Internal Web 2.0 deployments produce more benefits
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More organisations that use social media for collaboration and knowledge sharing report benefits than those with outward-facing Web 2.0 projects, McKinsey study finds
Businesses that use social media or Web 2.0 technology in order to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration are more likely to reap benefits than those who use the technology as a marketing channel, according to a survey of 1,700 executives conducted by management consultancy McKinsey.
Across all geographies and industries, a greater proportion of respondents whose organisations had deployed Web 2.0 ‘for internal purposes’ said they had achieved at least one measurable benefit than those who had deployed the technology ‘for customer purposes’.
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There are many possible explanations for this. The survey also found that IT executives were more likely to have been involved in inward facing projects, so the experience they bring to bear in technology deployments may have been a factor. Also, internal projects are arguably simpler, as they apply to a smaller number of people.
Both approaches are producing benefits, however. The highest rated benefits of internal Web 2.0 were increasing the speed of access to knowledge, reducing communication costs and increasing the speed of access to internal experts. For marketing-related deployments, top benefits were increasing marketing effectiveness, increasing customer satisfaction and cutting customer costs.
The most widely adopted Web 2.0 technology was video sharing, followed by blogs and RSS feeds. All of the Web 2.0 technologies identified – which also included ‘microblogging’, social networking and wikis – received satisfaction ratings of either ‘somewhat satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ from at least 60% of companies that adopted them.
