While the ROI of social media remains unclear for many, a majority of U.S. industrial manufacturers are using social media channels to learn about their customers, according to the Manufacturing Barometer released by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
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Fifty-six percent of respondents said they were investing some energy into deploying social media strategies at their companies. But 50 percent say they are still uncertain if these channels are adding value to what they know about their customers.
\”A majority of industrial manufacturers are embracing new techniques to understand their customers, including using social media and new forms of communications,\” said Barry Misthal, global industrial manufacturing leader for PwC. \”However, the reality is they don’t have a full understanding of the value, return on investment or goals to maximize those platforms. These are critical questions that need to be fully planned in order to realize a full understanding of your clients in this quickly evolving communications world.\”
That level of uncertainty extends beyond the \”new techniques\” to digital platforms that are already established such as email, web and mobile. While 76 percent of PwC panelist companies are currently investing in them, a majority (59 percent) said they really didn’t know if these platforms helped reduce cost of service.
How to measure the returns on these investments is indeed a challenge right now, the reality is that having an established presence will pay off in the long run.
\”While it’s true that your entire customer base may not be on social media, the next generation of your customer base is already there,\” says online marketing expert Bob DeStefano. (See: The Social Media Challenge: ROI)
The Web is the first stop for many next generation shoppers – for both business shoppers and consumer shoppers – and if your brand isn’t where they’re looking, it may be completely overlooked. (Read: E-Commerce Evolves for Distributors).
Available from the MDM Store: The B-to-B Online Marketing Toolkit: A Step-by-Step Plan for Distributors and Manufacturers to Leverage Online Marketing for Bottom Line Results.
