How businesses can compete online

For businesses, having an online presence is no longer just an option but a necessity.

Javier Vicente “JV” Rufino, director of Inquirer Mobile, said businesses “need to be where the people are” to remain relevant in this digital age.

As the Internet continues to be more accessible to the masses with the advent of mobile data and more affordable smartphones, more and more people are found online.

“People are no longer sleeping. They’re consuming more and more,” Rufino said during the first CDN Conversations held last November.

“Millennials practically live on social media. Fifty percent of web traffic come from mobile devices,” he added.

With the growing number of people on mobile, businesses that are online are given access to a larger consumer base who can, at any given time, decide to buy a certain product or avail of a certain service.

This does not mean that businesses that aren’t online can’t thrive. With a strong enough physical presence and a loyal customer base, businesses that are not online will still be able to survive, Rufino said.

However, it makes it all that more difficult to compete when your competitors are all active on social media, and have gained a substantial customer base.

In getting on the online platform and competing with already established businesses online, Rufino said there are several steps businesses can take.

“There is a key to vitality,” he said.

“Converse before you can sell. Build a relationship first. You can begin talking about the products and services after you establish a relationship,” he added.

To do this, Rufino said that first step would be to listen.

Instead of immediately launching on social media and “making noise,” businesses would do well to listen to what the people are saying and learn to quickly react to what they say.

To illustrate, Rufino cited the report about actor Jiro Manio, who was spotted wandering around the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

From listening on social media and immediately reacting to a tip given by one of the Inquirer’s reporters, who happened to be on site when Manio was spotted, the paper was able to develop a story on the child actor.

According to Rufino, the news on Jiro Manio went viral across social media, and in less than 24 hours, had exceeded shares on the Supertyphoon Yolanda stories.

“Listen in. Before yapping on social media, listen,” Rufino said. “[The news] could have slowly slipped us by if we weren’t listening.”

He highlighted the need for quick intervention, especially when there is a problem or crisis. However, quick intervention comes as a double-bladed sword, and businesses would do well to know when to go into a situation and when not to.

As a general rule, responses on social media should be made in as little time as possible.

“Waiting three days to respond is an eternity on the Internet. On Facebook, it’s even shorter at 24 hours. On Twitter, even less than that — 2 hours,” he added.

Another step is to make use of analytics, which is a tool that would help businesses understand better the profile of consumers who go on their sites or pages.

“We found through analytics that a lot of the times, what people say they want is not actually what they do or buy,” Rufino said.

Reacting accordingly and taking advantage of analytics, will help businesses develop their marketing strategies and brands.

At the same time, because manning social media is a labor-intensive job, businesses would need to build a dedicated team of people to maintain online presence.

Rufino recommended a group of two to three personnel to maintain the sites. These people will keep watch on the consumer traffic, mind what people are saying, and interact with the customers online.

“It’s marketing research and promotion all in one,” he said.

Aside from being an avenue to sell products and services, social media can also be a tool for businesses to advertise their companies and attract the “top talents” of the industry.

“It’s a great way to advertise companies as a great place to work in. The culture of the company matters to a lot of people. Environment matters just as much as compensation and benefits,” the executive added.

It also comes as an advantage for companies that the talents are often active online as well. Companies will be able to do background checks on applicants they’re hiring through checking their social media accounts.

Whichever way businesses use it, social media has become a powerful tool and has changed the way the game is played, Rufino said.

“You have to get the right message out at the right time and in the right place,” he added.