The digital age [powered by the data computing power PCs, Servers and Networks] turned business decision-making into a science rather than a “gut feel”.
Every internal and external activity in a corporation is tracked, analyzed, referenced and cross referenced in an unending array of dashboards, key performance indicators and reports that managers, executives and investors live and die by.
In the post-digital era that we are currently living in however, we have a new set of analytics to consider: the human decision engine. This engine is driven by the engagement forming between the business and its stakeholders and among the stakeholders themselves.
Data and measurement is no longer numerical. There’s a fuzzy logic that must now be considered by Social Businesses such as social trust, emotional brand attachment or the power of social influence.
The customer lifecycle is no longer as linear – nor as predictable – as it once was. We’re so interconnected today that a single off-topic social commentary can turn into a tsunami of influence. Business leaders must now consider the nature of the relationships they are forming with their stakeholders and those among their audiences as decision-making data points in addition to raw transactional data.
Customers and business professionals are increasingly relying on social data and social networking as trusted sources of influence. So isn’t it about time that businesses realign their decision making to more closely align with the customer lifecycle? Should business decisions become more social?
The nature of business decision making will be the focus of this week’s #BizForum debate on Twitter. The 4 statements we’ll be debating are:
1. Business decisions must be short-term focused due to the unpredictability of the audience’s social engagement response. Agree/Disagree/Why?
2. Businesses that draw consumers into their decision making process will generate greater results. Agree/Disagree/Why?
3. Providing employees the opportunity to connect & network in social channels will improve business decisions. Agree/Disagree/Why?
4. Proactive public opinion influence has become more critical than reactive data analytics in business decision making processes. Agree/Disagree/Why?
Join us Wednesday from 8 to 9 PM Eastern as I moderate this debate with our guest Sean Moffit, author of WikiBrands. Follow along on TweetChat or your favorite Twitter App. Sean and I will also be engaging in this discussion live at the Social Media Masters Conference in Toronto on October 7th, and in Kansas City on October 21st, 2011. Add your thoughts below – they will help shape the debate!
Sam Fiorella
Feed Your Community, Not Your Ego
Feed Your Community, Not Your Ego
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*Image coutesty of protozoo, licensed via Creative Commons
