Social Media Use for Improved Customer Experience
Assignment #2: SOCIAL MEDIA SWOT ANALYSIS
Social Media Use for Improved Customer Experience
Abstract
As businesses become more competitive, it is essential to use SWOT analysis to determine the areas that need improvement. This allows organizations to identify where they are lacking as well as unexploited opportunities. This paper intends to analyze the strengths weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Organization X as it intends to improve its success on social media. Strategies that improve social media success are guaranteed to improve consumer experience which is a plus for Organization X.
Keywords: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, consumer experience, social media, Introduction and Background
A SWOT analysis is a reliable strategy tool for any organization hoping to improve itself. As is the case with this paper, the SWOT analysis performed evaluates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats organization X faces in relation to social media platforms. Generating an increased satisfaction among user experiences calls for businesses to constantly evaluate themselves so they may find ways to turn weaknesses into strengths, take advantage of opportunities and mitigate available threats. To succeed in improving consumer experiences within the competitive world of social media, managers need to get out of their comfort zone and execute tactics that bring out the best in their services.
Organization X
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
1. The organization exhibits exemplary project management skills as they are able to communicate during crisis and engage consumers (Chen et al., 2020).
2. The company practices customer centric approaches by acknowledging diversity in relationships and maintaining professionalism (Matook, 2015; Chung et al., 2017; Kapoor, 2017).
3. There is presence of a dedicated Support Team that retains the company’s relevance by maintaining constant information exchange (Baum et al., 2018) 1. The company does not have a co-production strategy with the local consumers to determine the effectiveness of their input (Chen et al., 2020).
2. Generalization is a challenge the company is facing since they have a limited target group (Sigerson and Cheng, 2018)
3. The company lacks professional analytical skills to back up its social media campaign strategies (Baum et al., 2018)
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
1. Data Analytics present a means for organizations to predict their future and minimize risks (Hoffman and Novak, 2018).
2. The organization can benefit from integrated customer care through the use of chatbot and automated notifications (Appel et al., 2019).
3. Social media platforms offer consumer penetration on a global scale allowing organizations to increase their market share (Baum et al., 2018) 1. Inability to compete with firms that are able to pay higher for influencers to promote their goods or services (Appel et al., 2019)
2. Trends and evolutions are unavoidable hence the need to keep up with the constantly changing world of technology (Kapoor, 2017)
3. Brand representation is sensitive since mistakes could easily tarnish the image of an organization.
Detailed SWOT Analysis
1. Strengths
Some of the positive attributes within organization X may be project management, customer centric approaches and having a dedicated support team. According to Chen et al., (2020), there is need for organizations to consider consumer engagement as a project aimed at developing trustworthy relationships with consumers. The organization strategizes on giving consumers more than information exchange by engaging them in dialogues and involving emotional valence in the type of content released on social media platforms. Another strength is Customer centric approach which may focus on professionalism (Kapoor, 2017). The internet is full of people from diverse cultures, different ages and preferences (Chung et al., 2017). There is need to determine ways to create a relationship between managers and clients who do not have a personal relationship (Matook, 2015). This is achieved by maintaining a professional approach to make all individuals feel valued hence improving their experience while interacting with the organization. Lastly, having a dedicated support team ensures these relationships are not ignored and maintain consistency (Baum et al., 2018). A dedicated support team will improve engagement with clients by constantly posting about products and giving more information about the organization. The organization therefore retains relevance in most consumers mind since the company name is constantly popping up to remind users of their existence.
2. Weaknesses
The organization, however, needs to have an open mind towards co-production, avoid generalization, and improve social media campaign skills. With almost every trick in the book executed, social media platforms require a unique strategies to draw in clients. According to Chen et al. (2020), there is need for organizations to explore co-production with consumers. Organization X has minimal or no interactions with consumers that lead to proactive co-production of their products. Such a strategy would enable the organization to focus more on the consumer experience by bringing to the table products shaped alongside the immediate needs of their target groups. There is also the issue of generalization that Organization X is facing. Generalization is a case where an organization does not diversify its products to fit a wider range of potential consumers (Sigerson and Cheng, 2018). Such a weakness limits the capabilities of Organization X to consider giving their consumers varying tastes in products or services hence lengthening their consumer retention. Another issue is with social media campaigns since analytical skills are lacking within the organization. Without the knowledge of understanding and manipulating data, it becomes difficult to determine the right approach to an effective social media campaigns (Baum, 2018). Before running a campaign, it is essential to know user needs, trends, and behavior to offer the appropriate commodity or service.
3. Opportunities
There are various external attractive factors that may lead the organization to success by helping improve social media initiatives. At the moment, they involve data analytics, integrated customer care, and consumer penetration. All these opportunities are useful and will most likely improve how organization X improves the experience of customers. First, data analytics present a way for businesses to use the data they have to shape future decisions (Hoffman and Novak, 2018). There are applications such as Google analytics, and Bing analytics that can aid organization X develop graphs that show how clients and their interests grow. Second, integrated customer care is another opportunity that has given businesses the chance to constantly interact with users without the need of human help. These non-human techniques include chatbots and automated notifications (Appel et al., 2019). This allows clients to gain a better experience by getting answers immediately instead of making them feel ignored due to human delay. Lastly, consumer penetration is an opportunity that an organization can leverage to improve its marketing strategies (Baum, 2018). Organizations are able to use existing products for an existing market share and increase the percentage if consumers. The same can be done for consumer experience by increasing the same reach to a larger market share.
4. Threats
There are also external factors beyond the control of organization X that one cannot control. These include earned media, trends and evolution, and brand representation. Competition is high on social media and especially with companies that are able to pay for reach. Paying influencers and sponsored posts aids organizations increase their ability to gain the attention of most people (Appel et al, 2019). However, there are too many influencers online and the rates for sponsored posts vary. Hence, organizations with higher social media budgets are likely to succeed faster in increasing their following as compared to organization X. Another unstoppable issues are trends and evolution (Kapoor, 2018). What may work for organization X today may not work at all in the next year. Technology is ever evolving and so are social media platforms. Furthermore, consumers gain different tastes as they change from generation to generation. Lastly, a threat to brand reputation may make the organization suffer in case of a tarnished reputation. It takes a lot to build a brand and it will take much more to save it from a damaged image.
Conclusions
In conclusion, Organization X has chances to improve itself based off the SWOT analysis. The strengths of the organization are assuring as they portray a commitment to consumer engagement and projects. This will allow the organization to follow up on strategies to fix their weaknesses, grab opportunities and manage threats. Available weaknesses can be done away by employing personnel with innovative and analytical skills to improve the quality of the projects. Also, there is need for the organization to look for ways to make their services linkable to social media platforms via mobile use. Higher budget allocations could also aid Organization X in keeping up with trends and earned media online. Moreover, opportunities can be taken advantage of by utilizing the proper management skills to implement the analytics, chatbots and automated notifications. These advances are likely to improve how viewers experience Organization X as it hopes to succeed on social media.
References
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Kapoor, K. K., Tamilmani, K., Rana, N. P., Patil, P., Dwivedi, Y. K., & Nerur, S. (2017). Advances in social media research: Past, present and future. Information Systems Frontiers, Springer 20(3), 531-558. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10796-017-9810-y.pdf
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