Web 2.0 networking no time waster for IT business

Pearce: Use social networking to stay aligned with customer needs in real time

Social networking is a simple and effective way to keep customers up to date and ensure they aren’t forgotten post-purchase.

These platforms can source customer feedback and even help design products. Resellers can reap the benefits, including customer satisfaction and loyalty.

One social networking site we have been familiar with was launched because there was no online forum where application architects, networking and security professionals could go to share practical information on how to build solutions that enabled applications to work with the underlying network.

It now has one main English-language site, and two localised sub-sites in Japan and China. The site has already had more than a million visits this year and the UK has one of its biggest user bases outside the US.

The draw for application developers, network managers and the rest is that users anywhere in the world can get information from real people.

That information can include ways to use their existing IT to increase credit card security, or define the bandwidth for certain types of users.

There is another benefit. By providing a place for end users to share ideas, ask questions, and explain their needs, IT companies can make better products that better match user requirements.

For example, about 20 of the most popular custom modifications have been rolled into the product interface; they are now point-and-click features for users.

There is such thought-provoking dialogue about various topics, protocols and the like on this community that the vendor involved has a special team to support customers who want to engage with the faction and enhance their products.

Social networking sites enable vendors to spot trends. We have noted an increase recently in users doing more work with certificates, discussing online security, and looking for new ways to protect against threats.

By tracking these trends online, resellers can stay on top of customer demands in a highly competitive market.

With the advent of the micro-blogging phenomenon exemplified by Twitter, there are now more options than ever to keep customers engaged.

Using a Twitter account, you can aggregate everything from new technical articles to blog posts in one forum. The account can be used to alert followers to new videos or other rich media, which can also be posted right there on the forum.

Vendors can notify users of special opportunities to preview their technology and apply special attention from designated customer support teams.

Another type of social networking format is the wiki, which is basically an easy way to collaborate on and create web site-based information. Wikis are well suited to the creation and updating of technical documentation, because end users can keep on contributing, keeping documentation updated and thus potentially more accurate.

Social networking sites can generate ideas through engaging customers. They can make product development less financially risky by helping users to communicate with technology providers, letting us build and develop exactly what they want.

Kev Pearce is ACE team technical manager at Integralis