Oct 10, 2013

SINGAPORE -- Businesses in Jordan can retain their customers and improve their products and services through having a presence on social networks, an expert at International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) said Thursday.

"Having a presence on social networking sites is no more an option. Businesses that want to survive and grow need to take social networks seriously and interact with users," Pranatharthi Haran, ASEAN executive of web experience and social business at IBM Software Group, told The Jordan Times on the sidelines of IBM InterConnect 2013 conference, which attracted more than 2,500 delegates and experts in the field of business and IT from across the world.

Business in Jordan, whether in the banking, services, insurance, retail, healthcare, ICT and other sectors, should have strategies to interact with their clients and audience through social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, he said.

"In countries, where Internet penetration is on the rise and social media usage is high, it is a must for businesses to pay attention to what is happening on social networks and what is being said about their services and products," Haran added.

"Social media networks help businesses get feedback on their services and products. If businesses professionally and constantly interact with customers on their Facebook page or Twitter account and reply to their queries they will be able to create a digital community of customers, which will benefit their business grow," he continued.

According to the expert, people nowadays resort to their Facebook friends' list, which is their trusted network of friends and community, to get their feedback on certain restaurants, products and shops. And in many cases they say their frank opinion about goods they bought or places they have been to without any restrictions.

"Therefore, businesses that have an active presence on social media are referred to and their reputation and the services they provide is easily rated on social media," he said.

In Jordan, where Internet penetration reached 70 per cent by the end of June 2013 with some 4.641 million users, social media usage, especially Facebook, is on the rise, according to the Arab Advisors Group.

A recent survey by Harris Interactive Inc. on behalf of Northwestern University in Qatar, showed that 94 per cent of Internet users in Jordan use social media sites, mainly Facebook.

There are more than 2.7 million Facebook users in Jordan.

"By interacting with customers on social media networks, businesses can address questions by their clients. If there are negative comments on their services and products, they can also benefit from this data to enhance their work," Haran indicated. "Social media is a game changer and businesses should think of social networks as an opportunity to increase their audience."

Scott Hebner, VP, social business solutions, echoed similar remarks.

"The way people rate things nowadays differ from it was in the past. A person can ask his list of friends about a certain shop or products and gets a feedback in seconds," Hebner told The Jordan Times in an interview Thursday.

"There is no excuse for any business not to use social media anymore. Overwhelming majority of the world's population have mobiles and use social media around the clock," said Hebner.

In a session Thursday on "How Social Businesses are Driving Results", experts stressed the importance of social media to companies of all sizes.

Alistair Rennie, general manager of Collaboration Solutions at IBM, indicated that major companies around the world are using social media to get feedback and improve their services and products accordingly.

"Engagement with customers through social networks is crucial and is the key for long-term success," Rennie stressed during the session, where experts also looked into how social networks can help increase employees' productivity and performance.

The 3-day conference, held under the title or a "New Era of Smart", included several sessions on cloud computing, big data and analytics, latest IT trends, the future of mobile applications, how enterprises can become smarter by adopting new technologies, among others.

© Jordan Times 2013