What is the shape of social business in Australia? Building on an earlier report in 2012, this update confirms that we are in the Age of the Social Consumer.

2. The Age of the Social Consumer
Names can be confusing – especially when it comes to The Edelman Trust Barometer 2012 reinforced this
that ever shrinking membrane between businesses and perception – indicating that, at best, trust in institutions
their customers. Variously we call them customers, remains under pressure – with non-government
clients, stakeholders and consumers. Sometimes these organisations trusted by only 65% of people, with
people – for they are always people – are also our businesses languishing at 57%. Barely a pass mark.
employees, partners, shareholders, suppliers and even And hardly what we would call a measure of success.
executives.
The lines have blurred.
Let me just say that this has always and forever been
the case. It’s just that in the past we have been happy
to jump between roles – to change our mask as we
pass security and to leave it at the door as we enter
our homes. But over the last 20-30 years there has
been an erosion in the compact that we make with
businesses that once allowed this play acting to
continue. We no longer have a job for life. And we are
equally likely to discard one brand for a competitor’s at
a moment’s notice.
The casualty in all this is, of course, trust. Click the button to view the Edelman
Trust Report 2012 (Australian data)

3. The Age of the Social Consumer
The Age of the Social Consumer is upon us – for no But was does this mean for business?
matter where we fit on the business spectrum –
whether employee, customer, partner or shareholder For while we are seeing a rise in this empowered, vocal
(or any of the other 50 shades of stakeholder grey) – social consumer – we are also seeing a desire – or
we can agree on at least this: even an expectation – that businesses engage in
complex and surprising ways. Social customers, tired
When it comes to brands and businesses we of waiting at the end of never ending IVR queues are
are ravenous – for content, services, products jumping to Twitter or Facebook to solve their problems
and experiences. We are consumers – – finding the answer in the crowd, in their small
connected to each other by the loose ties of networks of trusted participants and sometimes, just
community, passion and interest – and our sometimes, in the hosted spaces hosted by forward
allegiances are only as sturdy as our ever thinking brands.
diminishing attention span.
For it is clear that social media is not just about media
Our organisations – especially our marketing
– or about being “social”. It’s about penetrating the
organisations – have been completely outflanked by
membrane around your business. It’s about going deep
the digital and social media transformations that have
into the experience of your brand.
rocked the online world. Unwilling or unable to trace the
direction of this revolutionary wind, our organisations
But the question remains ... Are you ready?
look dated, outmoded, very “twentieth century”.
The social consumer is in control now and the shift in
the balance of power has been consolidated.

4. The Survey
When the first of these surveys were carried out in late
2011/early 2012, I was interested in answering that
very question.
It felt like businesses were starting to get a handle on
the business value of social media and I wanted to
find a baseline that helped us track the shifts and
changes that I imagined would occur in the years
ahead.
The first survey’s results, released in Q1 of 2012
reinforced anecdotal evidence – that while businesses
had begun adopting social media there was still a
significant gap between business use and customer
expectations. And in a world where the social customer The figure above shows how IBM characterised the
is king, that gap can be the difference between success “perception gap” in their 2011 report. Most startling is
and failure. the clear link between purchase and discount –
In 2011, IBM released a report on this phenomenon – indicating that both businesses and consumers
characterising it as a “perception gap”. In reality, this agree that monetisation of the social business model
gap is the gulf between the type of customer is a priority. However, as this report confirms,
experience and interaction that customers want and businesses are yet to prioritise this programmatically.
the types of experiences and interactions that
marketers think their customers want.
Click the button to download the
IBM report

5. The Survey
This mid-year survey, however, has identified a number The report is divided into three sections:
of interesting trends. For just as the world of social
media is one of constant change, the world of social 1. The new face of doing business looks at
business is one of constant adjustment. As you will see social consumers, their expectations and how
from the various sections, business is recalibrating as these play out at the membrane of the brand
we speak.
2. The business value of customer intimacy
The survey itself has also undergone a transformation. investigates the style of interactions and
As a result of feedback, the questions were expanded engagement
beyond the consumer focus of the first survey to cover 3. The hidden power of enterprise social
topics related to employee engagement, enterprise media focuses on the types of behaviour,
social networks and the broader topics of business systems and processes that are being used
value within Australian businesses. behind our business firewalls
In short – what we are seeking to understand with this
survey is the landscape inhabited by our Social
Consumers – in all their glorious shapes and forms. Purchase and download the Australian
Social Business report 2012