With every company large and small jumping on the social media bandwagon, there have to be reasons for investing in it other than "everyone else was doing it." All of those businesses want to see how social media, like any other marketing initiative, affects their bottom line. This has proven to be very difficult however, because conversations and interaction are very hard to quantify in numeric terms.
A few good suggestions I read about determining the ROI of social media are not to look at it in dollars and cents that it produced. Social media does give you a snapshot of how consumers feel about your products and gives them an outlet to voice any concerns. This is all data that companies used to have to pay market researchers to collect through surveys and focus groups and now it is coming directly to their blogs and websites. Saving money on market research and being able to gauge how consumers view your products for free is a huge ROI.
The Race to the top of Social Gaming
13 years ago
i like your suggestions, but i don't think social media can take the place of hard market research. social media targets an engaged, tech-savvy audience. market research helps to fill in the gaps with customers that are still very willing to spend their money, but might not have a significant online presence.
ReplyDeleteNothing can replace initial research and in depth analysis. However, i think there will be shift toward more research on social media and how it impacts the business.
ReplyDeleteI too believe that market research cannot be easily replaced, mainly because these services are highly specialized and meet every demand of the company hiring them. In terms of social media one gets mainly general feedback, sometimes not specified for what the company is looking for.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely nice that this information is coming right to their front door but I have to agree with Romadome and that nothing can replace hard market research. Both are definitely needed to improve your company and to make money. Both can be uses to get a better analysis of the situation and make a better judgement for your company.
ReplyDeletewhile working in market research i completely understand what you are trying to say. to not have to worry about this aspect of open ended data, such as consumers voicing their concerns, you can focus on more of the hard numbers that you are cranking out of the surveying.
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