Savvy businesses know that creating an online presence can heighten awareness and ultimately bring in new business. What’s often ignored, however, is that small and medium businesses can leverage Social Business techniques to drive growth! Social techniques are a great equalizer! A great example is a cool restaurant in an interesting place!
In Indonesia, Bumbu Desa, a very cool restaurant, is leveraging social business to expand its business. Everyone is heading to this restaurant chain, with new locations expanding into Singapore and Malaysia. Growing from three branches five years ago to 38 branches in 2010, the different franchises of Bumbu Desa were having a hard time staying connected with one another. With Social Business (from IBM SmartCloud!) they can now quickly share information regarding new menus, new ways to greet guests, and other restaurant-related issues.
Each Bumbu Desa franchise can now submit their daily sales reports to franchise headquarters, a method that was previously handled using fax or overnight mail. Bumbu Desa is also embracing food reviewers as well to come and explore what they have to offer!
With more and more organizations looking at social media as a way to outpace competition and reap rewards, it is now the era of social business. Social business goes beyond Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. A social business recognizes that people do business with people (the value is in people and the interactions that they have) and optimizes how people interact and then leverages those interactions to create business value and gain competitive advantage. A social business also embraces the shifts in the way employees, customers and partners engage.
Bumbu Desa is a great example of a small business embracing Social Business to grow!