Anti(Small Business)-Social Media?

In the past decade social media has become a way of life for many Americans and indeed many people from almost every nation around the world. The average American adolescent can't make it through a single day without checking or updating his/her MySpace (MyWaste), Twitter (Fritter - as in fritter your time away), or the grand-daddy of them all Facebook. To be honest with you I am one of those people who can't keep up with my friends, family or current events without the use of some form of social media. So we have established that there is a built-in market just waiting to be snapped up by companies within the realm of social media. However, how much value does social media really add to businesses and contribute to what we really care about around here - PROFIT?

According to a Wall Street Journal article by Sarah E. Needleman in May of this year, social media has not been all that it is cracked up to be to the companies most tempted to utilize its seemingly never-ending potential - small businesses. Small businesses see social media as a way to compete with the grandiose marketing campaigns of larger companies. Facebook or Twitter provide a much cheaper and convenient marketing avenue for small businesses which can reach a mass market with a simple post on its Facebook page or an update by "tweeting". This is evidenced by the increase from 12% to 24% in the use of social media by companies with less than 100 employees according to a survey of 2000 U.S. companies in 2009. (University of Maryland's Smith School of Business and Network Solutions LLC, a Web-services provider in Herndon, Va.)

This significant adoption rate is however soured by the relatively poor results from another survey conducted with 500 U.S. small businesses from the same sponsors as the previous survey. According to the survey "just 22% made a profit last year from promoting their firms on social media, while 53% said they broke even. What's more, 19% said they actually lost money due to their social-media initiatives." This is staggering news to many I am sure. "The hype right now exceeds the reality," says Larry Chiagouris, professor of marketing at Pace University's Lubin School of Business. Mr. Chiagouris goes on to explain that social media "could harm you if you end up inadvertently saying something stupid, offensive or even grammatically incorrect."

The reality is as it was in the past and as it will always be in the future - without a great product, positioned in the right place, sold at the right price, and promoted in the right way, businesses will not succeed in its marketing function. Though many small businesses have benefited greatly from its use, social media has also consumed the time and effort of many others that were not as fortunate. As a result the use of social media cannot be and is not the be-all and end-all for small businesses wishing to break into a market or an industry. It needs to be incorporated with traditional marketing techniques in order to create value and ultimately add PROFIT!

But who am I kidding? Come on! You know about this.

Source: Sarah E. Needleman, Wall Street Journal, May 15th, 2010
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703909804575123691040422082.html

Campbell's Adds Neuromarketing To Soup Mix

Neuromarketing is being utilized by many large and notable companies today. In a Wall Street Journal article from February, 2010, Ilan Brat writes that Campbell's Soup Co. is planning to use neuromarketing techniques via its labelling. Campbell's soup customers, Brat explains, often choose to eat soup without any real reason for their selection. When consumers are asked why they choose to eat more soup or not, they tend to "say they don't think of it," says Doug Conant, Campbell's chief executive.

By changing the brand elements on the labels of its soup products, Campbell's hopes to influence consumer behavior neurologically and boost its condensed soup sales by 2% over the next two years. According to Brat, for two years, "Campbell researchers studied microscopic changes in skin moisture, heart rate and other biometrics to see how consumers react to everything from pictures of bowls of soup to logo design."

Consumers often remember certain commercials, billboards or other forms of advertising based on memorable images that take them back to their youth, recall a good moment in their life or represent an ideal they would like to experience in the future. An example of this is Coca-Cola using polar bears in their advertising campaigns. Any information that can be used to influence consumer behavior that translates into increased revenues for a company is a great strategy in my book. Neuromarketing components should be used as part of the regular focus groups and the surveys that make up the marketing research strategy for any successful company in today’s world.

 

But who am I kidding? Come on! You know about this.

Source: Ilan Brat, Wall Street Journal Online, February 17th, 2010

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704804204575069562743700340.html

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