Study: Companies still in puberty when it comes to social media
Amid the growing social media boom, companies have not yet figured out how to capitalize on the hype surrounding Facebook and the like. According to a study, these companies are going through a sort of “adolescence”: They’re putting a lot of effort into building relationships with their customers, but they don’t know how to go about it.
Last year, many companies were particularly active on Facebook in order to get as many "Like" clicks as possible. This is according to the E- Commerce Report 2012, which was published on Thursday in front of the media in Zurich. Companies interested in rapidly increasing their number of friends rewarded a "Like" with vouchers or access to special offers, for example.
"However, it is difficult to estimate the value of these purchased friends," says the study, which was conducted by the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland on behalf of payment processor Datatrans in the first quarter. To this end, managers from 34 important companies active in Swiss e-commerce were surveyed.
Disillusionment after hype
"Two or three years ago, there was a gold-rush atmosphere on Facebook. In the meantime, disillusionment is spreading," Weltbild-Verlag boss Rita Graf is quoted as saying. "Facebook has less influence on purchasing decisions than we thought," explained e-commerce manager Janos Heé from the airline Swiss. According to the study, a number of companies that had made a serious commitment to social media were disappointed by their experiences to date. Some would reduce their involvement again.
The high expectations of the opportunities for customer loyalty had already diminished again in this year's survey, said study co-author Ralf Wölfle from the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland. Swiss sees Facebook as a communication and marketing channel, but not as a sales platform, explained Heé. Matthias Thürer, Head of Marketing at ebookers.ch, echoed the same sentiment: "Facebook is not an e-commerce site. Our booking engine on Facebook only generates very few bookings." Companies can use social media to increase brand awareness, but hardly generate any sales, said Wölfle.
Sales via cell phone are booming
In contrast, orders via mobile devices such as iPhones and iPads continue to boom. SBB is now selling more tickets via cell phones than via its website, explained e-business manager Patrick Comboeuf.
A quarter of the companies surveyed in the study generate more than 5 percent of their turnover from orders placed via mobile devices. The boom in tablet computers should provide a further boost, said Wölfle. (sda)
