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Rajesh Lalwani
Rajesh Lalwani is the Managing Director of Scenario Consulting Private Limited which delivers a variety of strategic marketing, communication and public relations offerings. He writes a very popular blog at 'Rajesh @ Blogworks'.:: Could you tell us about the current state of Indian businesses? Are they eager to adopt and move towards social media? Or is there still a preference for traditional media tools?
The Internet has about 5-7% penetration currently. Businesses look for quick impact; hence, the preference for mainstream media which reaches out to a lot of people at once. It provides quick impact in terms of visibility and recall. Social media, on the other hand, is an engagement tool which involves building conversations/collaborations and understanding what people are saying.
Mainstream businesses have shown a lot of interest in social media and some have been experimenting with it. But most of the experiments have been very tactical. Also, it’s more useful to talk about social media as a number of units that make a wider network rather than a single tool. For example, it can imply tools used for internal knowledge management engagement of employees. These are different from the tools used to reach out to customers or to do research. It all depends on what the businesses want.
It is important to divide social media into different components. Consider corporate blogs: these haven’t taken off in India.. Many big companies are not engaged in writing blogs while smaller companies have started blogs as a way to engage with stakeholders. On the other hand, a lot of people are using internal knowledge management tools which are collaborative in nature.
Brands are using social media to reach out to customers, but the focus has been on creating touch points. Examples include setting up of Twitter and Facebook accounts, and the use of viral videos.
Brands are identifying customer touch-points but what could be more useful is insights in terms of customer feedback. This information could then go into in creating products. The product creation process increasingly requires involving customers. However, the listening process is still happening in small pockets. But, I believe, this will become an essential component of businesses.
:: What are the points of resistance for companies? Scepticism or a general inability to listen?
Companies are still not thinking through a wider strategy. They still operate in silos. For example, the marketing/communications department may be doing great work on social media, but the other departments may not be involved.
The points of resistance will break only when these departments come together and form a strategy that incorporates social media as an integral part of their organizational strategy. The internal barriers between departments must be dismantled. The only way to do so is by proving that the use of social media has a significant impact on the company. Until then, the use of social media will remain at a tactical level.
:: What types of businesses seek your advice? Do they fall within a certain category or do you get clients across a wide cross-section of industries? Also, what do your clients ask for?
This is a difficult question to answer because organizational needs are very different. For example, an SME looking for social media solutions will have different needs from a large consumer brand.
Let’s talk about consumer brands. Brands that are involved in high engagement with their customers have high traction with social media . Gadgets, automobiles, mobile phones, finance, health care, beauty, food and movies are typically categories where you find that people are more involved and such involvement is more visible. On the other hand, a lot of social media research is also being done which mostly happens silently, behind the scenes.
:: When you provide services to your clients, do you provide them with in-house technology solutions or do you point them to social media tools?
There are two ways we help our clients. Firstly, we help them understand the basic needs of their business. As an organization, we do not believe in giving our customers simply what they asked for. We identify their needs by examining the rationale behind their request and then help them with solutions that meet the need and deliver value. . We assess their demands collaboratively and then form a strategy based on their needs and their competitors’ activities. We tie it in with their current marketing or business strategy and in alighnment with their objectives. A strategy is a good thing to have, but it’s no good if it can’t be exhibited in terms of results.
We don’t necessarily, or simply, point our customers to blogs or wikis; we help them with solutions based on their requirements. Some brands may need to engage their stakeholders, such as customers or suppliers, directly. We also help them measure the results in order to gauge if they are receiving the right value based on the amount of money and time invested.
:: Your company does some form of online reputation monitoring. Could you tell us more about this feature?
We have an offering called brand conversation audits which involves tracking a set of topics/words and analysing what people are saying around those keywords. We look at the nature and the tone of the conversations and interpret what people are saying.
:: Considering that the internet penetration is still low in India, how significant is online reputation monitoring for Indian business?
Firstly, the key decision makers are significant users of the internet. Since the mainstream media and policymakers are connected to the internet today, the impact that the internet makes is significant.
Secondly, India is now a part of the global economy and plays a major role in the global market. The world is connected to the internet. Therefore, India is able to create a greater global impact than it could ten years ago.
Moreover, internet connectivity is no longer limited to a desktop/laptop. Mobile devices are becoming the ubiquitous tools that people carry and use to connect to the internet. We have about 350 million connections and many of these are internet-friendly. The internet is heading towards a marriage of the traditional internet with the newer mobile internet. In India, the internet – even though it’s significant today - will have a much larger impact five years down the line.
:: As a company that offers consultation services and helps businesses identify their social media needs, what are the major challenges facing your company as well as businesses looking to explore social media?
The primary challenge is that the adoption of social media is slow. It is not growing as fast as people who are investing time and resources in it would like. Another problem is that marketers in India believe in a ‘one-way street’: I speak, you listen. Brands are not engaging their customers. People are not used to a culture of voicing opinions, collaborative working and knowledge sharing. Channels to resolve customer queries and complaints have not been created. Essentially, we sell and then forget about service. Shifting to social media is a culture shift for brands so it is taking time. It’s happening slowly: Brands are unable to react properly to feedback, especially of the negative sort. Feedback is seen by many as criticism rather than constructive suggestions.
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