The last year has seen a rise in Canadian companies using social networks, blogs, microblogs and forums to win new business, reveals a new survey from Regus, the global provider of flexible workplace solutions. According to the survey, 34 percent of firms are successfully using social networking to win new customers, up six percentage points from last year’s survey.
The research also reveals globally more firms are using social media to engage with existing customers than a year ago, with the following highlights:
43 percent of businesses in Canada use websites such as Twitter to engage, connect with and inform existing customers
In Canada, 50 percent of firms encourage their employees to join social networks such as Linkedin and Xing
43 percent of Canadian companies dedicate up to 20 percent of their marketing budget to business social networking activity
Globally, the survey reported a seven percent increase in the proportion of businesses successfully recruiting new customers through social networks such as Facebook
Social networking has fully evolved from a nice-to-have to a necessity as the majority of businesses in Canada (67%), and internationally (74%) agree that social media activity is playing a bigger role in their marketing strategy. Canadian (69%) and global firms (61%) are also emphasizing the need for a balance of marketing media, confirming their belief that without a combination of traditional and digital techniques, marketing campaigns will not work.
The global Regus survey findings are based on the responses of over 17,000 managers and business owners across 80 countries.
Wes Lenci, Regus regional vice president for Canada comments: “As businesses emerge from the downturn they are increasingly reconsidering pre-recession working practices and opting for more flexible, competitive strategies. From supply chain management, to leaner working practices, to cloud computing, to increased use of video communications and mobile working – no area of business is being overlooked. Particularly in Canada where Itracks reports that most companies believe that social media has a positive impact on word-of-mouth, awareness, promotions and referrals, more and more companies are leveraging this channel to increase the loyalty of existing customers, and as a successful acquisition tool.
