The importance of networks.
Networking has been considered an important skill for business forever, even before people came up with fancy monikers for it and well before instant messaging became a part of everyday life. Today it is more vital than ever. As Tina Brown of The Daily Beast said in a recent Op-Ed that has been widely spoken about of late we now live in a “gig economy”. In this form of economy where so many people are freelancing and where so many companies offer telecommuting positions social networking has become key. Indeed, ReadWriteWeb reports that:
The share of adult internet users who are involved in social networking online has more than quadrupled in the past four years in the U.S. In 2005, only 8% of adults had a social network profile. As of December 2008, that number was 35%.
RWW was speaking of social networking but this trend fits in well with the article that Kelsey linked to earlier discussing the ever growing popularity of instant messaging within the online community.
In other words, as most of us have realized, it isn’t just young people who are using all of the powerful tools that the internet has unlocked. Why does this matter to Brosix users, or potential users? Most, if not all, of your fellow employees are familiar with instant messaging but I would also argue that based off of most recent statistics your clients are just as likely to be on IM.
If your company were to set up a Brosix network you could tap into that with a secure environment, all the while making your clients feel more important. Imagine that right before you send a large order you hop on Brosix, IM the client to whom the order is being shipped and ask them if they need anything else? It would be quick and to the point without filling up their inbox further with an email that might be disregarded and without calling them which they would find more obtrusive. At the end of the day those clients would realize that you are considerate, concerned, and to the point. Plus, I believe all of your clients would appreciate feeling that they are part of your team!
I hope all of you have a great weekend and please feel free to email me at nhahn at brosix dot org if you have any questions, concerns, or comments. I am always listening!
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A great idea, but you could also use it with more of a service bent as well. You could use it to issue personal Thank You’s when a client places an order, and to let them know, in real time when their order has been shipped.