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IBM urges businesses to embrace social networking

by Scott Bicheno on 22 December 2008, 16:13

Tags: IBM (NYSE:IBM)

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Findings

"Consumers are becoming 'producers,' often creating entertainment and advertising content for their peers while demanding flexibility and responsiveness from companies with whom they choose to do business," said Peter Korsten, of the IBM Institute for Business Value.

"These customers are more demanding; however, the majority of CEOs do not see them as a threat, but as an opportunity for differentiation - based on meeting the heightened expectations of this group, and capitalizing on new market opportunities that will emerge. Dealing with this new breed of consumer in the midst of a whole new economic environment will play a major role in companies' agendas for the foreseeable future."

Here's a summary of some of the things IBM uncovered across a bunch of sectors:

Consumer Electronics

  • Consumers desire greater affordability, awareness and better content and applications for the mobile Internet.
  • In terms of device features, the survey found consumers prefer a large screen, high resolution, internal memory, and quick speed data transfer as the most important and desired features in their mobile device.
  • Over 50 percent of consumers polled stated that they would substitute their Internet usage on a PC for a mobile device.
  • Consumers are most loyal to their preferred brands for communication services such as email and instant messaging.