Technology has come a long way in the last decade and is hard to recall what life was like at the beginning of the century. Since then, it has been introduced to smartphones, tablets, wearable technologies; sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter; wireless internet; and thousands of items in between.
Contents
Social media
It is undeniable that technological change has affected the way family and friends interact, but what about the way business and their customers interact? Some may say that the results are too deep, and the results are permanent. If you narrow down your viewing and focus only on social media, the results are astounding. From a business perspective, there are both good and bad. Here are a few of them:
Customers Are All-Powerful
Whether you want to admit it or not, the social media platform took a lot of control away from big business and put a stronghold on the hands of customers. In the past, when a customer encountered something bad with a brand, their story was tied to a small group of family and friends. Now, with social media, angry customer can voice their opinion for millions of users to see (just check out this shocking news). Social media requires businesses to invest in providing the best customer service – which, of course, is a good thing.
Businesses Can Be More Visible
On the flip side, businesses have profited visually. Businesses that can invest in social media can grow their brand growth. A small business in South Florida can now sell to customers in Northern California without having to make a phone call and make a cold call. The communications platform demolished local boundaries and allowed customers and businesses to communicate anywhere.
Immediate Access to Response
Before the social media platform, businesses had to invest a lot of time and effort to get feedback on new, or existing products. Now, all that is needed is a simple post. You can ask people to try out your product, let them tell you about their experience with the service, or find out why sales are slow – without leaving the office.
Free Marketing
While it is not easy to build a social media presence, once it has started and operated, it can be used as a free advertising and marketing tool. With thousands of followers and millions more with just a few clicks, anyone who needs to find him can be found.
More Competition
You can decide if it is good or bad for your business, but the fact is that social media has increased competition in all industries. You are no longer just competing with the business in your area or community. You are against everyone.
Viral Content
Before the social media platform, infected content could be the joke of a comedy series or a video taken by several news channels. Now, the virus content has the potential to reach millions of people – instantly – while allowing those users to interact for everyone to see. Viral content has become such an important factor in success for many businesses that they invest most of their marketing budget in creating content that is transmitted and shared.
The ever-changing state of communication
Which of the following do you believe has had the greatest impact on business relationships with consumers? Whether you are a business owner or a consumer, there is no denying the deep and long-lasting effects that social media has. It will be interesting to see how things go from here, as new social media platforms such as Periscope and Meerkat are introducing the world with live streaming capabilities.
