FALL 2014

28 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S

28 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Don Conant I remember a few decades ago sitting with the phone to my ear while transcribing a list of items for an order from a customer. That’s how we’d taken orders since we started the business in the late 60s. We might still be doing that today if one of our largest customers hadn’t informed us that they were unwilling to continue reading a two to three page list of items to us over the phone. They told us that if we didn’t get a fax machine they would find another supplier. So we got a fax machine. In today’s economy it is vital that business keep up with technology. But what does that mean It is often difficult to know when and in which technology to invest. Technologies move through markets in waves. Business leaders need to decide whether to ride the wave they are on a bit longer, skip a wave completely, move from one wave to another, or add a new wave. It is estimated that for many IT initiatives the cost of the technology accounts for only five percent of the total cost of adopting the technology. Much of the remaining ninety-five percent is attributable to downtime, training, and daily operations. The decision to stay, skip, change, or add a technology can be both risky and expensive. Don Conant is the General Manager of Valley Nut and Bolt Company, Inc. in Olympia, Washington. The company is a fastener distributor and steel products manufacturer servicing the Pacific Northwest since 1969. Don is also Assistant Professor and Director of the MBA Program at Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington. He earned his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Saint Martin’s and his Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. SOCIAL MEDIA AS A CUSTOMER SERVICE PLATFORM This article focuses on the emergence of social media as a viable customer service tool for business. The article will examine the hype surrounding social media, customer expectations, the integration of social and traditional media, and return on investment. The Hype Surrounding Social Media A student of mine recently remarked that business cards were dead. This comment is indicative of the predictions of the past 20 years that electronic media will eliminate traditional print media. In spite of these predictions, my experience is that we still go through a lot of paper. It is true that there are an abundance of new ways for businesses to exchange and store information, but the rumors of the death of the business card (as well as the demise of printed material) are exaggerated. This type of overstatement permeates today’s business landscape. Increasingly, social media advocates insist that social media will replace traditional media. In reality, research indicates that in many cases social media is being integrated into traditional media. When it comes to electronic communications, email and the telephone remain the most often used means of interaction between a business and its customers. Facebook, business owned social communities, and Twitter lead the social media pack but account for only a fraction of all business communications. However, that fraction is growing. please turn to page 170