An article on LinkedIn, authored by Dave Kerpen who runs a few Social media companies in the US, about the presence of Fortune 500 CEOs on the Social domain got me thinking.
How many of our own Indian retail CEOs are active on social networking sites? A quick research on the internet for the top 10 retail companies by market cap of India brought out the shocking truth, most of these gentlemen are fairly conspicuous, but only by their absence.
These top 10 retail companies have intermittent social presence themselves. Shoppers Stop has close to 5 million and Pantaloons has over 1.6 Million Likes or Followers on Facebook. And they do engage them rather well!
However, my point is that every growing retail company needs a face and who better than the CEO? After all a face definitely offers more empathy than an organization!
So why should the CEOs engage on the Social media?
1) Social Media offers an inexpensive platform for the CEOs to reach out to their investors, employees and customers. The resources spent to get a message across to millions of investors, customers and thousands of employees, could witness a downward spiral, which could rival the Rupee’s fall against the Dollar. A single CEO tweet can reach millions instantaneously. In times of Crisis, it could not only help manage it but also save the company huge sums of money!
2) Social Media can motivate. Regular tweets or a status updates by the CEO highlighting the performance of particular employees or divisions will super charge them and boost the bottom line! To the investor the simple idea that she can reach the corner office instantly albeit electronically will boost her morale and overall investment climate. To the vendors such an unfettered access will generate a greater faith in the systems.
3) Social Media is a great listening post! A CEO cannot only listen to but also respond, thereby effectively engaging his employees, Customers and other stakeholders.
4) Social media could keep the various stake holders in balance! If the front line staff knows that his transgression could immediately be reported to the highest office of the company and lead to inquiries, he make sure that the customers enjoy the best brand experience each time they visit the Stores. All the other departments could become more efficient for a similar reason.
5) If you do not do it, Competition will! The competition is always on the lookout to score a Customer brownie. A tech-savvy CEO could use the opportunity to engage the customers of rival company.
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