Why Zimbabwean Businesses Need A Social Face

By Chief K.Masimba Biriwasha | iZivisoMag.com

It’s unfortunate that in this day and age most Zimbabwean businesses are still relucntant to embrace the opportunities provided by the digital age. The reluctance to embrace change in the digital era only means that local businesses will continue to be relegated to the dustbin of history. According to a recent Ernst & Young report, Into the Cloud, Out of the Fog, 64 percent of surveyed business respondents in Zimbabwe have implemented limited or no access to social media sites as a control to mitigate risks related to the platforms. The global average is apparently 54 percent. While on the surface of it, it may appear that social media causes time wasting among employees it is unfortunate to have such a negative approach to its use within business.

Social media integration into business can indeed contribute to the bottomline if implemented properly – if anything, it can help business to stay in touch with their target audiences and customers. Executives must embrace new media in order to not only compete for the future, but for mind share, market share, and ultimately relevance.

Corporate entities in Zimbabwe need to recognise that social media is a goldmine that can facilitate the achievement of key business objectives. With over a billion people on social media it’s irresponsible for any brand not to have some sort of presence. Now is the time for brands to engage on a direct-to-many basis. Social media is changing everything about the way people relate socially, in commerce, and politics.

An effective social media strategy is more than just setting up a Twitter, YouTube and Facebook account – in other words, it’s more than just broadcasting advertising messages to accumulated fans. Social channels need to be treated as integral part of the communication process.

In particur, social media channels need to be used to humanize brands and/or businesses. Such channels – if used properly – can help to build stronger emotional connections with brands. The key for any successful social media campaign is to generate more and deeper involvement with the product or service. Social media can give voice, credibility, and connections to both companies an their customers.

For starters, Zimbabwean corporates need to identify great conversations about their brands, it all starts with conversation – the kind of conversations that engage, enthrall and enrapture audiences as well as influence the emotional connection and subsequently sales. Of course, social media is not a cure for bad products or services but it can sure help in eliciting rapid customer feedback.

Social media allows us to open up an invaluable dialogue with customers in a way that was simply not possible previously. It’s important to state that the execution of social media within the corporate set-up needs to prioritise substance over cheap thrills and style. While putting the brand in the middle of a conversation is key, it’s even more critical to be real and authentic.

For corporates, especially those involved in the publishing business, engaging audiences is an essential part of their continued success and relevance in an ever-connected universe. As people continue to turn to the Internet for information, businesses that continue to stick to the old ways of engagement will soon find themselves in the cold.

Is quality important in business?

Quality is a non-negotiable element of business. Business is all about transcation. It’s a give and take. The level of quality at every stage of that exchange process is what can make or break a business.

 

In that sense the, quality in business must be maintained at many levels of the business cycle, including internal operations, shareholder and customer service management, product or service innovation, design, costing and delivery.

 

With better quality in its approach, a business exponentially increases its chances to capture the market share. Put in other words, quality is the currency of staying in business.

 

Ensuring quality in business involves detecting defects or problems in a product or service and correcting them before they get to the customer. In the event that a customer has problems with a product or service, quality involves redressing the issue through good customer management service.

 

In its simplest form, it’s about taking each and every customer to heart and ensuring that they are fully satisfied by the nature of the exchange process.

 

Of course, some business gurus say that quality is a perceptual and subjective attribute, but with proper systems and processes in place, it is an attribute that can be transformed from the abstract to the measurable.

 

In short, quality can be made concrete.

 

Business that ignores quality in its product or service provision only does so at its own peril. The business wil inevitably lose credibility and customers in the marketplace, and will experience a downturn in its bottom line.

 

So the fewer the defects in a product or service, the greater will be the customer satisfaction and customer retention. It is more likely that customers will also recommend their friends and relatives to purchase the business’ product or services.

 

As stated already, quality in business enhances the relationship between a given business and the customer.

 

Having said that, it is important to note that quality in business in not a static. Rather, it is a dynamic, living process. As times and circumstances, and market charachteristics shift, a business needs to continue redefining what quality means in its focus area. Of course, there are some long-standing values that will never be eroded by time such as good aesthetic, delivery on time, absense of errors and defects among others.

 

But the metaphysics of quality demand that business exercise an awakened consciousness to ensure that a customer’s experience of the business is enhance.

 

Quality in business does not happen in a vacuum, it has to be exercised with full consciousness of intended results.