as simple as having a social media management system.” n “When you are in online dialogue with customers, you have to be in the conversation. Someone has to be watching that social media page and responding. If you are still planning on all of your messages going out with feet on the street, then your investments are heavy with people walking out the door as opposed to people sitting and managing chat windows or social media. I don’t think there has been a good transition yet to recognizing the importance of an investment in centralized selling personnel, who are ready and able to respond to inquiries from customers coming in through search engines, social media or a desire to chat. I don’t see a lot of dealers who have recognized this.” n — Brent Hoskins
Executive Director/BTA Editor/Office Technology Brent Hoskins brent@bta.org (816) 303-4040 Associate Editor Elizabeth Marvel elizabeth@bta.org (816) 303-4060 Contributing Writers Larry Breed, Precision Hiring & Development www.precisionhiring.com Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Troy Harrison, SalesForce Solutions www.troyharrison.com Bob Sostilio, Sostilio & Associates International Melissa D. Whitaker, Melissa Whitaker International www.melissawhitakerintl.com
Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.bta.org Member Services: (800) 505-2821 BTA Legal Hotline: (800) 869-6688 Valerie Briseno Membership Marketing Manager valerie@bta.org Mary Hopkins Database Administrator mary@bta.org Teresa Leerar Bookkeeper teresa@bta.org Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org Photo Credits: Blend Images, Image Source, iStockphoto. Cover created by Bruce Quade, Brand X Studio. ©2014 by the Business Technology Association. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of published material. However, the publisher assumes no liability for errors in articles nor are opinions expressed necessarily those of the publisher.
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