When we set up DLA Ignite some three and half years ago I always assumed that the target person we would talk to would be the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) in the business.
The link above is to the Wikipedia definition which is
"A chief digital officer (CDO) is an individual who helps a company, drive growth by converting traditional "analog" businesses to digital ones using the potential of modern online technologies and data (i.e., digital transformation ).
Which is what we do here at DLA Ignite.
So I assumed there was a direct match, our capability and their responsibility.
But I've not spoken to one.
I've pondered why that is, maybe the are still too focused on IT, but probably because we as a business have not proactively approached a CDO to talk to them. After all, as a leader "blame" needs to reside with you first.
Why Should a Social Selling Company Talk With a CDO?
Well actually we are not just a social selling company, we provide business transformation. Sales transformation is just one thing we do. We can actually transform a business, (we reckon we can do twice as much for half the cost), without the need for expensive systems and tools.
Why? "A fool with a tool is still a fool"
We started the business as a social selling company, but last year we launched Social Marketing and Social Human Resources (HR).
People often say to us "yes we do social already". You do, expect it's a tactic and not a strategy.
Let's take Human Resources (HR) you probably tweet out job ads and use Linkedin for job ads. We actually got a Human Resources expert to rethink HR for the digital age. This enables a world class business find the best talent, retain the talent they have, support social learning, as well as providing a better employee experience all through using social. Exciting eh!
We also have Social Marketing, Social Finance and Social Procurement, Social Customer Service to add to Social Sales.
Our Belief Is That Social Media Has Changed the World
Social media has changed the world, the news is now about who tweeted what. The headlines the other day was that Adidas had retweeted Nike.
We have also see Social Media change business, I wrote this article on how Social Selling can get you 10 C-Level meetings a week some 4 years ago.
In this interview this week with Danielle Guzman who is Global Head of Social Media for Mercer and we discuss "5 Things to Kick Start Your Employee Advocacy Program" and she shares the value they have gained from empowering their employees with social media.
Mercer are getting 3 to 4 times the attributed revenue than the brand generates. Can you believe that? If the brand is creating $10 million, then empowering your team on social will generate $40 million.
There could be a business case there, even to use an outside company to help you. Hint, hint. ;)
There is no denying that social can transform your business and with this evidence (I could share more) there is a clear business case that you transform your business.
The Digital Transformation Quick Win
So here's a thing. If you are a CDO why don't you get in touch and I can explain more. Or if you know a CDO, why don't you share with them this article, or tag them in the social media post?
Now I don't your circumstances but we are seeing more and more examples how business can transform to digital without the expensive tech budgets and the expensive management consultants.
How is Social Media Making an Impact?
Simon Kemp in his research says that there are 4.57 Billion people in the world on the internet, that is up 7% on last year. There are 3.81 Billion people, active, on social media. That is up 300 million on last year.
So while "Sharon" on facebook left Facebook, 300 million people joined.
Covid19 has seen a 50% increase in social media usage.
In fact the world has changed with social media, from the way ideas are propagated to the way we do business.
So What? - The Winners are on Social
This Business to Consumer (B2C) world gets pulled into Business to Business (B2B) world. In other words our B2C behaviours, become normal in B2B. How? Because we bring our everyday lives into the world of work.
BMW for example, even before Covid19 was selling through social. In November last year, they got 28 pieces of inbound (people making an enquiry to buy cars) through LinkedIn. I'm not talking about their website, I'm talking about people making enquiries through social.
BMW ere able to convert 14 of these into sales. Let's assume a BMW is $50,000, that's 14 x $50,000 = $700,000
That's an additional $700K that they signed from social media. This was for zero cost of Marketing.
Ironically, their competitor, Jaguar Land Rover announced in the same month, November 2019 that they were reducing production as they were not selling enough cars.
This is clear evidence that business has moved to social and the winners who are there .... are winners. And the losers who are not there ... are losers.
Maybe it time for business to wake up to this transformation?
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently said
Certainly the world we lived in before lock down, is not the same world we live in now. Priorities have changed, your customers outlook has changed, budgets have changed ..... and we need to do something fast before the money runs out.
To quote my good friend Larry Levine
"has the window of relevancy closed with many of your customers and prospects?"
You can find me on social here
This new digital reality presents a unique challenge for chief digital officers (CDOs). Often the most digital person in the organization, the CDO, as “transformer in chief,” is charged with leading a business’s digital transformation while working closely with the CEO and the C-suite to help shape the business response to the crisis. Since the CDO role is relatively new, this is also likely to be the first major crisis he or she has faced. As such, the CDO now also has a true opportunity to demonstrate resilience in a crisis by driving the digital changes a business needs to survive.
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