Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus gave the first ever definition of social business and it was simple – a company dedicated to solving human problems. The term evolved to a second generation by the Dachis Group to incorporate a social element interconnecting the various business constituents including marketing, R&D, customer support and suppliers. This second-generation meaning of social business involved the use of social media tools.

'Going social' is helping carriers engage consumers, transform business models and leverage expertise across the organisation. Business leaders should remember that the purpose of collaboration is to improve the speed of execution and delight customers. It is important to exhibit to all elements the ability to drive ecological growth and strengthen customer loyalty and commitment, as a result of collaboration.

The value of social business products and practices is recognised well by firms, but many face cultural and organisational issues that limit their ability to take advantage of those new capabilities.

For many organisations, “going social” means having a Facebook page or a Twitter account. Becoming a truly social business is about changing the way people and companies connect, interact and exchange information. Going social enables insurers to engage and serve today's connected, more empowered consumer, break down organisational boundaries to leverage knowledge and expertise across their organisation wherever possible, and transform their business models.

Consumers and intermediaries are increasingly using social tools to have a two-way conversation with organisations. Employees are using social tools to simplify the way they work by collaborating across their organisations.

Beyond investing in social technologies, becoming a social business may also require changing organisational culture and rethinking how business is done. There are a lot of security issues with social business tools. It can be an attack on brand image, legal subjects, data security and revelation of vital company information. Successful companies recognise potential exposures and proactively involve the right experts and develop risk management plans.

Companies can jump start their own journey to becoming a social business by

Encouraging experimentation: Organisations should give employees the room to use social technologies in their everyday work environment. Start by setting up forums, team rooms and collaborative spaces, and encourage employees to make social practices a part of daily work.

Engaging employees to drive a collaborative culture: To become a social business, companies should weave collaborative hubs and collaboration tools into how they get work done. Executives can lead by example, use a collaborative hub for a key project and invite employees to contribute and vet ideas.

Thinking creatively about social selling: By weaving social abilities into their sales process, companies can rapidly deliver services and content, enable expert locators and faster quotes through more collaborative business processes.

It’s not just the firms but also the consumers who will benefit from this transformation. We know that a consumer’s opinion matters. A consumer can make or break a business. Word of mouth is the best form of promotion. So an organisation is actually reaching out to a consumer to make sure they are heard.

Consumers are the real kings in the social business. Whether they have a complaint, an idea, a query or advice, they are engaged seriously. And it’s real time. If a consumer today wants to reach out to an organisation, she can do so at a much quicker time. At the crux of every business is the need to attract new customers and retain existing ones. Imagine a call centre for a large national bank where all customer inquiries are funnelled through one general number. Social enterprise tools enable customer service representatives to work more efficiently and provide higher-quality service as there is more immediate access to content and expertise within the organisation. By streamlining this process, there is a better customer experience, deepening customer loyalty and boosting future sales.

The days of turning your back on social tools are gone. Companies that have embraced social practices and tools early on to create a more collective work environment are gaining competitive lead in their market and becoming more profitable.

These enterprises realise that the groundswell of opinion and innovation being shared on social sites, blogs, text chats and the like is tantamount to customers banging at the door and demanding to be heard. Savvy leaders know that online input is a vital part of the discourse and have plumbed their organisations to listen closely. Those at the forefront don’t just invite customers in for a chat; they recognise it as an urgent call to action.

Accepting customers as stakeholders in determining an enterprise’s future has huge cultural and organisational implications. These businesses can’t just be customer-centric. They must be customer-activated. That requires creating fully reciprocal relationships with customers. It means being ready — and willing — to change course to pursue those paths that create mutual value. And it requires finding ways to include customers in key decisions.

In short, a social business is much more than a business that uses social media. Social collaboration achievement is more a cultural and philosophical triumph than technology adoption. Collaboration is hard work but it’s not complex work. Social business is a shift that is going to transform the organisations as much as it is transforming society. Companies that get ahead of the shift and build social capabilities in their business will create more valued customer experiences, drive workforce productivity and accelerate innovation for the changing marketplace.

(Venkatramani Subramanian is Vice-President and Leader for BSFI, IBM, India/South Asia)

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