The vast majority of European and UK businesses are blind to the potential, or indeed threat, of peer-to-peer communications, e.g. blogs , which promise to transform the ways that companies market themselves to customers and suppliers. These findings came about after Xerox asked Forrester Consulting to conduct a major pan-European study, undertaken in Oct/Nov 2006, into the changing workplace.
For Xerox, it is essential that we identify trends so that we can adapt our business to meet the needs of tomorrow’s workplace. The study, ‘Is Europe Ready For The Millennials?’ is the first of its kind to analyse how Europe’s business leaders are preparing for the upcoming technology-literate generation, dubbed ‘The Millennials’ by Forrester Consulting.
The Internet, with the delivery of instantaneous communication, has revolutionised the way we do business, increased productivity and has become ubiquitous in the workplace. Crucially, however, the study highlights a disconnect between business and the Internet’s opinion-formers.
There is also an increasing recognition from marketers that businesses risk losing control of their reputations, due to an ignorance regarding what their customers and business partners are saying about them online. Indeed, some marketing companies have been quick to spot the opportunity in the threat and now provide online monitoring services.
The emerging breed of Millennial employee is, according to Forrester Consulting, defined by a number of characteristics: they process information quickly, find multitasking easy, like to work in peer groups, are flexible and responsive. They expect instant collaboration with colleagues, company suppliers and customers and use the latest communication technology with ease.
The Xerox rationale for studying how business is preparing for the Millennials is that we believe their arrival in the workplace will fundamentally impact on the way companies interact with their stakeholders: their customers, employees, investors, partners and shareholders.
The study comprising in excess of 1600 online interviews with European executives (including more than 260 from the UK) as well as 70 telephone interviews shows that, at a basic level, most companies attempt to communicate with their customers via email and the Internet. The study reveals that: 63 per cent of UK companies currently have a website to provide support to their customers; 47 per cent automatically request customer feedback; and 43 per cent allow phone or website sales.
However, when it comes to social computing (blogs, online forums, wikis, etc.) the vast majority of companies simply aren’t engaging with Millennials.
Only 24 per cent say they have an online portal to rate and discuss products; as few as 23 per cent monitor online discussions; and just 19 per cent of businesses offer extra-value content to enhance the customer experience online.
However, these are exactly the social computing elements Millennials expect, and these will play a vital role in attracting them to companies as employees, customers and partners. Furthermore, it seems that if companies have not yet engaged with social computing networks, they are unlikely to do so in the future. Fifty four per cent said that they have no plans to offer extra-value content; 41 per cent have no plans to monitor blogs; 40 per cent won’t provide an online discussion portal; and 12 per cent even have no plans to provide a company website that would provide customer support.
Social computing represents a shift in how people obtain information. They will still receive information from institutions, but also from online communities. The increased adoption of online forums illustrates that individuals are eager to share their experiences with peers, who are likely to take their views into account and may adapt their buying behaviour accordingly. However, if you don’t know what is being said about your business then you cannot deal with erroneous blog information or legitimate complaints.
Despite the reluctance of the companies to adopt social computing technologies, they represent a cost-effective way for many brands to improve the customer experience.
The research also reveals a comparable picture when it comes to how companies communicate with their suppliers. Although 53 per cent of UK executives say they currently use an extranet to work with partners and suppliers, 20 per cent have no future plans to do so. Just 34 per cent say they currently select suppliers based on peer-network recommendations, while 37 percent don’t intend to in the future.
The importance of social computing is two-fold: firstly, Millennial customers’ loyalty will be driven by their online experience; and secondly, Millennial employees are used to working online, outside of the controlled enterprise environment particularly from a B2B point of view which is a trend that will continue whether it’s supported by your company or not.
As blogs and forum sites become more sophisticated companies may find that online recommendations or not as the case may be do more for their brand than their corporate website.
This is not to suggest that CEOs should start their own blogs. However, the most influential blogs are important in that they give companies the opportunity to listen to what their target audiences really think about them.
